what would a 2-8-0 be used for- i’ve got a model of one and don’t know what to use it for. i was thinking of pulling 3 1970s pass. cars (i know it’s not realistic but oh well) also how many freight cars might a real one pull ,thanks in advance.
The Consolidation was the Geep of its rail road career. Generally small diameter drivers gave it good muscle to lug small freights and mixed trains over the main and branch lines, possibly 15 to 20 cars depending on the topography, although in modeling terms probably 5 to 8 car trains is more likely. The 1970 passenger cars would be a promotional/fan triptype of application, since most of these steam locomotives would have been scrapped in the early to mid 50’s and replaced by switchers and road switchers like the Alco RS and the EMD Geeps.
Will
Some of those 1970s passenger cars may have originated in the steam era, and may have been part of a mixed train, running on a branch, quite possibly pulled by a 2-8-0. Some variants of the 2-8-0 became quite powerful, matching the pulling power of larger engines like 2-8-2 and so on.
By the 1970s (your era??) they would have been scrapped or relegated to excursion service, which was actually quite popular.
Andrew
i model present day BNSF but i have one steamer(go fiqure) the pass. cars are amtrak 65’ - i was thinking an excursion pulled by a 2-8-0 as you said masonjar, thanks
Maybe on your model, the BNSF has a historic fleet, like the UP.
It’s YOUR railroad.
i agree 100% with you Tom , maybe my rr has a historical fleet ,heck maybe i’ll add a Santa Fe F7 to pull the pass. trains also.
I would bid on that job!!! Give us the SP&S 700 the 3751 and get the CB&Q 3006 up to snuff out of Galesburg and I will show Steve Lee a thing or two! (actually Steve would still show me a thing or two but hey it pays to be confident) I honestly think if the 5632 would have been kept the BN would have had a steam program to rival the UP.
The 2-8-0 was a passenger locomotive because it had larger drivers. I guess if you are going to be unprototypical using it to run Amtrak cars, you can use it to run freight.
Tom
while i’m at it why don’t i just use the 2-8-0 and AC4400(modern diesel) and pull an intermodal train[(-D]-- seriously though the 2-8-0 will pull excursion trains -but i’ve though about pulling freights[xx(]
The 2-8-0 is and was a popular excursion locomotive becuase there are still quite a few out there. Grand Canyon uses two 2-8-0s and sometimes will doublehead them on a train. Tennessee Valley Railway Museum uses ex-Army 2-8-0 610 with about a 4 or 5 car train and is currently restoring Southern 630 (yet another 2-8-0) for use on their passenger excursions. Smokey Mountain Railway currently uses ex-Army and ex-Reader 2-8-0 (cannot remember the number) and is currently restoring ANOTHER Southern 2-8-0 number 722. Both Southern 722 and 630 were used in Southern’s excursion program during the 70’s and ran quite alot on the mainline.
Maybe your 2-8-0 can belong to a local museum that has trackage rights on your BNSF main. Then you can paint or decal your passenger cars for Burlington or Santa Fe (which ever matches your loco) or maybe your museum volunteers don’t come out much so you can weather your Amtrak cars to look old and rusty (seen that plenty of times on museum trains). As for pulling freight… that’s done often for photographer’s specials but, it is usually done with equipment tha would match the locomotive’s era. You MIGHT be able to pull of using the 2-8-0 pulling freight from today for reasons such as ferry moves or lack of diesels to pull the train.
One very important thing to note is that the engine has small drivers. This means you will need to keep the speed a little lower than your normal mainline speed as the engines were lucky to do 40mph in regular service.
The Illinois Central used the 2-8-0 's on branch line runs and I have watched them work trains of forty or more cars as a regular assignment in that service. The great thing about the consolidations was the fact they cold be used for almost any service. The PRR used to have two H10’s at Effingham just for protection power to and from St Louis. This was up until 1950, but they were actually used as protection power for passenger trains at that time. It would have been a slow ride compared to the T1 or K4’s that might need the protection power, but the consolidations were for that purpose.
On page 48 of the Pennsy Power book, there is a picture of an H8b with 100 loaded coal cars from altoona to Enola yards (127 miles) at an average spped of 12mph. These little engines were very capable since most of their weight was on the drivers and the driver size was very small. Speed was not a major factor in the early days of railroading and they were used for many years in secondary service.
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my 2-8-0 is Union Pacific[xx(] but I thought about putting the BNSF logo on the tender
I saw a TV show on the Grand Canyon Railway. Their smaller 2-8-0 #18 could pull 6 of the heavyweight coaches up the 3.4% grade. The 2-8-0’s top speed was around 40 m.p.h. The fast passenger locomotive was the 2-8-2. Grand Canyon’s 2-8-2 #4960 (former Burlington excursion engine) is capable of speeds in excesss of 70 m.p.h.
i should mention the Canyon’s #18 was designed to run at 25 m.p.h. for the L S & I -and when the Canyon rebuilt it they designed it to run at 40 m.p.h.
[:O] BLASPHAMY! My teeth are cringing just thinking of this. Somewhere… Steve Lee is crying
i’m not gonna put that on the tender … yet[}:)]
Aww let him cry giggles. Better yet do the Powerbar logo that would be hillllllllarious! the joy of model railroading is the fact its your layout. I know Union museum has a 2-8-0 UP working jsut say its beingused for employee excursions or something.Or put on the BNSF logo 
The Crab Orchard & Egyptian (COER) was a short line in Illinois. They used a 2-8-0 in freight service into the late 1970s, after giving up on the tourist trade. There was an article in Sept. 1980 Trains mag. about it.
I’ve pulled 75 MDC ore cars on the flat with my Spectrum 2-8-0. Around the club layout I usually figure 15 cars is enough for one, 25-30 for two.
of course i’d put the powerbar on it, but i could put “illinois central” on it too or “grand canyon”- anything but stUPid
The former LS&I consolidations on the Grand Canyon Railroad can’t handle the normal train tonnage unassisted, so they are doubleheaded with F-7B units painted the same scheme as the passenger consist. The Clinchfield did the same thing when they were in the excursion business some years ago.
Interesting bit of in-cab detail for a model steamer - the ‘kitbashed’ control stand for those diseisel (with apologies to the creator of Thomas) helpers.
GCRy. doesn’t have F-units- they’re ALCO FPA-4’s and FPB-4’s.