Chesapeake and Ohio 614

Chesapeake & Ohio 614

Chesapeake and Ohio 614 in 2012

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Lima Locomotive Works Serial number 9306 Build date June 1948

Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-8-4  • UIC 2′D2′ h2 Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 72 in (1,829 mm) Length 112 ft 3 in (34.21 m) Adhesive weight 282,400 lb (128,100 kilograms; 128.1 metric tons) Loco weight 479,400 lb (217,500 kilograms; 217.5 metric tons) Total weight 865,530 lb (392,600 kilograms; 392.60 metric tons) Fuel type Coal Tender cap. As built: 21,500 US gal (81,000 l; 17,900 imp gal) water; 50,000 lb (23,000 kilograms; 23 metric tons) coal Current tender: 18,200 US gal (69,000 l; 15,200 imp gal) water; 100,000 lb (45,000 kilograms; 45 metric tons) coal, Auxiliary tender: 31,800 US gal (120,000 l; 26,500 imp gal) water Firebox:  • Firegrate area 100.3 sq ft (9.32 m2) Boiler pressure 255 lbf/in2 (1.76 MPa) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 27.5 in × 30 in (698 mm × 762 mm)

Performance figures Maximum speed 125 mph (201 km/h) Power output 5,000 hp (3,700 kW) Tractive effort 68,300 lbf (303.81 kN) Factor of adh. 4.13

Career Operators Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Class J-3-A Number in class 5 Numbers C&O 614, C&O 611 Retired 1952 (revenue) 1999 (excursion) Restored 1976 Current owner Iron Horse Enterprises Disposition Temporarily On Display in Clifton Forge, Virginia.

Chesapeake & Ohio 614 is a 4-8-4 steam locomotive built by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio, in June 1948 for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) as a member of the J3a class. As one of the last commercially built steam locomotives in the United States, the locomotive was built with the primary purpose of hauling long, heavy, high speed express passenger trains for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway such as the George Washington and the Fast Flying Virginian. Retired from active service in the late 1950s, the 614 was preserved and placed on display at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1979, the locomotive was restored to operating condition and was used for extensive mainline excursion service from the 1970s until the late 1990s. Today the locomotive is on temporary display at the C&O Railway Heritage Center in Clifton Forge, Virginia awaiting a potential return to steam.

Most railroads called their 4-8-4s "Northerns," which is short for the railroad first using the 4-8-4 type, Northern Pacific Railroad. The workers of the C&O could not see naming these locomotives "Northerns" as the railroad was based in the southeast. The famous Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, a major resort on the C&O main line, was the inspiration for the name "Greenbrier" applied to these 4-8-4s.

The C&O had a total of 12 4-8-4s, with the first five numbered 600-604 built in 1935, with the designation J-3. In 1942, two more were ordered from Lima numbered 605-606. In 1948, the design changed slightly and the 610-614 were produced, with the J-3-A designation. In 1952, 614 was retired from serrvice and sent to a storage track in a Kentucky roundhouse where she sat for more than two decades. During the time she sat, 614 was renumbered to 611 when there was a power shortage on the C&O as to alleviate any confusion with a leased 4-8-4 that was also numbered 614.