Timken 1111

Timken 1111

Timken 1111 relettered and renumbered as Northern Pacific 2626 later in its career.

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder American Locomotive Company (Alco) Serial number 68056 Build date 1930

Specifications Configuration 4-8-4 UIC class 2′D2′ h2 Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 73 in (1,854 mm) Loco weight Working: 417,500 lb (208.8 ST; 186.4 LT; 189.4 t) Empty: 371,100 lb (185.6 ST; 165.7 LT; 168.3 t) Tender weight Working: 301,000 lb (151 ST; 134 LT; 137 t) Empty: 140,700 lb (70.4 ST; 62.8 LT; 63.8 t) Tender type Class 55E Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 21 short tons (18.8 long tons; 19.1 t) Water cap 14,550 US gal (55,100 l; 12,120 imp gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 88.3 sq ft (8.20 m2) Boiler pressure 250 lbf/in2 (1.72 MPa) Superheater Type E Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 27 in × 30 in (686 mm × 762 mm)

Performance figures Tractive effort Loco: 63,700 lbf (283.35 kN) Booster: 12,800 lbf (56.94 kN) Factor of adh. 3.84

Career Operators Northern Pacific Railroad Class A-1 Number in class 1 Numbers 2626 Nicknames Four Aces Locale regular service in Washington, Idaho and Montana Delivered February 8, 1933 Retired August 4, 1957 Disposition Scrapped, NP's South Tacoma Shops

Timken 1111, also called the Timken Four Aces, was a 4-8-4 steam locomotive built in 1930 by American Locomotive Company (Alco) to serve as a demonstration unit for new roller bearings produced by the Timken Roller Bearing Company. It was the first locomotive built with all sealed roller bearings rather than the friction bearings or a mix of the two types.

Timken chose a 4-8-4 on which to demonstrate the company's bearings so the locomotive could be used in all types of railroad work, especially on heavy freight and fast passenger trains. A total of 52 different parts manufacturers agreed to supply their parts for the locomotive "on account" until the locomotive operated over 100,000 miles (161,000 km). The suppliers' names were placed on a plaque that was fastened to the tender for the duration of the demonstration period.

Assembly took place at Alco's Schenectady, New York, plant, the former Schenectady Locomotive Works.

The locomotive's first demonstration runs were hauling freight on the New York Central Railroad. After those demonstrations, it was used on thirteen other major railroads, including the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, New Haven Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), in both freight and passenger service. The PRR used the locomotive on a passenger train where it hauled twelve passenger cars through the Allegheny Mountains so well that the train did not require the use of helpers and arrived at its destination three minutes early.