I’ve got a book with a photo of a 2-8-0 consolidation pulling a consist of full length heavy weight passenger cars, but it’s on a curve and I can’t see but about three cars behind the loco. The caption at the bottom of the photo says it was taken in the mid 1920s.
Tracklayer
Except on short lines and narrow-gauge railroads, the Consolidation was pretty much a freight hauler or switching locomotive, and was probably not used very much on mainline passenger service after about 1919 or so. My guess is that about 5 or 6 heavyweight Pullmans would have been about the limit for the locomotive, and since the 2-8-0 generally had only about 57" drivers, we’re not talking Speed Demon, here. Usually about that time, passenger service was hauled behind a 4-6-0 or 4-6-2, though I do know that the Rio Grande used their 1100 series Consolidations on some local passenger service in Colorado. Other railroads may have used 2-8-0’s for their local passengers, also, but I don’t think it was a general practice on most railroads, mainly because the 2-8-0 just wasn’t built for speed.
I’d say about 5 or 6 heavyweights tops.
Tom
Grand Canyon Ry. 2-8-0 consolodation #18 could pull 6 hevyweight coaches up the 3.4% grades.(6 was the maximum)
Thanks guys. Six sounds logical for such a small loco.
I rode the Texas State Railroad last spring, and it consisted of a Consolidation that had been built in 1917, ran at 25 mph and pulled three heavy weight coaches and a baggage car. It was fun, but that was the longest fifty mile round trip I’ve ever been on…
Tracklayer
The Milw used to bring psgr trains to and from Chicago Uion Station w/ a consolidation.
They would bring in the train complete w/ engine but speed wasn’t a factor. This would be kind of like asking how many heavywieght Pullmans a USRA 0-8-0 could move. As many as you’d want but allow lots of time.
I should note that GCRy’s 2-8-0 #18 was a former LS&I engine designed to run at 25 m.p.h. when GCRy rebuilt it it was designed to run 40 m.p.h. (#18 was recently retired because it need to be rebuilt) Tracklayer, a consolodation might be able to pull 7 cars on flat ground- remember GC has 3%+ grades.
That’s amazing!!! All steam locomotives came in sizes. Just as there were heavy Mikes, for example, there were also heavy Connies. The ones with superheaters and higher boiler pressures that retained their small drivers, but under a 130T chassis could haul a lot more than their lighter sisters.
Six cars up that grade is a real eye opener. Can you imagine the noise coming up the stack?
Yes i bet it’d be loud- GCRy’s 2-8-2 mike can pull 8-9 cars up that grade - i’ve seen the mike on TV pulling 8 cars up the 2% grade and boy is that thing working hard- on the 3% grade they were going about 40 m.p.h. to get up the grade. -You want to be amazed— on TV i’ve seen a 4-8-4 northern pulling 30 strealined passenger cars- amazingly it pulled them fine until they hit a grade and it started raining- the tranin completly stopped after spinning the wheels a few times - the enginers skill at the throttle got it going but that was exciting to watch.
There is a tourist railroad in eastern PA that uses a 2-8-0 with five urban passenger cars. It is called the New Hope & Ivyland. I’ve ridden it with my grandkids. I don’t know how much more heavyweight cars weigh versus what they use but it had no problems pulling 5.
GCRY cheats. That ‘baggage car’ behind the tender of the 2-8-0 is an F unit painted the same scheme as the real passenger cars. I’m willing to wager that it provides at least as much tractive effort as the medium 2-8-0 it’s assisting. Noticed this when I was passing through Williams, AZ, on one of my once-frequent cross country trips, probably in 2003.
The Clinchfield did the same thing back when they were running steam excursions.
First of all they don’t have any E-units or F-units- and this so called “baggage car” is on on 2 or 4 wheel trucks(can’t quite tell)- how could that be an E? also the narrarator said about #18 “by HERSELF she can haul 6 coaches up the 3% grades” the only GCRy. diesels are ALCO FPA-4’s, FPB-4’s and a GP7.
They don’t have F-units! go to http://www.thetrain.com/learnmore_fleet.cfm