Are the Southern Pacific 3-cylinder 5000 series 4-10-2s used only for passenger service throughout their careers.
AFAIK they were considered freight engines, not passenger engines. They only had 63.5" dia. drivers, similar to most Mikados or 2-10-2s of the era.
SPer Are the Southern Pacific 3-cylinder 5000 series 4-10-2s used only for passenger service throughout their careers.
I was surprised to find out the SP Century of Steam book states they were purchased for both freight and passenger trains between Roseville and Sparks, but the AC-4 classe soon replaced them in this service. I read some other reports that they really were bad on the Hill since they did not work well on the tight curves and caused a lot of problems with flange wear. This type of passenger service between Roseville and Sparks would limit the speed to their limits so they probably were used until other problems showed up with flange wear.
They were built for both types of service when new in 1925, but freight service was what they ended up being used for most of the time. They probably pulled a passenger train over Donner a few times, but did not work out very well in that service.
The 5021 is at Pomona Fair grounds and can be viewed at that location.
CZ
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