As railroads dieselized their operations, it was generally the bigger stuff to get sidelined first. A classic example was the Wabash Local between Bluffs and Keokuk. That particular train was headed by a pair of elderly 2-6-0’s of late 1800 vintage, and the whole affair lasted well into the mid 50’s because of a light bridge that could not support the weight of any kind of diesel replacement. To see the photos and read the story, pick up a copy of Kalmbach’s “In Search of Steam” 1953-1954. It is a rehash of Morgan’s fantastic book, “The Mohawk That Refused To Abdicate, And Other Tales”. That is a good read, too.
Southrn Pacific tended to congregate its older power in the San Francisco Bay Area for practical purposes; if the power failed, it was near any one of three shops that could offer up rescue engines. SP’s 1921 era Pacifics ran on the Los Gatos Branch commutes well into 1956 before being replaced by diesels. Little fat boilered 2-8-0’s were among the last steam locomotives to run on the branch, given the tight radius curve at Vasona Jct. and their incredible lugging ability atop squat 57 inch drivers, although it was a Mikado that made the final regular service steam appearance in Los Gatos.
Burlington set aside massive 2-10-4’s in Illinois, while continuing to use their versatile 2-8-2’s, both on the main and branches. A Burlington Pacific or two ran out final boiler miles in yard service in such exotic places as Mendota, IL while larger locomotives went to the scrap heap.
Nickel Plate’s fabulous 2-8-4’s were retired in 1958 and stored for a possible increase in traffic, while several of its 0-8-0’s were pulled from storage a year later to serve the Company in Conneaut, OH. There was a madness to each road’s methods, mostly relating to load limits or the availability of new locomotives, but they were all as varied as their die
They were used on freight more than most people realize. NYC would strap on whatever motive power was idle if it could move the tonnage. You’d see them moving milk trains, perishables, etc…Anything that required speed, nothing too heavy mind you…
This pasage is wrong, and should read “…built as fast PASSENGER locomotives, and used for local freight to a certain extent.” In the United States, there has never been a 4-6-2 engine of any major class specifically built as a freight engine.
You want odd on the Q’s Peoria division? That line’s usual power for the mixed local, before it was changed to a doodlebug around 1954, was an ATLANTIC. Imagine an 1895-built 4-4-2 pulling a wood combine and a string of boxcars and gons. I believe that it was the last regular use of Atlantics on long haul passenger trains, outside of Long Island.
The NYC’s Hudsons were used on freights all the time, and before the 1950s. The NYC liked to break in newly-shopped engines by giving them an assignment close to home, usually meaning a freight transfer run or short-distance local. There are lots of photos of NYC Hudsons pulling freights around.
In later years, the NYC’s “Lines West” were the last to dieselize (the old CCC&StL lines, mostly), and they became a haven for any and all steam that still had flue time on them. By the mid-1950s, it wasn’t unusual to see a NYC Hudson-powered freight being passed by a NYC Hudson-powered passenger run to Kankakee (and to Chicago, but usually behind an IC 4-8-2).
The NKP also used their Hudsons on freights a lot, especially after 1949 when they received their PA-1s. The Hudsons still pulled the occasional passenger run, but were usually used to lug fast, short freights on the Chicago Division. By 1957, they were seen pulling locals and interchange freights. However…they were ALWAYS clean!
Well…mostly all true. IC 1 (later 2499) was a rebuild of an IC 2-8-4, themselves the first Lima Berkshires (and not altogether a good engine, especially as compared to the “other” Berks in the IC’s territory…the NKP’s excellent AMC 2-8-4s. However, they weren’t “drag” engines!). The IC was never really happy with their 2-8-4s, which is why they eventually went back to the drawing board to create “superpower” 4-8-2s.
The conversion of IC #1 was an attempt to turn the basic Lima Berk into something more useful for the road, which mostly had a flat profile (the Lima engines were designed for the B&A, which was “just a bit” hillier than the average IC mainline). To the IC, SPEED was more important than tractive effort, so they decided to build a new frame for the 2-8-4s and add 73.5" drivers under the boiler, to see what would happen, the hope being that it would be useful for short (under 40 cars) freights on 100 MPH schedules (the IC’s passenger runs south out of Chicago did this daily). The engine was a complete flop, as it was far too slippery for regular freight use. The engine was built in 1945, and scrapped in early 1951. The IC’s remaining 50 2-8-4s were all scrapped in 1955, five years before mainline steam was dropped on the railroad.
Is 70 engines a large enough number of engines to be common?
