USRA Light Pacific

The USRA Light Pacific was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. This was the standard light passenger locomotive of the USRA types, and was 4-6-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′C1′ in UIC classification.

USRA Light Pacific
Grand Trunk Western No. 5629 on a fantrip excursion at Valparaiso, Indiana, 1967
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder
Build date1919–1920
Total produced106, plus copies
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-2
 • UIC2′C1′ h2
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.73 in (1,854 mm)
Wheelbase
  • Coupled: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m)
  • Locomotive: 34 ft 9 in (10.59 m)
  • Loco & tender: 68 ft 7 1⁄2 in (20.92 m)
Axle load55,000 lb (25,000 kilograms)
Adhesive weight165,000 lb (75,000 kilograms)
Loco weight270,000 lb (120,000 kilograms)
Tender weight188,000 lb (85,000 kilograms)
Total weight414,000 lb (188,000 kilograms)
Fuel capacity16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons)
Water cap10,000 US gal (38,000 l; 8,300 imp gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		66.7 sq ft (6.20 m2)
Boiler pressure200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Heating surface3,333 sq ft (309.6 m2)
 • Tubes2,091 sq ft (194.3 m2)
 • Flues981 sq ft (91.1 m2)
 • Firebox234 sq ft (21.7 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area794 sq ft (73.8 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size25 in × 28 in (635 mm × 711 mm)
Valve type14-inch (356 mm) piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort40,700 lbf (181.0 kN)
Factor of adh.4.1
Career
Preserved1 (Atlantic Coast Line 1504)
Disposition1 original on display, remainder scrapped

History

A total of 106 locomotives were built under USRA control; these were sent to the following railroads:

Table of original USRA allocation[1]
RailroadQuantityClassRoad numbersNotes
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL)
70
P-5-A
1500–1569
165 P-5-Bs were also built as copies (Nos. 1600-1764) between 1922 and 1926 by BLW.[2]
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O)
30
P-5
5200–5229
Built by BLW (Nos. 5200-5219) and ALCO (Nos. 5220-5229) in 1919.[3]
Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N)
6
K-5
240–245
20 copies (Nos. 264-283) built between 1923 and 1924.[4]
Total106

After the dissolution of USRA, the ACL and L&N ordered additional copies of the USRA Light Pacific design,[2][4] while both the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) and the Mobile and Ohio Railroad (M&O) also ordered copies in the 1920s.[5][6]

Notable locomotives

Atlantic Coast Line No. 1504
Atlantic Coast Line No. 1504 on static display at Jacksonville, Florida

Atlantic Coast Line No. 1504 is the only surviving original USRA Light Pacific.[7]:6–7 Designated as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1990, it is currently on static display at Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center in Jacksonville, Florida.[7]:8[8]

Grand Trunk Western No. 5629
GTW No. 5629 at a roundhouse at Hammond, Indiana, 1964

Grand Trunk Western No. 5629 was also a copy of the 4-6-2 USRA Light Pacific-type, built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1924.[5] In 1959, it was purchased by Richard Jensen for excursion service in the 1960s, and it also pulled the Circus World Museum’s train from Baraboo to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Chicago and Northwestern trackage.[9] However, a disastrous trip with the No. 5629 towards its demise started in the early 1970s. Jensen originally wanted to use the 5629 to pull an excursion trip on Penn Central trackage, which was cancelled due to insurance issues and it crippled Jensen's finances. Worse still, as the 1970s progressed, Jensen broke his back from a fall in a freak accident while helping a friend move a refrigerator to a third-floor apartment. This landed him in the hospital for several years. As such, he ran into major financial troubles in the mid 1970s and couldn't afford to run any more excursions with the locomotive.[9] He stored No. 5629 at the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P) freight yard in Blue Island, Illinois.[9]

In 1980, the CRI&P was filing for liquidation, as well as selling the Blue Island freight yard property to the Chicago commuter railroad Metra. [9][10] The commuter railroad ordered Jensen to move No. 5629 to the nearby Iowa Interstate Railroad in order to redesign the Blue Island property and build a repair shop where the locomotive stood, but they refused to allow him to inspect the locomotive to have someone else move it.[9] In addition, Metra stated they would not help Jensen move the engine, either. However, Jensen decided to sign a restraining order where only he was allowed to touch his locomotive and no one else was. The Courts ruling was that Metra was allowed the use of it's property, but Metra could not move it. Metra went back to court, asking relief, and got permission if it were not moved, to be Scrapped. This would lead to a heated dispute as Metra, who became increasingly irritated about the presence of the 5629, threatened Jensen they would scrap the locomotive, if he didn't move it out of the Blue Island freight yard.[9][11] At that point, the Illinois Railway Museum (IRM) was allowed by Metra to move the locomotive out, but couldn't have done so since it was owned by Jensen.[9] Metra continued negotiating with Mr. Jensen, (so did the IRM) but to no avail. After several preservationist groups, including the IRM, attempted to purchase No. 5629 and move it out of harm's way free of charge without Jensen's permission, Metra scrapped the locomotive on July 14, 1987.[9][11]

References
  1. Drury (2015), p. 50.
  2. Drury (2015), p. 71.
  3. Drury (2015), p. 76.
  4. Drury (2015), p. 204.
  5. Drury (2015), p. 93.
  6. Drury (2015), pp. 224-225.
  7. "USRA Steam Locomotives: Atlantic Coast Line 1504 and Baltimore and Ohio 4500" (PDF). ASME. October 23, 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  8. "Atlantic Coast Line Locomotive No. 1504, Jacksonville, Fla". National Railway Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  9. "Richard Jensen and the Story of CB&Q 4960, 4963, 5632 and GTW 5629". Steamlocomotive.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  10. "Rock Island History". Metra. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  11. Blaszak et al. (2014), p. 30.

Bibliography
  • Blaszak, Michael W.; Solomon, Brian; Gruber, John; Gruss, Chris (2014). Chicago: America's Railroad Capital: The Illustrated History, 1836 to Today (2nd ed.). Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4603-7.
  • Drury, George (2015). Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Revised Edition (2nd ed.). Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62700-259-2.
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