Norfolk and Western 2050
Norfolk and Western 2050 on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum in 2015.
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder ALCO's Richmond Works Serial number 64070 Build date 1923
Specifications Driver dia. 58 in (1.473 m) Length 113 ft (1,356.000 in) Width 11 ft 3 in Height 15 ft 8 in Fuel type Coal Boiler pressure 270 psi (1.862 MPa) Cylinders 4 Cylinder size 25 in × 32 in (640 mm × 810 mm) (Rear) 39 in × 32 in (990 mm × 810 mm) (Front) Loco brake 6ET[1]
Performance figures Tractive effort 114,154 lbf (507.78 kN) (Simple) 136,985 lbf (609.34 kN) (Compound)
Career Operators Norfolk and Western Railway Class Y3a Numbers N&W 2050 Retired 1959 Preserved 1975 Current owner Illinois Railway Museum Disposition On static display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois

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.^[1][2][3]

History

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.^[1]

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.^[1]

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.^[1][2] It was built to push heavy coal trains up the mountains.^[1]

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.^[1][3][4] It had eventually arrived at the Illinois Railway Museum in 1976 and was placed on static display at the museum and currently remains there to this day.^[1]

References

See also

• Illinois Railway Museum
• Norfolk and Western 2156
• USRA 2-8-8-2

Further reading

• Young, Jan (2013). Great Railroad Museums of the USA. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781300755555.
• Huddleston, Eugene L. (2002). Uncle Sam's Locomotives - The USRA and the Nation's Railroads. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253340863.