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PHOTOGRAPHS OF 4-4-2 TYPE STEAM LOCOMOTIVES

IN THE UNITED STATES

PITTSBURG & LAKE ERIE 303 RACING THROUGH STOOP'S FERRY , PENNSYLVANIA IN 1907

RAILROAD MAGAZINE COVER BY HOWARD FOGG

THIS SITE OFFERS ABOUT 180 PHOTOGRAPHS OF 4-4-2 LOCOMOTIVES FROM MY COLLECTION. IT DOES NOT INCLUDE A PICTURE OF AN ATLANTIC FROM EVERY RAILROAD IN THE UNITED STATES WHICH USED A 4-4-2 BUT NEARLY THREE DOZEN RAILROADS ARE REPRESENTED. THE SITE IS NOT INTENDED AS A COMPLETE HISTORY BUT I BELIEVE IT PROVIDES A REASONABLY COMPREHENSIVE VIEW. THE SITE IS DESIGNED MAINLY TO APPEAL TO THOSE WHO JUST LIKE LOOKING AT STEAM LOCOMOTIVES.

ILLINOIS CENTRAL 1011 BUILT BY ROGERS IN 1903 AND SCRAPPED IN 1946

Leaving Jackson Mississipi with the Edwards Hotel in the background. Photo by H. W. Pontin.

The Atlantic type steam locomotive is associated with speed. The fabled but unofficial steam speed record of 127 miles per hour was set by a Pennsylvania 4-4-2. When in 1935 the Milwaukee Road needed a locomotive capable of pulling a streamlined "Hiawatha" train at speeds over 100 miles per hour it chose an Atlantic which reportedly reached over 128 miles per hour on test. The Reading provided frequent service between Camden (Philadelphia) and Atlantic City pulled by Atlantics which averaged over 70 miles per hour between stops. The Pennsylvania competed with the Reading by building Atlantics that pulled 10 or 11 car trains at officially recorded speeds in the high 90's. The "Coyote Special" which made record time over the Santa Fe from Los Angeles to Chicago was entrusted to Atlantics to make the fastest time. Nine of the 20 engines which pulled the train were Atlantics and they averaged over 60 miles per hour for five of the roughly 100 mile segments. It was a 4-4-2 that carried a newsreel between Washington and New York of Lindbergh's return to the United States faster than a competing airplane. The New Haven used an Atlantic to substitute for "The Comet" when the streamlined diesel train was out of service and the 4-4-2's readily matched the streamliner's fast schedule.

Lehigh Valley F-3 2416 was built by Baldwin in 1910 and is a 4-4-2 despite the misleading large trailing wheel.

Note the long train and Hall "Banjo" signals.

Atlantics in the United States were not designed for freight service but were nevertheless powerful locomotives which generally used their horsepower to achieve speed rather than to lug tonnage. The ability of a locomotive to start a train is dependent on adhesion; that is, the amount of weight on its drivers. The amount of weight that can safely rest on the driving wheels is determined by factors such as the size of a railroad's rails and the strength of its bridges. A factor of adhesion of somewhat over four is necessary for reasonable starting effort; that is, the weight on drivers must be over four times the tractive force produced by the engine. Consequently, a railroad which can tolerate only about 60,000 lbs. per axle can only employ about 30,000 lbs. of tractive force on two driving axles; that is, 120,000 lbs. of weight on the two driving axles of a 4-4-2 will provide a factor of adhesion of 4 when the engine produces 30,000 lbs. of tractive force. When 4-4-2's were introduced most railroads did not have trackage that could withstand heavy axle loads nor did the light trains of the time demand high starting tractive force. When the Atlantics were under way, however, their large boilers produced ample steam for the horsepower needed to reach high speeds.

Sullivan County 11 at Hartland, Vermont c.1914. The 4-4-2 is a Boston & Maine J-1-b assigned to the subsidiary that runs along the Connecticut River.

Although Alantics are relatively small locomotives they are generally capable of handling moderate sized trains, even the steel cars that replaced the wood cars that were used at the time the Atlantic Coast Line had Baldwin build the first Atlantic type in 1895. The first Atlantic weighed only 129,800 lbs., just a little more than half the weight of a Pennsylvania RR E-6 built in1914. The first Atlantic produced only 18,400 lbs. of tractive force while the E-6 produced 31,275 lbs. If a railroad felt more tractive force was needed to start a heavy train a booster was added to the trailing truck to add another 10,000 lbs. or so which made an Atlantic comparable in starting power to many six-coupled Pacific type locomotives. Indeed, the Milwaukee Road 4-4-2's built in 1935 and 1937 weighed as much as a light Pacific and had as long a wheel base.

It was not common for an Atlantic to pull a freight train but because the Illinois Central needed more freight power during the war, in 1942-1943 it reduced the wheel diameter of ten of its Atlantics from 80" to 63 1/2" and raised the boiler pressure to 225 lb. from 185 lb.

The modifications raised the engine's tractive force to 39,500 lbs. and made them suitable for branch line freight work. One of the group had its cylinder bore increased by 1.5" which boosted tractive force to 44,000 lbs. Since weight on drivers did not increase greatly, the engines had a low factor of adhesion.

FAST MAIL IN 1899 by HOWARD FOGG

CB&Q Vauclain Compound 1592 Between Aurora and Galesburg

ORGANIZATION OF THE SITE

The roughly 180 photographs which follow are in order of the year the locomotive was built. It may have been simpler to arrange them by railroad but I decided this arrangement shows how the 4-4-2 evolved and may help when comparing the differences in design and style. However, the arrangement is not ideal because some photos show relatively new engines while others show engines after having been modified in later years.

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