A picture of the tender of the 4024 on page 69 of the Big Boy by Kratville clearly shows the steam train line. I can not be sure that all of the Big Boys had this installed, but this particular tender had the steam line installed. I have all of the Streamliners from volume one to the present and I seem to remember reading they did pull some troop trains durning the war, but not regular n
Several VHS video versions of the Milwaukee engines have been available over the years and the scenes are very interesting. I have not watched them for some time, but some speedy scenes are recorded and available.
Every road had their own favorites. Pacifics were popular with Pennsy and Erie while NYC favored the Hudson with Niagras(4-8-4 Northerns to most roads) a second choice. The Northern was popular out west. Smaller branch lines liked the Ten Wheelers.
One thing I didn’t find on the listed passenger locomotives were SP’s cab-forwards.
4-8-8-2’s regularly pulled passenger trains over Donner Summit as well as handling such trains as the West Coast, Owl and Tehachapi from LA to Bakersfield. One was even assigned to the San Joaquin Daylight in 1953 to avoid double heading, but threw a rod out on the desert at about 75 MPH, IIRC. The regular 4-8-4 double headed combo was immediately reinstated. The cab-forwards were also regularly assigned to troop trains in difficult territory.
SP also had a dozen 2-6-6-2’s built specifically for passenger service in the early teens of the 20th century. There were some severe tracking problems with them and they were converted to 4-6-6-2’s. They didn’t last too long in passenger service and were ultimately reassigned to the freight pool.
Also, some of SP’s 4-10-2’s were used for a short time on passenger trains in both the Sierras and over Tehachapi in the late 20’s. Problems with the long rigid wheelbase caused them to be reassigned to areas that didn’t have such severe curvature and they were reassigned to the freight pool.
I believe the man was looking for common usages. Northerns were invented as passenger power. They may have been and indeed were used for freight later. The two most powerful of the breed (N&W and NYC) were used as passenger power (until the twilight of steam).
I have a pic of a VGN MB Mike double-headed with an N&W J Northern on the point of (I believe) the Cavalier. So anything is possible. Would I put together a 1940-50s era passenger train with a Mike? No. The VGN used Pacifics and the N&W used Northerns, Mountains, Pacifics, and … Mastadons! Yep. 4-8-0s on the Huckleberry and the Creeper out of Abington and Christiansburg.
Steam line !? Phooey, that’s no deciding issue. How long do you suppose it takes to run a steam line to anywhere on a steam locomotive? Or to remove one? (Answer, not long a tall !) Does anybody have a pic of a Big Boy on a (non-excursion) passenger train.
Haiwatha 4-6-4s were Baltics. Ask any Milwaukee fan.
Has anyone mentioned Penny’s Duplexes? They were their main advertised passenger power in late steam.
The PRR had fifty of the T1’s, and the B&O had one of the 4-4-4-4 experimental type. They also used the S1 (6-4-4-6, and the S2 6-8-6 on the Broadway many times, but both were considered experimental. These engines were photographed on regular service.
We did get off topic since he did ask for the most popular.
I just wanted to show most every steam engine type had been used from time to time. The Union Pacific had steam train lines on the Big Boys and had used them on troop trains, not excursion trains. As far as I can research, no Big Boy was ever used for an excursion train.
I did find several more pictures clearly showing the Big Boys had the Steam Train lines installed most of their useful lives
Uh, excuse me!. I got jumped all over last year by several members when I suggested that Consolidations and Mikado’s pulled passenger trains… I was told that both of these locos were used for freight service only. But go ahead, I’m listening…
That may very well be true CAZEPHYR, but that’s narrow gauge. I’m going to be more careful from now on about how I ask my questions… I was only interested in standard gauge main line passenger service locos of the 20th century. Thanks for your input though.
From a Canadian perspective the CPR used the famous Selkirk 2-10-4’s for their passenger run from Calgary to Revelstoke and back east the 4-4-4- Jubilee a superb high stepping semi-streamlined engine.
Tracklayer: Jump right back at 'em with my permission, LOL! Out here in California, the Western Pacific used one of their classes of Mikados regularly on passenger trains between Oakland and Portola, up through the Feather River Canyon. And in Colorado, the Rio Grande used their 1200 Mikes on passenger trains right after they acquired the Denver and Salt Lake, before they could lay heavier rail on the Moffat Route and open the route up to their 1700 and 1800 Northerns. Not only that, but the Rio Grande 1100 series 2-8-0’s were often used as head-end helpers to the 1200 Mikes.
Don’t let 'em snow you, guy–they’re talking through their hats!
Now Tracklayer…you ask the question, the “MOST” popular locomotive for passenger service in the 20th century. As we all know, passenger trains required speed. And as many have noted, every RR had their favorite.Here in the New England area, the Pacific was the most popular locomotive for passenger service. I suspect that on the NYC it was the Hudson, as it was one fast beast. The locomotive rosters for RR in New England listed more Pacifics than any other passenger service locomotive.
Leave’us not forget that “Death Valley” Scotty went all the way to Chicago behind high steppin’ Prairies. Other railroads may have forsook the 2-6-2 but around the turn of the century they were Uncle John’s standard passenger loke.
You can add Wabash to the users of mikados in psgr service. I saw one pulling Wabash’s contribution to the Chicago suburban service. UP regularly used Mikes in the early years of the 20th Century where grades were too much for Pacifics. As for the MOST popular, it would have to be the Pacific, especially if you count suburban service. A few RRs demoted main line Northerns, Mountains (SP) and Hudsons (Milw…yes Milw fans call them Hudsons too and I worked for them) but most RRs w/ extensive suburban service used Pacifics right up to dieselization on their secondary and suburban trains.
