Canadian Pacific streamlined Hudsons (H1-e) and Selkirks (T1-b).
From an operational AND engineering standpoint the N&W class “A” and “J” would run rings around the duplex-drive engines. If you consider a locomotive for untapped potential, the Lima “Alleghany” was the winner in terms of drawbar horsepower and ability to get over the road. It’s a shame that ALL of them were totally misused in the wrong type of service! Given a raise in boiler pressure and, say, N&W’s method of dieselized steam power efficiencies, they could bested them all!
I have stood on a UP “Big Boy”, and you are right, thats one “awe inspiring” piece of machinery. As are the Challengers of the eastern roads.
But for reasons that include practicality, a spot in my heart, and physical as well as economic performance, those Lima Berkshires were hard to beat. Years ago, I was in a bar near a railroad track, and unknown to all of us, #765 was “resting” nearby, either in route to, or from some ceremonial excursion tour. Well, when they had raised steam, and started to depart, the pulse thundering through the ground, and up through the floor of the bar was incredible. Half the bar poured outside seeking the source, just in time to see a really beautiful sight. The power those things pound down is incredible…
It was the first time I had even seen 765 since the restoration, sure hope it was not the last…
For straight appearance, those Raymond Loewy Pennsy T-1’s are hard to beat, but then anything Loewy did is pretty impressive…But I’d like to see a nice color feature on the T-1 in the magazine someday…
Those Pennsy T-1 's were a work of Art, I’ll have to agree…got any links to pics??
And what about the Nickel Plate Berkshires? (I model that road).<<
Those 700’s would get my “best overall” vote, fer sure, fer sure
For sheer size, it has to be a ‘Big Boy’.
For looks, then streamlined locos:
A4 Pacifics of the LNER
and since the look ‘tidy’:
The Daylight GS-4’s of SP (early diesels couldn’t keep the schedules!)
The ‘Hi’s’ of MR (very fast times; not far off from the 'Mallard’s record)
For ‘quirkiness’, things like:
The SP Cab Forwards (why no other railroad used them I don’t know. Sensible not to have smoke in the cab!)
The PRR’s T-1 and S-1 (need an article on these babes).
There can’t be an overall “best” locomotive. They were designed for different services which cannot be compared. If you are switching the docks at a seaport there is no way a Big Boy can do the job. It simply would not go around the curves necessary to get from the street to the docks. That is where 0-6-0s and 0-4-0s shined. Likewise I wouldn’t sent a 100 car freight up Sherman Hill behind an 0-4-0. And I would use neither a switcher nor a Big Boy on a commuter train. The swither wouldn’t have the power, and the Big Boy would use up far too much of the platform at the terminal!
So, there can’t be an overall best. Now if you specify a particular service and operating area (mountainous vs plains for example)… then let’s talk.
Having been a fireman on both steam and early
Diesel I have been on many engines over the three
years I went “Railroading”. My pick for the best
is the Baldwin AC6, cab-forward, used by the SP
on the Donner Pass Route. I have seen it used in very tight areas as well as grades with many cars
in tow. Might be wrong, but it’s my pick. Thanks
Frosty
Service: Museum/Tourist Railroad, 5 miles (10 mi round trip). Shares route with other trains; usually 12 - 15 trips per day.
Operating Area: Midwest. Generally flat, but with some slight grades.
Best Steam Locomotive: A Russian Decapod. It’s big enough to look “right”; small enough to not break the shop budget.
CPR’s 4-6-4’s
Gordon
If it is which steam locomotive that really grabs your heart, for me, it has to be the old ‘American 4-4-0’. I will go miles out of my way to see one. However, there has never been a ‘steamer’ I haven’t loved.