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.[6][7][8]
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.[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]
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]
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.[6][8][9] 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.[6]
See also
References
- ^ 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 g "Norfolk & Western 2050". Illinois Railway Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ a b Young (2013), p. 18
- ^ a b Huddleston (2002), p. 86
- ^ Young (2013), p. 172
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.
- Dixon, Thomas W. Jr.; Parker, Karen; Huddleston, Gene (2009). Norfolk & Western's Y-Class Articulated Steam Locomotives. TLC Publishing.
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