Norfolk and Western 2050

Norfolk and Western 2050 is a class "Y3a" 2-8-8-2 Mallet steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) at their own Richmond Works for the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1923.

Norfolk and Western 2050
Norfolk and Western 2050 on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum in 2015.
Type and origin References: Power type Steam Builder ALCO's Richmond Works Serial number 64070 Build date March 1923
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-8-2  • UIC (1′D)D1′ hv4 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 30 in (760 mm) Driver dia. 57 in (1,400 mm) Trailing dia. 30 in (760 mm) Tender wheels 33 in (840 mm) Wheelbase 67 ft 4 in (20.52 m) ​  • incl. tender 93 ft 3 in (28.42 m) Length 113 ft 3 in (34.52 m) Width 11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) Height 15 ft 8+5⁄8 in (4.79 m) Adhesive weight 478,000 lb (217,000 kg) Loco weight 531,000 lb (241,000 kg) Tender weight 209,100 lb (94,800 kg) Total weight 740,100 lb (335,700 kg) Tender type Water bottom Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons) Water cap. 12,000 US gal (45,000 L; 10,000 imp gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 96 sq ft (8.9 m2) Boiler: ​  • Type Straight Top  • Diameter 98 in (2,500 mm)  • Small tubes 2+1⁄4 in (57 mm)  • Large tubes 5+1⁄2 in (140 mm) Boiler pressure 240 psi (1.655 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 435 sq ft (40.4 m2)  • Tubes 3,860 sq ft (359 m2)  • Flues 1,825 sq ft (169.5 m2)  • Total surface 6,120 sq ft (569 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 145 sq ft (13.5 m2) Cylinders Four: two low-pressure (front), two high-pressure (rear) High-pressure cylinder 25 in × 32 in (640 mm × 810 mm) Low-pressure cylinder 39 in × 32 in (990 mm × 810 mm) Valve gear Baker Valve type Piston Loco brake 6ET
Performance figures Tractive effort (Simple: 121,600 lbf (540.9 kN)) (Compound: 101,300 lbf (450.6 kN))
Career Operators Norfolk and Western Railway Class Y3a Number in class 1 of 30 Numbers N&W 2050 Retired 1959 Preserved 1975 Current owner Illinois Railway Museum Disposition On static display

History

During World War I, a government agency called the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) took over most of the major railroads. The USRA developed several standard steam locomotive designs, among them a heavy 2-8-8-2 for freight service.

The Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) liked this design so much that after the USRA had disbanded in 1922, they started building more locomotives to basically the same plan, with minor improvements. N&W had continued to refine the design and they had built the same locomotive design until 1952.

Norfolk and Western 2050 was manufactured in 1923 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) at their own Richmond Works and it was the first member of the N&W's Class Y3a numbered 2050-2079 as copies of the USRA 2-8-8-2 locomotives. It was built to push heavy coal trains up the mountains.

When diesels locomotives had replaced steam locomotives, 2050 became a stationary boiler at the Armco Steel Plant in Middletown, Ohio. The locomotive sat in storage for 20 years until being purchased in 1975 by the Illinois Railway Museum. It had eventually arrived at the Illinois Railway Museum in 1976 and was placed on static display at the museum and currently remains there to this day.

See also

• Norfolk and Western 2156
• USRA 2-8-8-2

Further reading

• Young, Jan (2013). Great Railroad Museums of the USA. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781300755555.
• Huddleston, Eugene L. (2002). Uncle Sam's Locomotives - The USRA and the Nation's Railroads. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253340863.
• Dixon, Thomas W. Jr.; Parker, Karen; Huddleston, Gene (2009). Norfolk & Western's Y-Class Articulated Steam Locomotives. TLC Publishing.