Chesapeake & Ohio 1308
Front and right side
Type and origin
References[1][2]
Power typeSteam
BuilderBaldwin Locomotive Works
Order number48001
Serial number74277
Build date1943
Total produced10
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-6-6-2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.56 in (1,422 mm)
Wheelbase48.8 ft (14.87 m)
Length99.7 ft (30.39 m)
Adhesive weight366,700 lb (166,332 kg)
Loco weight434,900 lb (197,267 kg)
Tender weight208,200 lb (94,438 kg)
Total weight643,100 lb (291,705 kg)
Tender type12-RC
Fuel typeSoft coal
Water cap.12,000 US gal (45,425 L; 9,992 imp gal)
Tender cap.16 short tons (15 t)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area72 sq ft (6.7 m2)
Boiler96 in (2,438 mm)
Boiler pressure210 psi (1.45 MPa)
Feedwater heaternone
Heating surface4,830 sq ft (449 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • TypeType A
 • Heating area991 sq ft (92.1 m2)
CylindersFour, compound: LP front, HP rear
High-pressure cylinder22 in × 32 in (559 mm × 813 mm)
Low-pressure cylinder35 in × 32 in (889 mm × 813 mm)
Valve gearWalschaerts
Loco brakeAir
Train brakesAir
Performance figures
Tractive effort98,700 lbf (439.04 kN)
Factor of adh.4.66
Career
OperatorsC&O
ClassH-6
Numbers1308
RetiredFebruary 29, 1956
PreservedSeptember 1962
Current ownerCollis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society, Inc.
DispositionOn static display, based in Huntington, West Virginia
Chesapeake and Ohio 1308 Steam Locomotive
Chesapeake and Ohio 1308 is located in West Virginia
Chesapeake and Ohio 1308
Chesapeake and Ohio 1308 is located in the United States
Chesapeake and Ohio 1308
Location1401 Memorial blvd., Huntington, West Virginia
Coordinates38°24′18.5″N 82°28′38″W / 38.405139°N 82.47722°W / 38.405139; -82.47722
Area0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built1949
ArchitectBaldwin Locomotive Works
Architectural styleH-6 Locomotive
NRHP reference No.02001571[3]
Added to NRHPJanuary 31, 2003

The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway No. 1308 is an articulated 2-6-6-2 "Mallet" type steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1949. It was the next to the last Class 1 mainline locomotive built by Baldwin, closing out more than 100 years of production, a total of more than 70,000 locomotives. Its other surviving sister locomotive, No. 1309, has been restored to operation at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Cumberland, Maryland.

History

While the engine was built in the 1943, it was among the last of a series of 2-6-6-2s that the C&O used, starting in 1911. A very similar design, the USRA 2-6-6-2 was chosen by the United States Railroad Administration as one of its standard designs thirty years earlier during World War I. The advantage of the design was that it could be used on the relatively light, tightly curved, branch lines in West Virginia and Kentucky coal country, and that's where it worked for its seven-year working life, making the two-hour run from Peach Creek, near Logan, West Virginia to the Ohio River at Russell, Kentucky with an occasional trip to Hinton, West Virginia.[1] Its use in heavy mountain railroading is emphasized by its two cross compound air compressors mounted on the smokebox door to supply enough air for frequent heavy braking.

The class was unusual for the time in that they were true Mallets, since their steam was expanded once in their smaller rear cylinders and then a second time in their larger front cylinders. While compound locomotives are more efficient than single expansion, their extra complication led to very few United States railroads using them after the turn of the century.[4] The C&O had a long history with Mallets and they were ideal for slow speed work in West Virginia.

After its last run on February 29, 1956, it was stored at Russell until the C&O gave it to the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society, Inc., a group founded in 1959.[5] Collis P. Huntington is best known as one of the Big Four who built the Central Pacific Railroad from San Francisco to Promontory, Utah, but following that he spent at least ten years as a leading figure of the C&O.[5] The town where 1308 sits is named for him.[5] The C&O donated the engine to the New River Train Group in 1962 as has been on since been on static display at the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society, Inc.[5]

The locomotive was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Chesapeake and Ohio 1308 Steam Locomotive in 2003.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "NRHP Registration Form: Chesapeake and Ohio 1308 Steam Locomotive" (PDF). West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  2. ↑ C. B. Peck (ed.). 1950-52 Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice. New York: Simmons-Boardman. p. 518.
  3. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  4. ↑ C.B. Peck (ed.). 1950-52 Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice. New York: Simmons-Boardman. pp. 500–538. Of 102 locomotives listed in detail, only 2 were compound, the N&W Y6 and the C&O H-6.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Casto, James E. (February 2004). "Saved from the Scrap Yard" (PDF). Wonderful West Virginia: 11–14.
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