B&O EM1

[Anonymous]

Just saw a book with picture of the B&O 2-8-8-4 EM1 in it. They look really big and really powerful. Someone said they were 126 feet long and weighed over 1 million pounds. Is that true? Does anybody know anything about them? Were any of them saved?

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[Overmod]

I make them 125' 3" overall, which is only a nit-pick difference from what you indicate. The "million pounds" would easily be possible... with a full load of coal and water in the tender counting toward the total weight:

On drivers (available for traction) 485,000 lb
Total engine weight (full boiler) 629,000 lb
Tender weight 382,000 lb
Combination total weight 1011000 lb

That 11,000 lb is far from trivial, too!

These were far from the heaviest articulated locomotive, although they were one of the longest; one of the SP's later cab-forwards (a sort of honorary 2-8-8-4) would be over 20 tons heavier, and both NP and DM&IR had 2-8-8-4s that were over 100,000 lb heavier (!)

My understanding is that no EM-1s were saved, which is a pity.

[Anonymous]

In the pictures they looked more athletic than other articulated engines I have seen. Glad to hear they weren't so overweight. I bet they could move pretty fast. I hope some were saved, they were really good looking engines.

keep asking keep learning

[Anonymous]

Just did a thread search, and someone said the B&O sometimes even used the EM1 for passenger service. Is that true? Why would you need an engine that powerful on a passenger train?

keep asking keep learning

[Anonymous]

The EM1 story is a little sadder than that. The story goes that B&O had determined to save one EM1 for their historical collection...today's B&O Railroad Museum. Some local mechanical department boss didn't get the word in time, and cut up the last EM1...the one to go to Baltimore.

[Anonymous]

The EM-1 was basically the same order as the cab forwards, but assembled like a common locomotive. It is sad none were saved, I would have liked to see one up close. As for passenger, I wouldn't doubt they used them for mountainous terrain.

[Anonymous]

Thirty EM-1's were constructed for the B&O by Baldwin 1944-45 to help with war time tonnage. The B&O was desperate for motive power, unable to buy more road diesels because of government regulations and settled for steam. They went to work on the Cumberland Division hauling coal and merchandise between Grafton, West Virginia, Cumberland and Brunswick, Maryland. The severe grades on the west end (about 70 miles of up and down ) called for massive amounts of motive power. The B&O pioneered the use of articulated motive power in the USofA. The first one was Old Maude built 1904 for use west of Cumberland on Sand Patch grade .
The EM-1's were some of the most powerful articulated locomotives constructed although not as heavy as their western brothers. But a combination of big firebox (117sqft),and 485,000 lbs on the 64inch drivers produced 115,000 pounds of TE. They worked mainly in freight service but were used for a short time on Express trains. This was stopped after #7625 at the head of Mail 29 rolled over in 1947 near Oakland Maryland and killed the engineer. When diesels arrived on the west end EM1s were transferred to the Pittsburgh Divison and to hauling coal to Lorain, Ohio from Fairmont, WVa. Many were cut up in Cumberland. All were gone by 1960.

[Modelcar]

I have a book of photos and descriptions of operations from the past of the B&O and one photo shows an EM-1 at Cumberland station with a {fan}, passenger train connected to it...The date is September 1956. Under the same photo it mentions the EM-1's weren't worked in regular passenger service since 1947, so that at least tells us they did pull passenger trains. Book is "B&0 Thurder In The Alleghenies. It is a powerful, mean looking engine.