USRA Light Pacific

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USRA Light Pacific
Grand Trunk Western 4-6-2 5629 with fantrip at Valparaiso, IN on September 17, 1967 (26046388862).jpg
Grand Trunk Western No. 5629 on a fantrip excursion at Valparaiso, Indiana, 1967
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder
Build date1919–1920
Total produced106, plus copies
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-2
 • UIC2′C1′ h2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.73 in (1,854 mm)
Wheelbase
  • Coupled: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m)
  • Locomotive: 34 ft 9 in (10.59 m)
  • Loco & tender: 68 ft 7+1⁄2 in (20.92 m)
Axle load55,000 lb (25,000 kilograms)
Adhesive weight165,000 lb (75,000 kilograms)
Loco weight270,000 lb (120,000 kilograms)
Tender weight188,000 lb (85,000 kilograms)
Total weight414,000 lb (188,000 kilograms)
Fuel capacity16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons)
Water cap10,000 US gal (38,000 l; 8,300 imp gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		66.7 sq ft (6.20 m2)
Boiler pressure200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Heating surface3,333 sq ft (309.6 m2)
 • Tubes2,091 sq ft (194.3 m2)
 • Flues981 sq ft (91.1 m2)
 • Firebox234 sq ft (21.7 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area794 sq ft (73.8 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size25 in × 28 in (635 mm × 711 mm)
Valve type14-inch (356 mm) piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort40,700 lbf (181.0 kN)
Factor of adh.4.1
Career
Preserved2 (Atlantic Coast Line 1504 and Grand Trunk Western 5632)
Disposition1 original under restoration and 1 copy on static display, remainder scrapped

The USRA Light Pacific 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 passenger locomotive of the USRA types, and was 4-6-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′C1′ in UIC classification.

History[]

A total of 106 locomotives were built under USRA control; these were sent to the following railroads:

Table of original USRA allocation[1]
Railroad Quantity Class Road numbers Notes Retired
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL)
70
P-5-A
1500–1569
 165 P-5-Bs were also built as copies (Nos. 1600-1764) between 1922 and 1926 by BLW.[2] 1939-1953[2]
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O)
30
P-5
5200–5229
 Built by BLW (Nos. 5200-5219) and ALCO (Nos. 5220-5229) in 1919. 1951-1955[3]
Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N)
6
K-5
240–245
 20 copies (Nos. 264-283) built between 1923 and 1924.[4] 1945-1963
Total 106

After the dissolution of USRA, the ACL and L&N ordered additional copies of the USRA Light Pacific design,[2][4] while both the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) and the Mobile and Ohio Railroad (M&O) also ordered copies in the 1920s.[5][6]

Table of USRA copies
Railroad Quantity Class Road numbers Notes Retired
Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW)
8
K-4
5627-5634
 Built by both ALCO and BLW in 1924 and 1929, respectively.[5] 1960-1961[5]
Mobile and Ohio Railroad (M&O)
10
N/A
260-269
 Built by BLW.[6] 1946-1949[6]
Rutland Railroad (RUT)
6 in total, three in each class
K-1, K2
80-82 and 83-85 respectively
Built by Alco-Schenectady.
 1951-1953
Total 18

Notable locomotives[]

Atlantic Coast Line 1504[]

Atlantic Coast Line No. 1504 on static display at Jacksonville, Florida

No. 1504 is the only surviving original USRA Light Pacific.[7]: 6–7  Designated as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1990, it was formally on static display at Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center in Jacksonville, Florida.[7]: 8 [8] In 2021, the locomotive was removed from static display and purchased by the U.S. Sugar Corporation in Clewiston, Florida where it is going to be restored to operating condition for use in excursion service on the South Central Florida Express, Inc. as part of the Sugar Express tourist passenger train.[9][10]

Grand Trunk Western 5629[]

