QUOTE: Originally posted by Old Timer Murphy Siding - the four-wheel trailer was necessary to carry the weight of the larger firebox. C&O and NKP fans will tell you that the AMC Berkshires were better, but they're prejudiced. There were two sizes of the AMC Berks - the C&O was larger (one inch larger cylinders, etc.) and the NKP was smaller. But neither was as pretty as the L&N Berk, which was a match for the smaller AMC. Old Timer
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
QUOTE: Originally posted by bobwilcox QUOTE: Originally posted by Murphy Siding bobwilcox: Thanks. I read the article on the link. It's not really clear why the AMC designed Berkshire was better than the Lima or Alco Berkshires. Perhaps just a better engineered design? The article talks about the jump from 2-8-2 wheel layout to 2-8-4 as providing more carrying capacity for a bigger firebox. What would be the advantage of the 4 wheel leading trucks on some later designs? A bigger firebox. The larger the grate area the more fuel you can burn at one time, the more heat and the more steam. The grate area on a USRA 2-8-2 was 70.8 sq ft., a B&A 2-8-4 100 sq ft and a UP Big Boy 150.3 sq ft.
QUOTE: Originally posted by Murphy Siding bobwilcox: Thanks. I read the article on the link. It's not really clear why the AMC designed Berkshire was better than the Lima or Alco Berkshires. Perhaps just a better engineered design? The article talks about the jump from 2-8-2 wheel layout to 2-8-4 as providing more carrying capacity for a bigger firebox. What would be the advantage of the 4 wheel leading trucks on some later designs?
QUOTE: Originally posted by Murphy Siding I've mentioned that steam locomotives didn't do much for me,but I have been doing quite a bit of railroad reading recently-so they might grow on me.[:)] In the steam era, it appeared that nearly every railroad had almost custom designed engines, specifically for it's route. I'm familiar with some of the more famous ones:Big Boy, Challenger,Berkshire,J-1(? N&W), and a few others. What are some of the other well known types that other railroads had? And can you explain to this *diesel* fan what the signifigance of the type was? I still have a hard time seeing the difference between two similar types. Thanks!
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