IC 2030-2099: 70 Harriman-type Pacifics rebuilt for branchline service between 1941 and 1943. The original 75.5" drivers were removed and 61" drivers were added, along with new tenders and larger sand domes (the steam & signal lines wre also removed). These engines were assigned to light branchlines all across the IC, mostly serving in ones and threes as a branches’ primary freight power.
The IC bought or obtained 180 Pacifics during its steam years. By 1943 17 had been scrapped and 70 rebuilt to freight Pacifics, leaving 93 in more or less original condition. By 1952 those numbers were sliding fast, but there were still 40 75"-drivered Pacifics on the roster pulling passengers, and 47 61"-drivered engines pulling freight. The last of each type pf engine wasn’t retired until 1960, well after all other passenger steam had been retired in the USA (well, besides a couple of the N&W’s J’s)
And how’s this for an oddity: freight Atlantics. Always “frugal” (or cheap), the IC had 25 out of work 4-4-2s sitting around in 1940. When the Japanese dragged us into WWII, American railroads needed every steamer they could lay their hands on. The IC converted the 11 best of these antique Atlantic into branchline freight engines (numbers 2000-2010), which released 11 2-8-0s for mainline secondary use (and freeing up 11 2-8-2s for mainline through freights). These engines received 63.5" drivers, replacing their 79" originals, and served throughout central Illinois and Louisiana. Built in 1903 and 1904, these engines were tired by the end of WWII, and were all scrapped by 1948. But they WERE freight engines, they WERE common (for the lines they served on for six years), and they did make a difference.
Not to start a geek fight here, but I’m not wrong. The K-11s, the ONLY Pacifics on the NYC with 69" drivers, were designed as commuter and milk train engines. They didn’t need the speed produced by the 75" and 79" drivers for mainline cross-country Pacifics, so the NYC didn’t give them larger drivers.
NYC ordered 50 K-10a Pacifics from Brooks in 1910 specifically as fast freight engines. This order was accompanied by another order of 10 K-11a’s. Both classes of loco’s had 69" drivers. The K-11a’s had superheaters as well. The NYC ordered these locos to replace the F-2 4-6-0’s which had been handling fast freight service. The K-10’s were all equipped with superheaters in 1912 and re-classified as K-11a.
NYC ordered 50 K-10a Pacifics from Brooks in 1910 specifically as fast freight engines. This order was accompanied by another order of 10 K-11a’s. Both classes of loco’s had 69" drivers. The K-11a’s had superheaters as well. The NYC ordered these locos to replace the F-2 4-6-0’s which had been handling fast freight service. The K-10’s were all equipped with superheaters in 1912 and re-classified as K-11a.
Volume 1 Modern power is an older publication, 1961 I believe.
Early Power (1967) and Later Power (1982) were Staufer’s final and most detailed works on the subject. Staufer specifically states the K-10 class and K-11 classes were built specifically as fast freight locomotives, not dual purpose. Obviously when the L1 Mohawks rolled out they (the K-11’s) were put into other services and equipped accordingly.
It’s funny that you mention Mohawks, I’m glad you did, I picked up “Later Power” and on the very first page of the Mohawk chapter Staufer explicitely states that the L1a Mohawk was the successor design meant to replace the K-11’s as the railroads primary fast freight motive power.
L1 and L2 Mohawks were not designed as dual purpose loco’s.(two L2d’s were converted as an experiment for passenger service loco’s 2995, and 2998).
L2’s (and mikes) were the backbone of the freight fleet from 1925 until WW2 when the L3 and L4 classes arrived on the scene 1940, and 1943 respectively. L3a was a DP design, L3b were fast freight, and the L4s, both a & b, were dual purpose locomotives.
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And I’m not sure why the NYC would bother with using the K-11s in “fast freight service” anyway. The e
I couldnt stand it anymore. The Erie had purpose built fast freight pacifics with 69" drivers. Some were later rebuilt with taller drivers for passenger use. The Erie used 2700 series pacifics for local and branch freight right up till the diesels came in the 50’s.
I forget if it was the Atlantic Coast Line or the Seaboard ordered fast freight pasifics.
The N & W had a few Pennsy K 2’s that were used seasonally in local freight and passenger.
I don’t have the book on hand, but in Don Ball’s “America’s Colorful Railroads”, he had a pic of 1 of B&O’s old passenger Pacifics-it was taken in '56 or '57-in the caption he said within another month it would be downgraded to work train service, then after that passenger protection, then after that…