Reading T-1

Reading T-1
Reading 2124 on display at Steamtown National Historic Site
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Build date 1923 Rebuilder Reading Company Rebuild date 1945-1947
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte New: 2-8-0, Rebuilt: 4-8-4 Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 70 in (1,778 mm) Length 110 ft 6 in (33.68 m) Adhesive weight 278,200 lb (126,200 kilograms; 126.2 metric tons) Loco weight 441,300 lb (200,200 kilograms; 200.2 metric tons) Total weight 809,000 lb (367,000 kilograms; 367 metric tons) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 52,000 lb (24,000 kilograms; 24 metric tons) Water cap 19,000 US gallons (72,000 l; 16,000 imp gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 94.5 sq ft (8.78 m2) Boiler pressure 240 lbf/in2 (1.65 MPa) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 27 in × 32 in (686 mm × 813 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort Loco: 68,000 lbf (302.5 kN), Booster 11,100 lbf (49.4 kN) Factor of adh. 4.09
Career Operators Reading Company Class New: I-10a Rebuilt: T-1 Number in class 30 Nicknames T-Hog Retired 1956 (revenue) 1967(rambles) Disposition Four preserved, remainder scrapped.

The Reading T-1 is a class of 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives owned by the Reading Company. They were rebuilt from 30 I-10a 2-8-0s, between 1945-1947. Out of the 30 rebuilt, 4 survive today.

The T-1 class was designed by a consortium of the Reading Company's superintendent of motive power and rolling equipment, E.P. Gangewere and a team of engineers at the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The class was the brainchild of Reading Company President Revelle W. Brown, who had previously been President of the Lehigh Valley railroad. During his tenure on the Lehigh Valley, Brown had been thoroughly impressed by the road's 4-8-4 "Wyoming" locomotives. Upon becoming President of the Reading Company, Brown wanted a similar class of locomotives to replace the 2-8-0s, 2-8-2s, and 2-10-2s which handled the majority of freight traffic on the Reading system.

The T-1 class were built between 1945 and 1947 at the Reading Company's main locomotive shop in Reading, PA, using the boiler, firebox, and several other components of thirty existing I-10sa class 2-8-0s. The main reason for this was that the War Productions Board had outlawed the design of new locomotives, but allowed them to be rebuilt and modernized.

To fit the new cast steel engine beds supplied by General Steel Casting Corporation, the boiler was lengthened. This was done by replacing the first two boiler courses and adding a 187 in extension in addition to adding a new 111 in smokebox. The firebox was modified by adding thermic syphons and a combustion chamber.

Roller bearings supplied by Timken or SKF were used on the four wheel pilot and trailing trucks as well as the six wheel tender trucks. The first 20 examples, (2100-2119) used friction bearings on the eight driving wheels, while the final 10 (2120-2129), intended for both freight and passenger service, had roller bearings throughout. The driving wheels themselves used the Boxpok design with a diameter of 70 in.

The T-1 class entered service between 1945 and 1947 and were used primarily in fast freight service. Their operating territory encompassed most of the Reading system and they were frequently used in pool service with the Western Maryland Railway and became the basis for that road's "Potomac" class of 4-8-4s.

Assigned to freight service, the "T-Hogs" as they were affectionately known, primarily saw use on time-sensitive mixed freights as well as coal trains and also saw use in pusher service. In regular service, the T-1s were cleared to pull trains up to 150 cars in length. Despite being assigned to freight service, the T-1s were capable of powering passenger trains if needed, and the last 10 were equipped with steam heating for this purpose,cab signals were also added to 10 for use on the Bethlehem Branch in 1948. In actual service however, the T-1s rarely handled passenger trains outside of post-World war II troop trains.