Looking at the results, seems to provide more than enough evidence that there is no consensus as well as criteria. This seems to indicate why a reproduction in a new locomotive like Tornado will never occur here.
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
My favorites in order
Reading T1
Lehigh Valley T3
New York Central S1
Pennsylvania R1
Soviet Rails Northern
Western Maryland Patomic
Reading T-1
C&O J3a
MILW S3
N&W J
Here's my choices:
C&O J-3a 610-613
RF&P Governors
NC&StL Yellow Jackets & Stripes
Roger Huber
i would think all 4 8 4s are good engines. too many to choose from. the J stays with me because it has the most (80,000 lbs TE) and can still run 100 plus mph. seems to be the best of both speed and tractive effort. with that being said, i have tons of books that show a burlington 4-8-4 pulling 155 empty boxcars, and some santa fe engines with 100 plus cars just to name a few with less tractive effort than the J.
This type of thread can be fun, but I'm afraid it will be inconclusive except to reveal people's preferences in variance. We discussed this question at great length about four years ago in the Classic Trains forum. The problem lies in defining "top", or "best". There are so many factors and variables to take into consideration, not the least of which is the terrain and working requirement set out at the time of design and matching that requirement to how the engines performed in an objective manner. It would be a gargantuan task to work through all the reams of paperwork and records, assuming they were veridical and that the standards of measurement were the same from road to road...which they were not.
So, with what little I know, and I do emphasize little, my choices, especially if I were to be rewarded with even 30 minutes of footplate time on them as a result of my selection, would be:
First, the S1b Niagara
Second, the J Class
Third, the UP's FEF, don't really/can't really say which version...pick one for me...
Fourth, ATSF 3759, the one on display at Kingman, AZ
Fifth, just 'cuz, the CN/GTW U 3/4 class flyers.
-Crandell
In no particular order:
SAR 25 class
SNCF 242 A 1
C&NW H
ATSF 3776 class (2900's were war babies and heavier)
C&O's Greenbrier class
ATSF's 3751 class
SP's GS4 class
N&W J class
MLW's S3 class
A mighty fine lineup of steam locomotives....
Luke
- Luke
Modeling the Southern Pacific in the 1960's-1980's
SAR 'Red Devil'
NYC Niagara
SP GS3-6
ATSF 2900
(UP's FEF-3 missed the cut because of its limited cutoff. Its main bearings can't handle all the power the cylinders can put out.)
Chuck
ok, lets here them. whats your opinion. mine would be, in no particular order...
santa fe....probably the 2900s
norfolk and western Js (who would have ever thought that!)
new york central's niagra's
union pacifics last batch
c & o 610-614
rock island's and the southern pacific's should be there i guess (no roller bearings for the sp) not sure about the rock island engines.
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