USRA Light Pacific

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USRA Light Pacific
Atlantic Coast Line 1504 on static display in Jacksonville, Florida
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder
Build date1919–1920
Total produced81 original, 234 copies
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-2
 • UIC2′C1′ h2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.73 in (1,854 mm)
Wheelbase
  • Coupled: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m)
  • Locomotive: 34 ft 9 in (10.59 m)
  • Loco & tender: 68 ft 7+1⁄2 in (20.92 m)
Axle load55,000 lb (25,000 kilograms)
Adhesive weight165,000 lb (75,000 kilograms)
Loco weight270,000 lb (120,000 kilograms)
Tender weight188,000 lb (85,000 kilograms)
Total weight414,000 lb (188,000 kilograms)
Fuel capacity16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons)
Water cap.10,000 US gal (38,000 L; 8,300 imp gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area66.7 sq ft (6.20 m2)
Boiler pressure200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox234 sq ft (21.7 m2)
 • Tubes2,091 sq ft (194.3 m2)
 • Flues981 sq ft (91.1 m2)
 • Total surface3,333 sq ft (309.6 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area794 sq ft (73.8 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size25 in × 28 in (635 mm × 711 mm)
Valve type14-inch (356 mm) piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort40,750 lbf (181.3 kN)
Factor of adh.4.1
Career
Retired
  • 1939-1955 (Original)
  • 1939-1961 (Copies)
PreservedTwo (Atlantic Coast Line 1504 and Grand Trunk Western 5632)
DispositionOne original under restoration and one copy on static display, remainder scrapped

The USRA Light Pacific was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. It was the standard light passenger locomotive of the USRA types, with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′C1′ in UIC classification.

History[edit]

A total of 81 locomotives were built under USRA control, and were sent to the following railroads:

Table of original USRA allocation[1]
Railroad Quantity Class Road numbers Notes Retired
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL)
45
P-5-A
1500–1544
 25 P-5-As (Nos. 1545-1569) were built by Alco's Richmond Works in 1920, and 165 P-5-Bs (Nos. 1600-1764) were also built as copies between 1920 and 1926 by BLW.[2] 1939-1953[2]
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O)
30
P-5
5200–5229
 Built by BLW (Nos. 5200-5219) and ALCO (Nos. 5220-5229) in 1919. 1951-1955[3]
Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N)
6
K-5
240–245
 20 copies (Nos. 264-283) built between 1923 and 1924.[4] 1945-1953
Total 81

After the dissolution of USRA, the ACL and L&N ordered additional copies of the USRA Light Pacific design,[2][4] while both the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) and the Mobile and Ohio Railroad (M&O) also ordered copies in the 1920s.[5][6]

Table of USRA copies
Railroad Quantity Class Road numbers Notes Retired
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL)
25
P-5-A
1545–1569
 Continuation of the USRA design after the USRA disbanded.[2] 1939-1953[2]
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL)
165
P-5-B
1600–1764
 P-5-A but with smaller driving wheels and designed for freight traffic.[2] 1950-1953[7]
Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW)
5
K-4-a
5627-5631
 5629 was formerly preserved but was scrapped in July 1987 due to negligence.[8][9] 1960-1961[5]
Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW)
3
K-4-b
5632-5634
 5632 is preserved.[10][11] 1960-1961[5]
Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N)
20
K-5
264–283
 Nos. 275 and 277 streamlined. 1945-1953[12]
Mobile and Ohio Railroad (M&O)
10
N/A
260-269
 Built by BLW.[6] 1946-1949[6]
Rutland Railroad (RUT)
6 in total, three in each class
K-1, K2
80-82 and 83-85 respectively
Built by Alco-Schenectady.
 1951-1953
Total 234

Notable locomotives[edit]

Atlantic Coast Line 1504[edit]

Main article: Atlantic Coast Line 1504

No. 1504 is one of seventy USRA Light Pacifics built by ALCO for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL).[13]: 8  Classified as a P-5-A, No. 1504 had the capability to haul 10-12 passenger cars at 70–80 mph (113–129 km/h) between Richmond, Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida.[13]: 7 [14] It was assigned to haul the ACL's premier passenger trains such as the Miamian, Florida Special, Palmetto Limited, Southland, South Wind and Dixie Flyer.[13]: 7  On December 25, 1952, ACL retired the No. 1504 locomotive from revenue service and put it on static display in front of their headquarters building in Jacksonville, where it became the only USRA Light Pacific steam locomotive preserved in original as-built condition.[13]: 8 

In 1986, ACL's successor, CSX donated the No. 1504 locomotive to the Jacksonville City Council, where they relocated it to its new static display site in the parking lot of the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, located at the former Jacksonville Union Terminal.[15] In 1990, the No. 1504 locomotive was designated as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).[14] In 2021, the locomotive was purchased by the U.S. Sugar Corporation (USSC) in Clewiston, Florida, where it is being restored to operating condition for use in excursion service on the South Central Florida Express shortline railroad as part of USSC's heritage tourist passenger train named the Sugar Express.[16][17]

