Norfolk & Western 2156
Norfolk & Western 2156
 |
| Type and origin |
| Power type |
Steam |
| Builder |
N&W's Roanoke Shops
|
| Serial number |
317 |
| Build date |
March 19, 1942 |
|
| Specifications |
| Configuration |
2-8-8-2 |
| UIC class |
(1′D)D1′ hv4 |
| Gauge |
4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Leading dia. |
30 in (762 mm) |
|
Driver dia. |
58 in (1,473 mm) (as built 57 in (1,448 mm)) |
| Trailing dia. |
30 in (762 mm) |
| Adhesive weight |
548,500 lb (248.8 tonnes) |
| Loco weight |
611,500 lb (277.4 tonnes) |
| Total weight |
990,100 lb (449.1 tonnes) (as built 961,500 lb (436.1 tonnes)) |
| Fuel type |
Coal |
| Fuel capacity |
60,000 lb (27.2 tonnes) |
| Water cap |
22,000 US gal (83,000 l; 18,000 imp gal) |
Firebox:
• Firegrate area |
106.2 sq ft (9.87 m2) |
| Boiler pressure |
300 psi (2.07 MPa) |
Superheater:
|
|
| • Heating area |
1,478 sq ft (137.3 m2) |
| Cylinders |
Four: two low-pressure (front), two high-pressure (rear) |
| High-pressure cylinder |
25 in × 32 in (635 mm × 813 mm) |
| Low-pressure cylinder |
39 in × 32 in (991 mm × 813 mm) |
|
| Performance figures |
| Power output |
5,600 hp (4,200 kW) (as built 4,400 hp (3,300 kW)) |
| Tractive effort |
166,000 lbf (738.4 kN) (as built 152,206 lbf (677.0 kN)) |
| Factor of adh. |
3.30 |
|
|
|
| Type and origin |
| Power type |
Steam |
| Builder |
N&W's Roanoke Shops
|
| Serial number |
317 |
| Build date |
March 19, 1942 |
| Specifications |
| Configuration |
2-8-8-2 |
| UIC class |
(1′D)D1′ hv4 |
| Gauge |
4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Leading dia. |
30 in (762 mm) |
|
Driver dia. |
58 in (1,473 mm) (as built 57 in (1,448 mm)) |
| Trailing dia. |
30 in (762 mm) |
| Adhesive weight |
548,500 lb (248.8 tonnes) |
| Loco weight |
611,500 lb (277.4 tonnes) |
| Total weight |
990,100 lb (449.1 tonnes) (as built 961,500 lb (436.1 tonnes)) |
| Fuel type |
Coal |
| Fuel capacity |
60,000 lb (27.2 tonnes) |
| Water cap |
22,000 US gal (83,000 l; 18,000 imp gal) |
Firebox:
• Firegrate area |
106.2 sq ft (9.87 m2) |
| Boiler pressure |
300 psi (2.07 MPa) |
Superheater:
|
|
| • Heating area |
1,478 sq ft (137.3 m2) |
| Cylinders |
Four: two low-pressure (front), two high-pressure (rear) |
| High-pressure cylinder |
25 in × 32 in (635 mm × 813 mm) |
| Low-pressure cylinder |
39 in × 32 in (991 mm × 813 mm) |
| Performance figures |
| Power output |
5,600 hp (4,200 kW) (as built 4,400 hp (3,300 kW)) |
| Tractive effort |
166,000 lbf (738.4 kN) (as built 152,206 lbf (677.0 kN)) |
| Factor of adh. |
3.30 |
Norfolk & Western 2156 is the strongest-pulling extant steam locomotive in the world, although it is not operational. It is a four-cylinder compound articulated (Mallet) locomotive with a 2-8-8-2 (Whyte notation) wheel arrangement. The Norfolk & Western Railway built it in 1942 at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, and it was part of the Norfolk & Western's Y6a class. It was retired from regular rail service in July 1959, and today it is owned by the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. In 2014, the St. Louis Museum of Transportation announced that a 5-year lease has been agreed upon between them and the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia. It was towed from St. Louis to Roanoke, Virginia on May 10, 2015.
Norfolk & Western 2156 is the sole survivor of the railroad's Y5, Y6, Y6a, and Y6b classes (in final form referred to as the "Improved Y5/Y6 class"). These locomotives were among the hardest-pulling steam locomotives ever built. They were originally rated for a tractive effort of 152,206 pounds-force (677.0 kN), and improvements in the 1950s resulted in most of these locomotives (including N&W 2156) having their tractive effort increased to a measured 166,000 pounds-force (738.4 kN), which necessitated adding about 28,000 pounds (12.7 t) of lead to the front engine frame, to improve traction. (By comparison, the famous Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives developed 135,375 pounds-force (602.2 kN) of tractive effort.) This pulling power is all the more remarkable insofar as the only successful steam locomotives that developed somewhat more tractive effort, the Virginian AE class 2-10-10-2s, pulled trains at about 8 mph (13 km/h), while the N&W Y6’s regularly pulled trains 50 mph (80 km/h), and some anecdotal evidence exists that they pulled trains successfully up to 63 mph (101 km/h).
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Wikipedia
