I remember when the Milwaukee Road 261 was at Steamtown, I loved it. I’m happy with the replies, ( especially the one with the Nickel Plate Berkshire) as most of you know I love the NKP Berkshires
Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger
Hey.
I am just young guy and I love steam locomotives! Give me a steam loco over any of these high tech, thorw away locos any day. I love Espees cab-fowards, western pacifics mallets and many more.
Opps, forgot to mention Colorado and Southerns locomotives with there snow plows and spark aresters, there every mans narrow gauge locomotive![:D]
Like many people SP’s 4449, & UP’s 4014 are my favorites. The BIGBOY
certainaly wasn’t as powerful as the C&O allengy 4-6-6-6 series, but they were
certainally more lovable.
I must submit Southern R.w.'s Ps-4 Pacific (4-6-2). The graceful contour of the boiler (U.S.R.A.), position of Elesco feed water sytem, Walschaert valve gear, pumps, injectors and general “proportions” of this heavy Pacific must have impressed more folks than just your’s truly. The Smithsonian Institution chose to diplay the SR #1401(Baldwin) in their Science and Industry Building (Wash. D.C.). A close second for me is N.Y.C.'s J3A Hudson (4-6-4) with it’s massive boiler and over-all symetry, it is surely on of America’s classics. I could never quite assimilate into Pennsy steam and their bell pyre boilers. However, their shrouded streamlined steam was second to none. In the larger class steam, I guess I would vote for Southern Pacific’s cab forward articulateds (4-6-6-4 and 4-8-8-4), although it is in a “dead heat” with the Erie “Triplex.” Strictly from an aesthetical view point, I chose the Nickel Plate Road’s 4-8-4 (Lima) as the definitive example of mass “balanced” with motion.
I am undoubtedly a southern steam locomotive fan. I do love all steam locomotives.
Living in Virginia I can say that some of the best locomotives once graced the rails in the Old Dominion. My all time favorite is Norfolk & Western Class A 2-6-6-4. Norfolk & Western Class J 4-8-4, Southern Railway 2-8-2 Ms-4, Southern Railway 4-6-2 Ps-4, Chesapeake & Ohio H-8 2-6-6-6, Chesapeake & Ohio K-4 2-8-4, Chesapeake & Ohio Greenbriars 4-8-4. To mention a few. I also love Union Pacific Big Boys, Union Pacific Challangers, New York Central J-3a Hudsons, Pennsylvania K-4s, Pennsylvania M-1b, Nickle Plate Road 2-8-4s, and Kregsloc 2-10-0. There were so many that were great for different reasons. I love them all.
Correction please: I mistyped NKP “4-8-4” (Northern class) for NKP 2-8-4 (Berkshire) in my Feb. 18 quick reply. I don’t know where that came from…sorry. By the way, I haven’t seen St.l.,S.F. (Frisco) locomotives mentioned. Frisco had some darned nice looking steam on their roster.
Of course who wouldn’t love the Big Boy and the Challenger, but the real workhorse of 20th Century steam in my opinion was the 4-8-4 Northern. My personal favorite from an asthetic view point was the J-class streamlined Northern.
Ron
I was lucky to have ridden behind 2-8-0 Consolidations at 15,000 feet in the Peruvian Andes back in the early 60’s. I have a soft place in my heart for them.
However, their replacement, the J1 4-6-4 Hudson is, IMHO, a work of art in engineering. Sure later locos were heavier, faster, and stronger, but they merely doubled up the drive train on one unit. Nifty, and economical to be sure, but they were too much for my tastes.
Another favorite has to be the humble 0-6-0. I have a P2K model that is a real pleasure to watch, very nicely manufactured, and if anything like the prototype, must have been a ‘comfortable’ beast of burden.
There are my two cents.
I’m from Lima, Ohio, and can visit NKP 779 at Lincoln Park any time. So can you. Anything built in Lima is a personal favorite, but I’ll pick the Berkshires over the SP Daylight in a photo finish.
How’s the 779 holding up?
The Guayaquil and Quito Railroad in Ecuador has a couple of pretty little 1901 Baldwin moguls, 3’6" gauge, painted in maroon with yellow trim that are just about my favorite locomotives of all time (some pix on my website, with more to come).
I also have a soft spot in my heart for good old SOU 4501, and I love the 1920s Baldwin light decapods (Strasburg’s #90 is the most famous surviving example): I wish someone would make a diecast model of one. If I could see an articulated it would be one of the early model NP Z-3 class 2-8-8-2s. And I will close this by including every surviving D&RGW 2-8-2, regardless of class or current owner: my first cab ride was in 487 on the C&TS from Osier to***bres.
I’d have to give a nod to the Big Boy. Talk about power!
I love New York Central steam.The 4-8-2 L2C Mohawk’s are my favorate,as are the 4-8-4 Niagara’s The 4-6-4 HUDSON’S streamlined for the Empire State Express in silver and black will always be on my list.
Green and gold Georgia Southern and Florida ( Southern Railway System) 4-6-0’s
which I last saw heading the Valdosta. GA to Palatka, FL mixed train at 80 mph in the
early 1940’s.
The 20-40-40-20 Godzilla… Just joking. Seriously I’d have to say the UP Big Boy.
trainluver1
My favourite steam loco is the 4-8-4+4-8-4 AD60 Beyer-Garratt particularly 6029 at the Canberra Railway Museum. Here is the web address
www.arhsact.org.au
I am Positive that the Australian Railway Historical Society would love a whole heap on donations to get the Magnificent locomotive 6029 up and running, here is the donation site:
http://www.arhsact.org.au/arhs/donations.php
Another site with awesome pics of Aussie Steam locos is
www.csse.monash.edu.au/~ajh/trains
That would have to be Great Northern’s 08 class Mikados. These were the largest Mikes ever built.
Dan
Specifically, N&W A Class 1218.[:(] ( may she rest in piece, or has she ben put back together again?)
Paula