Here is a place for you to share your favorite locmotive! Feel free to go loose on why it is you favorite, any interesting specifications, and just general information or stories that may go with it. Please share a picture of it if you can!
Have a nice day!
Alton and Southern #12, an 0-8-0 at the St. Louis Museum of Transport. One of four remaining American-built 3 cylinder steamers. It was the museum’s second locomotive when donated in 1948.
Reading 2102, my favorite since her April 1971 on the old Akron canton and Youngstown excursion. And the 1218, miss those ns excursions.
Just about any Berkshire loco… like Pere Marquette 1225, or Nickel Plate 765 as outstanding examples. Big enough to fill the heart with awe, but not so big you can’t see the whole thing without being so far away you can’t make out detail. Near perfection in style and outline. Not much different than #12 (S. Connor’s post above), but without the visual unstable look caused by lacking the leading and trailing trucks.
This is tough, there’s nary a steam engine I’ve seen I didn’t like BUT, if I had to choose one, and ONE only that I could have alive and running around loose on the mainline I’d have to choose Norfolk and Westerns Class J, the Mighty 611.
Why? Many have said, and probably with some partisanship, that it’s the best steam passenger engine ever built. In its engineering and styling, in its efficiency, its ability to get up and go, I have to agree. Perfection itself.
Save 'yo Confederate money boys, the South’s gonna rise again, and 611’s gonna pull it!
I’m going to have to go with my northeastern roots and say a Pennsy D16sb. So graceful and yet capable looking, just right for a modest sized, tuscan red consist.
Very cool locomotives! Interesting to see everyone’s spraul of interests!
We have been through this kind of listing before, and I agree with the N&W J, overall, but from a strictly nostalgia point of view, it would have to be the dear old Pennsy K4, just because I spent so many deslightful hours behind it, sometimes double-headed. If there were NYC Hudsons around, they might get second place in both counts, but i am also partial to the Ripley AT&SF three designs, the UP 844, the CB&Q O-5, the Southern green and gold P5, the New Haven I5, the Daylights, and that is only the standard gauge portion of my loves. Then go to the United Kingdom for the Castles, and any of the Gresley Pacifics.
My very favorite locomotive is a Baldwin, built in 1929, modified as necessary while in service, retired 1960ish to a purpose-built storage structure, last steamed at the railroad’s last run in 1975.
Kiso Forest Railway second #1, 762mm (2’6") gauge 0-4-2T.
I think highly of a variety of behemoths (N&W 611 foremost among them) but a locomotive the size of my Toyota pickup is small enough to love.
Chuck
GP38-2s
I love anything Colorado narrow gauge, & Santa Fe 3751, but only 1 engine brought the love of trains to my son…
Long live UP 844!
Though there were only 16 built before ALCO went out of buisiness, my favorite loco is the C430.
So hard to choose. From a purely appearance standpoint I’d have to go with the CPR G class Pacific…or the D -10 class Ten Wheeler. From a sheer power standpoint I like the 2-10-2 Santa Fe s and the the 2-10-4 Texas (Selkirk) engines. I’m not really drawn to the huge articulated engines… they look too much like alot of bad plumbing to me. Would love to stand at trackside to watch a C&O T1 handle 160 carloads of coal…
J class gets another vote. too many goods ones to pick from. i always liked the B & O president class pacifics too.
A thread like this one comes up every now and again and my choices are not cast in concrete. These are my current picks:
Steam: IHB U-4a, the “grandest 0-8-0 of all”
Diesel: BRC C424 on a boat job or a BRC SD40/slug hump-pusher set
Electric: South Shore R2’s (always a pair)
i wish to thank thechief for a marvelous photograph that is worthy for the Trains front cover in my opinion
Wow! The IHB U-4a looks like a more modern version of A&S #12! 3rd cylinder and all! Do you know what the U-4a’s tractive effort was? I’ve heard it’s the strongest 0-8-0. Strange, since I thought the A&S #12 was strong at 60, 60 0lbs!!!
Too bad one didn’t survive, I think I might have a new 2nd favorite!!!
I’ve stayed out of this one because there are too many choices. So all I can do is to make a few suggestions, broken down into categories.
Diesel switchers: Lima, any variation of B-B end-cab unit.
Diesel Hood unit: F-M, any variation of Loewy-designed B-B unit. Particularly partial to the H20-44 in multiples, but also love the H15/16-44.
Diesel Cab unit: Any Baldwin Shark
Steam switcher: Any version of USRA 0-8-0, to iunclude the enlarged version built for B&LE. Honorable mention to B&O’s class U 0-10-0 and Union’s 0-10-2, which were the only two ten-drivered switchers that are attractive to my eyes (YMMV)
Streamlined steam: N&W J 4-8-4; N&W K-2a 4-8-2; B&O P-7d 4-6-2 in that order.
Nonstreamlined steam passenger: B&O P-7c or P-7e 4-6-2 in Royal Blue.
Steam freight or dual service, conventional or articulated: Too many to choose.
And by the way, the I.H.B. U-4a 0-8-0’s had a tractive effort of 75,700 pounds, plus 13,800 pounds provided by the booster, for a total of 89,500 pounds! A.H.M. produced a model of this engine in the 1960’s. New Haven had a small group of similar 3-cylinder 0-8-0’s, too.
Tom
All time champs?
American steam- SP GS-4 Daylight
British steam- A1 pacific Tornado, built in 2008
German steam- Bavarian pacific S 3/6
French steam (sorta) 141R Mikado
Diesel- Alco PA
Electric- the mighty GG1
So an 0-8-0 wheel arrangement had a booster? Where?