Norfolk and Western 2050
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Norfolk and Western 2050 is a class "Y3a" 2-8-8-2 Mallet steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) at their own Richmond Works for the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1923.
History[edit]
During World War I, a government agency called the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) took over most of the major railroads. The USRA developed several standard steam locomotive designs, among them a heavy 2-8-8-2 for freight service.[6]
The Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) liked this design so much that after the USRA had disbanded in 1922, they started building more locomotives to basically the same plan, with minor improvements. N&W had continued to refine the design and they had built the same locomotive design until 1952.[6]
Construction and revenue service[edit]
Norfolk and Western 2050 was manufactured in 1923 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) at their own Richmond Works and it was the first member of the N&W's Class Y3a numbered 2050-2079 as copies of the USRA 2-8-8-2 locomotives.[6][7] It was built to push heavy coal trains up the mountains.[6]
Retirement and preservation[edit]
When diesels locomotives had replaced steam locomotives, 2050 became a stationary boiler at the Armco Steel Plant in Middletown, Ohio. The locomotive sat in storage for 20 years until being purchased in 1975 by the Illinois Railway Museum (IRM), a museum currently based in Union, Illinois.[6][8] In 1976, the locomotive had eventually arrived at the IRM and was placed on static display at the museum and currently remains there to this day.[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Dixon, Parker & Huddleston (2009), p. 45
- ^ Dixon, Parker & Huddleston (2009), p. 46
- ^ Dixon, Parker & Huddleston (2009), p. 59
- ^ "Norfolk & Western 2050". Illinois Railway Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ Dixon, Parker & Huddleston (2009), p. 48
- ^ a b c d e f "Norfolk & Western 2050". Illinois Railway Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ Drury, George H. (1993). Guide to North American Steam Locomotives. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company. pp. 299, 308. ISBN 978-1-62700-259-2.
- ^ Huddleston (2002), p. 86
Bibliography[edit]
- Huddleston, Eugene L. (2002). Uncle Sam's Locomotives - The USRA and the Nation's Railroads. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253340863.
Further reading[edit]
- Dixon, Thomas W. Jr.; Parker, Karen; Huddleston, Gene (2009). Norfolk & Western's Y-Class Articulated Steam Locomotives. TLC Publishing.
- "A MEETING OF THE GENERATIONS". Rail & Wire. No. 150. November 1994. pp. 1–5.