GTW No. 5629 at a roundhouse at Hammond, Indiana, 1964

No. 5629 was a K-4a Pacific, which was a copy of the 4-6-2 USRA Light Pacific-type built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1924 for the Grand Trunk Western.[5] After completing a railroad club-sponsored excursion in 1959, it was purchased by Richard Jensen for further excursion service in the 1960s.[11] It also pulled the Circus World Museum’s train from Baraboo to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Chicago and Northwestern trackage. However, a disastrous trip with No. 5629 towards its demise started in the early 1970s. Jensen originally wanted to use the 5629 to pull an excursion trip on Penn Central trackage, which was cancelled due to insurance issues with passenger cars, and it crippled Jensen's finances. Worse still, as the 1970s progressed, Jensen broke his back from a fall in a freak accident while helping a friend move a refrigerator to a third-floor apartment. This landed him in the hospital for several weeks. As such, he ran into major financial troubles in the mid 1970s and could not afford to run any more excursions with the locomotive.[12] He stored the No. 5629 locomotive at the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P) freight yard in Blue Island, Illinois.

In 1980, the CRI&P was filing for liquidation, as well as selling the Blue Island freight yard property to the Chicago commuter railroad, Metra,[13] who have ordered Jensen to move the No. 5629 locomotive to the nearby Iowa Interstate Railroad in order to redesign the Blue Island property and build a repair shop where the locomotive stood, but they refused to allow him to inspect the locomotive to have someone else move it.[14]

Metra stated that they would not help Jensen move the engine, either. However, Jensen decided to sign a restraining order where only he was allowed to touch his locomotive and no one else was. The Courts ruling was that Metra was allowed the use of its property, but Metra could not move it. Metra went back to court, asking relief, and got permission if it were not moved, to be scrapped. This would lead to a heated dispute as Metra, who became increasingly irritated about the presence of the 5629, threatened Jensen they would scrap the locomotive, if he did not move it out of the Blue Island freight yard. At that point, the Illinois Railway Museum (IRM) and the Mid-Continent Railway Museum were allowed by Metra to move the locomotive out, but could not have done so since it was owned by Jensen.

By June 1987, Jensen had been banned from entering the Blue Island yard to access the No. 5629 locomotive, as he had been selling several parts off of the locomotive to local railfans, so much so that Metra feared that the steam locomotive had become a safety hazard. Metra continued negotiating with Mr. Jensen, (so did the IRM and the Mid-Continent museum) but to no avail. After several preservationist groups, including the IRM and the Mid-Continent museum, attempted to purchase No. 5629 and move it out of harm's way free of charge without Jensen's permission, Metra contacted Erman-Howell, who scrapped the locomotive on July 14, 1987.[15]

Grand Trunk Western 5632[]

No. 5632 is a K-4b Pacific, which was also a copy of the USRA design, but with an all-weather cab. It was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1929,[5] and it was donated to the city of Durand, Michigan in 1961, and it has remained on display there ever since.

References[]

  1. ^ Drury (2015), p. 50.
  2. ^ a b c Drury (2015), p. 71.
  3. ^ Drury (2015), p. 76.
  4. ^ a b Drury (2015), p. 204.
  5. ^ a b c d e Drury (2015), p. 93.
  6. ^ a b c Drury (2015), pp. 224–225.
  7. ^ a b "USRA Steam Locomotives: Atlantic Coast Line 1504 and Baltimore and Ohio 4500" (PDF). ASME. October 23, 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  8. ^ "Atlantic Coast Line Locomotive No. 1504, Jacksonville, Fla". National Railway Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  9. ^ Marbut, Max (June 4, 2021). "City may transfer historic locomotive at Prime Osborn". Jacksonville Daily Record. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "U.S. Sugar interested in acquiring second steam locomotive". Trains. June 7, 2021. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  11. ^ admin (2021-03-18). "A Passion for Steam". The Trackside Photographer. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  12. ^ "Richard Jensen and the Story of CB&Q 4960, 4963, 5632 and GTW 5629". Steamlocomotive.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  13. ^ "Rock Island History". Metra. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  14. ^ "Articles". The Trackside Photographer. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  15. ^ Blaszak et al. (2014), p. 30.

Bibliography[]

  • Blaszak, Michael W.; Solomon, Brian; Gruber, John; Gruss, Chris (2014). Chicago: America's Railroad Capital: The Illustrated History, 1836 to Today (2nd ed.). Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4603-7.
  • Drury, George (2015). Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Revised Edition (2nd ed.). Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62700-259-2.
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