Santa Fe 2-8-8-2´s

[De Luxe]

 Hello everybody,

in Classic Trains Winter 2000 issue on page 98 I see a picture with a big Santa Fe 2-8-8-2 (maybe a Y-3) helping a 4-8-4 with a long streamliner train. Here is my question: Did Sante Fe lease these 2-8-8-2 Mallets because of increased wartime traffic or so? I´m asking this because I can never recall knowing a Santa Fe Mallet in the late steam era on that railroad. I always thought that for the Santa Fe 2-10-4´s and 4-8-4 were enough to handel all trains, they never had any big Mallets in the later era, or did they?

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The 2-8-8-2's in question were Y-3's puchased from N&W to handle wartime traffic.  Santa Fe had a strong aversion to any articulated locomotives after its experience in the pre-WW1 era.

[De Luxe]

 Thanks for the info. I know Santa Fe had struggles with their 2-10-10-2 and 4-6-6-2 types...but why did they choose the 2-8-8-2, and why from the N&W? They also could have borrowed some Cab Forwards, would have been closer to get than the Y-3´s of the N&W. Or why did they choose an articulated at all to handle the suprlus of traffic? Some 2-10-4´s of the T&P would have probably also been possible to lease...

 Daniel

[mudchicken]

Because they were available (WRB said so), they could work Raton Pass at low speed (were they almost all wound up, maintained at either Trinidad or Raton) and as opposed to other articulateds, could handle the curvature.

[oldline1]

"Thanks for the info. I know Santa Fe had struggles with their 2-10-10-2 and 4-6-6-2 types...but why did they choose the 2-8-8-2, and why from the N&W? They also could have borrowed some Cab Forwards, would have been closer to get than the Y-3´s of the N&W. Or why did they choose an articulated at all to handle the suprlus of traffic? Some 2-10-4´s of the T&P would have probably also been possible to lease...

 Daniel"

The N&W Y-3's were available for sale at the time. I don't think the SP had any spare Cab Wrongwards for sale or lease as they were particularly busy as was the T&P with their 2-10-4s. Being close by wasn't necessarily a requirement when looking for lease/purchase engines.

The Y-3s were fairly good locomotives and many roads used the basic USRA 2-8-8-2s (Y-3s) with good results. Santa Fes earlier articulateds weren't as well designed as the USRA. They tried some rather poor designs on early artics like the bellows betwen front and rear boiler sections. Not a very practical or maintenance friendly design.

The Santa Fe sold the Y-3s to the Virginian after the war and they used them until the end of steam and even rebuilt them into a better, modified class.

Roger

[sd75t]

Santa Fe's earlier 2-8-8-2 designs were not actually poor designs, and they lasted longer (15 years) than any other Santa Fe Mallets save the 2-6-6-2 designs they had.  The 2-8-8-2's were never repeated because John Purcell became the motive power chief, and he had an aversion to the increased maintenance and the fact that at higher speeds, horsepower could be developed just as easily with simple locomotives and they had better speed characteristics which was always more important to Santa Fe.

The Y-3's were sold off after the war partly because they were too slow coming back down Raton Pass after helping a train and they could not clear for other trains fast enough.  Even on Raton Pass, speed was an issue.

Steve

[JimValle]

It should be noted that the Y-3s were chosen because they were surplus power on the N&W which had invested heavily in newer articulateds during the 1930's  In addition to the Santa Fe, the Pennsylvania got seven transfered to it's Middle Division in 1943 and I believe that the Union Pacific also got some to help out with wartime traffic.  Pennsy found that they were too slow for mainline service and put them to work in hump and transfer service.