Chesapeake and Ohio 1308

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. The last locomotive, its sister, No. 1309, has been restored to operation at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Cumberland, Maryland.

Chesapeake & Ohio 1308
Front and right side
Type and origin References[1][2] Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Order number 48001 Build date 1949 Total produced 9
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-6-6-2 Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 56 in (1,422 mm) Wheelbase 48.8 ft (14.87 m) Length 99.7 ft (30.39 m) Adhesive weight 366,700 lb (166,332 kg) Loco weight 434,900 lb (197,267 kg) Tender weight 208,200 lb (94,438 kg) Total weight 643,100 lb (291,705 kg) Tender type 12-RC Fuel type Soft coal Water cap 12,000 US gal (45,425 l; 9,992 imp gal) Tender cap. 16 short tons (15 t) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 72 sq ft (6.7 m2) Boiler 96 in (2,438 mm) Boiler pressure 210 psi (1.45 MPa) Feedwater heater none Heating surface 4,830 sq ft (449 m2) Superheater: ​  • Type Type A  • Heating area 991 sq ft (92.1 m2) Cylinders Four, compound: LP front, HP rear High-pressure cylinder 22 in × 32 in (559 mm × 813 mm) Low-pressure cylinder 35 in × 32 in (889 mm × 813 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Loco brake Air Train brakes Air
Performance figures Tractive effort 98,700 lbf (439.04 kN) Factor of adh. 4.66
Career Operators C&O Class H-6 Numbers 1308 Last run February 29, 1956 Retired 1956 Current owner Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society, Inc. Disposition On static display, based in Huntington, West Virginia Chesapeake and Ohio 1308 Steam Locomotive U.S. National Register of Historic Places Show map of West Virginia Show map of the United States Location 1401 Memorial blvd., Huntington, West Virginia Coordinates 38°24′18.5″N 82°28′38″W Area 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) Built 1949 Architect Baldwin Locomotive Works Architectural style H-6 Locomotive NRHP reference No. 02001571[3] Added to NRHP January 31, 2003

While 1308 was built in the 1949, 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. The town where 1308 sits is named for him.

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