The USRA Light Mountain was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. This was the standard light freight locomotive of the USRA types, and was of 4-8-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′D1′ in UIC classification.

USRA Light Mountain
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder
Build date1918-1930
Total produced47 (90 plus copies)
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte4-8-2
 • UIC2′D1′ h2
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.69 in (1,753 mm)
Wheelbase
  • Coupled: 18 ft 3 in (5.56 m)
  • Locomotive: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
  • Loco & tender: 75 ft 8+12 in (23.08 m)
Axle load55,000 lb (24,900 kg)
Adhesive weight220,000 lb (99,800 kg)
Loco weight320,000 lb (145,100 kg)
Tender weight172,000 lb (78,000 kg)
Total weight492,000 lb (223,200 kg)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity32,000 lb (14,500 kg)
Water cap.10,000 US gal (37,900 L; 8,300 imp gal)
Firebox:
 • Grate area70.8 sq ft (6.58 m2)
Boiler pressure200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Heating surface:
 • Firebox329 sq ft (30.6 m2)
 • Tubes2,598 sq ft (241.4 m2)
 • Flues1,176 sq ft (109.3 m2)
 • Total surface4,130 sq ft (384 m2)
Superheater:
 • Heating area957 sq ft (88.9 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size27 in × 30 in (686 mm × 762 mm)
Valve gearBaker, then Walschaerts
Valve type14-inch (356 mm) piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort53,900 lbf (239.76 kN)
Factor of adh.4.1
Career
Scrapped1943-1959
DispositionAll scrapped

A total of 47 locomotives were built under the auspices of the USRA.

Original owners

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USRA originals

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Railroad Quantity Class Road
numbers
Notes
Missouri Pacific Railroad 7 MT-69 5301–5307 Built 1919 by ALCO. All scrapped, 1943-1947.
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway 5 J1-54 550–554 Built 1919 by ALCO-Richmond. All scrapped, 1945-1949.
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 10 R-1 3300–3309 Built 1919 by ALCO-Schenectady. All scrapped, 1949-1951.
Southern Railway 25 Ts-1 1475–1499 Built 1919 by ALCO. Three to AGS 6692–6694,
five to CNOTP 6495–6499. All scrapped, 1950-1955.
Total 47

Copies

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Railroad Quantity Class Road
numbers
Notes
Louisville and Nashville Railroad 22 L-1 400–421 Built 1926-1930 by Baldwin . All Scrapped 1953-1957
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway 8 J1-54 555–562 Built 1922 by Baldwin. All scrapped, 1955-1956.
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 30 R-1-a 3310–3339 Built 1919 by ALCO. All scrapped, 1943-1958.
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 9 R-1-b 3304–3348 Built 1918-1919 by ALCO. All scrapped, 1943-1945.
New York, Ontario and Western Railway
Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (Soo Line) 21 N-20 4000–4020 Built 1926-1930 by ALCO and Soo Line. All scrapped, 1944-1959.
Total 90

None of the originals built by the USRA or any of the subsequent copies were preserved, being scrapped from 1943 to 1959.

References

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  • Drury, George H. (1993), Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company, ISBN 0-89024-206-2, LCCN 93041472
  • Edson, William D.; Corley, Raymond F. (Autumn 1982). "Locomotives of the Grand Trunk Railway". Railroad History. 147 (147). Boston, Mass.: Railway and Locomotive Historical Society: 42–183. JSTOR 43520915.
  • Huddleston, Eugene L. (2002). Uncle Sam's Locomotives: The USRA and the Nation's Railroads. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34086-1.
  • Westcott, Linn H. (1960). Model Railroader Cyclopedia, Volume 1: Steam Locomotives. Milwaukee, Wis.: Kalmbach Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89024-001-9.