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Need List of Steam Locomotive Types used from 1940 to 1960 in the US for Science Fair.

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  • Member since
    April 2006
  • From: Lewiston, Maine USA
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Need List of Steam Locomotive Types used from 1940 to 1960 in the US for Science Fair.
Posted by ModelTrainLover on Sunday, January 4, 2009 3:19 PM

Hey I need an accurate list of steam locomotive types along with their wheel arrangement, (i.e. Pacifics, Challengers ect) that were used from 1940 to 1960 for a High School Science Fair.

I need as many as I can get before february 12 and still have time to do research on them.

Thanks to all.

Maine Central rules! Lewiston High School Swimteam nickname: Loco Colby
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Posted by sprobst on Sunday, January 4, 2009 3:48 PM

Check www.steamlocomotive.com for lots of information.  The full list (including lots of rarely-used types is at:

 http://www.steamlocomotive.com/misc/wheels.shtml

 -- Steve

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  • From: Vancouver Island, BC
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Posted by selector on Sunday, January 4, 2009 9:43 PM

sprobst

Check www.steamlocomotive.com for lots of information.  The full list (including lots of rarely-used types is at:

 http://www.steamlocomotive.com/misc/wheels.shtml

 -- Steve

Very nice...point the young gentleman to the stacks and remind him to keep an eye on the clock. Big Smile

-Crandell

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Posted by ModelTrainLover on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 6:35 AM

That is a great site, but I need more info, like when the engines were built, top speed, trackive effort, ect. any of that kind of info would be of much help.

Maine Central rules! Lewiston High School Swimteam nickname: Loco Colby
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Posted by Been Nothing Since Frisco (BNSF) on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 7:00 AM

 Well a few I can think of that I've read about are

 USRA 2-8-8-2

 Y3 2-8-8-2

 some frisco steam that I'm preaty sure was used for 1940 - 1952

 1500& 4400 class 4-8-2

 4500 class 4-8-4

 4000-4400 class 2-8-2

That's what I can think of of the top of my head, you may get a better awnser on the MRR general discuiton forums, and If you don't get a reply there try prototype info for the modeler forums, but results are a little slow. Good luck w/ the scince fair!

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Posted by wjstix on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 9:44 AM

The problem is that if you're going to get into things like when the engines were built, tractive effort etc. your list is going to have to have hundreds of entries!!

Steam engines varied much more than diesels do. Except for the USRA engines, engine types weren't really standardized. Diesels are produced more like automobiles, you buy engine type A or type B based on your needs and what models the manufacturer offers. In steam days, each railroad worked with the builders to design a steam engine to match their specific needs. A steam enigne like a 4-8-2 Mountain might have drivers of 80" on one railroad, and 72" on another...or you could have 4-8-2's with different wheel heights built to run on different divisions of the same railroad.

A 4-6-2 Pacific passenger locomotive built for the Great Northern would be very different than one built for say Union Pacific or Lackawanna, even if they were all built by the same builder...and none of them would be all that similar to the 4-6-2's New York Central had built for freight train service!! Plus a railroad might have a run of 2-8-2's built by Baldwin, and a few years later have a second set of 2-8-2 Mikado-type engines built by Lima or Alco which might not be exactly identical to the earlier Baldwin engines.

 

Stix
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Posted by selector on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 2:16 PM

ModelTrainLover

That is a great site, but I need more info, like when the engines were built, top speed, trackive effort, ect. any of that kind of info would be of much help.

 

The information you need is available at that site.  Just click on each railroad that used the type and the brief history of acquisition is there for you. What may not be apparent to you is the "top" speed of the various models, but it can be derived by simply converting the stated driver diameter in inches to miles per hour.  For example, the Challengers from the UP were provided with 69" drivers, so their top speed was about 70 miles per hour...a general rule.  Note that the later Northern class of engines, the 4-8-4's, came with fine balancing and roller bearings in all axles and in the side rods...I'm not sure about the cranks and main rod, but I believe so.  In any event, the stated driver diameter has little or no bearing on the reasonable top and common speeds of these particular engines, and you can be sure that all of them could operate safely and effectively at speeds at or above 100 mph.

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Posted by ModelTrainLover on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 4:06 PM

Ah! Ok, thanks.

 

Maine Central rules! Lewiston High School Swimteam nickname: Loco Colby

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