Grand Trunk Western 5629[edit]

Main article: Grand Trunk Western 5629
Grand Trunk Western No. 5629 pulling a fantrip excursion towards South Bend, Indiana Union Station, 1967

No. 5629 was one of five copies of the USRA Light Pacifics built in 1924 by ALCO for the Grand Trunk Western (GTW). Classified as a K-4-a, No. 5629 was assigned to pull commuter trains throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. In 1960, the locomotive was purchased by Richard Jensen, who subsequently restored it to pull excursion trains on the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). It was initially stored at a Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) roundhouse in Hammond, Indiana before Jensen moved it to another roundhouse, which was owned by the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad (C&WI).[18] No. 5629 was refitted with a larger ex-Soo Line tender to pull long-distance excursions throughout the Chicago metropolitan area and the state of Indiana.[19][a]

In the early 1970s, Jensen was running into some financial trouble, due to legal issues with the C&WI and a loss of access to nearby railroads, and he lost all motivation to operate steam excursions. No. 5629 would be stored in Penn Central's yard outside of Chicago Union Station, until Jensen searched for another location to store the locomotive. He subsequently reached an agreement with the Rock Island Railroad (RI) to store it within the Burr Oak freight yard at Blue Island, Illinois, but he never paid rent that was owed to the railroad.

In March 1980, the RI went bankrupt, and Metra acquired the Burr Oak yard. They ordered Jensen to move No. 5629 to the nearby Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS), but upon inspecting it to be moved, he discovered that it was vandalized during its time stored in Blue Island. Upon hearing about No. 5629's current condition, Metra wanted to help Jenson, who actually subsequently formulated a plan to allow the No. 5629 locomotive to be scrapped, leading to him suing Metra to gain a million dollars.[21]

After Jensen inconsiderately refused to remove his locomotive from the Burr Oak yard, Metra went to court and ordered Metra to scrap the No. 5629 locomotive.[8] Many groups, such as the Illinois Railway Museum, offered to purchase the locomotive for $15,000 and move it out of harm’s way, but Jensen declined and instead removed No. 5629's journal boxes to prevent the locomotive from being moved out of the Blue Island freight yard.[21][8] On July 14, 1987, the court ordered Metra to scrap the No. 5629 and the railroad reluctantly contacted the Erman-Howell Division of the Luria Brothers Scrap Company to dispose of the locomotive.[8][9] After the scrapping, Jensen sued Metra as planned, but he eventually lost the case.

Grand Trunk Western 5632[edit]

Main article: Grand Trunk Western 5632

No. 5632 is a K-4-b Pacific, which was also a copy of the USRA design, but with an all-weather cab and an enclosed coffin feedwater heater. It was one of three copies of the USRA Light Pacifics built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1929 for the GTW.[5] It was donated to the city of Durand, Michigan in 1960, and it has remained on static display there ever since.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ At one point, Southern Railway (SOU) president W. Graham Claytor offered Jensen to purchase No. 5629 for use on the SOU steam excursion program while cosmetically altered to resemble the Southern Railway Ps-4 class.[20] However, Jensen declined, believing his locomotive was too expensive to be purchased.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Drury (2015), p. 50.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Drury (2015), p. 71.
  3. ^ Drury (2015), p. 76.
  4. ^ a b Drury (2015), p. 204.
  5. ^ a b c d Drury (2015), p. 93.
  6. ^ a b c Drury (2015), pp. 224–225.
  7. ^ "Atlantic Coast Line 4-6-2 "Pacific" Locomotives in the USA 4-6-2 "Pacific" Locomotives in the USA". www.steamlocomotive.com. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  8. ^ a b c d Ziel (1990), p. 78.
  9. ^ a b Blaszak et al. (2014), p. 30.
  10. ^ Hubbard (1965), p. 32
  11. ^ Ingles (2001), p. 91
  12. ^ "Louisville & Nashville/Louisville, Henderson & St Louis 4-6-2 "Pacific" Locomotives in the USA 4-6-2 "Pacific" Locomotives in the USA". www.steamlocomotive.com. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  13. ^ a b c d "USRA Steam Locomotives: Atlantic Coast Line 1504 and Baltimore and Ohio 4500" (PDF). ASME. October 23, 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Atlantic Coast Line Locomotive No. 1504, Jacksonville, Fla". National Railway Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  15. ^ Huddleston (2002), p. 54.
  16. ^ Marbut, Max (June 4, 2021). "City may transfer historic locomotive at Prime Osborn". Jacksonville Daily Record. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  17. ^ "U.S. Sugar interested in acquiring second steam locomotive". Trains. Kalmbach Media. June 7, 2021. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  18. ^ admin (2021-03-18). "A Passion for Steam". The Trackside Photographer. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  19. ^ Keefe, Kevin (November 2, 2021). "You never forget your first fantrip". Classic Trains. Kalmbach Media. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Ziel (1990), p. 81.
  21. ^ a b Mahoney, Michelle (July 6, 1987). "Railroad Buffs Steamed by Plan to Scrap Antique Engine". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

Bibliography[edit]

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