Nickel Plate Road Steam Feature for June 2017

Posted on June 3, 2017 by rockontrains

Featured Nickel Plate Road steam subjects for this post are Berkshire locomotives in various Ohio and Illinois locations:

NKP #715 – Conneaut, OH – 1/1/60
NKP #744 – Chicago, IL – 6/6/58
NKP #750 – Chicago, IL – 1956
NKP #757 – Bellevue, OH – Date unknown
NKP #771 – Ohio – Late 1950’s
NKP #779 – Location & date unknown

: NKP #715 – Conneaut, OH – 1/1/60 (Credit: C. Dengler)

: NKP #744 – Chicago, IL – 6/6/58 (Credit: David Leonard)

: NKP #750 – Chicago, IL – 1956 (Credit: C.W. Burns)

: NKP #757 – Bellevue, OH (Credit: Barry Lennon)

: NKP #771 – Ohio – Early 50’s (Credit: Charles Snyder)

: NKP #779 – Location & Date Unknown (Credit: Pinterest)

The Class A-1 Berkshire is a 2-8-4 steam locomotive first built in 1925 by the Lima Locomotive Works. The design was initially intended to improve on the company’s USRA Mikado design (2-8-2), which was deemed to lack sufficient speed and horsepower. This was addressed by the inclusion of a larger, 100-square foot firebox that required an extra trailing axle, giving the locomotive its distinctive 2-8-4 wheel arrangement.

The Berkshire locomotive was so named for its testing location on the Berkshire Hills of the Boston & Albany Railroad. After the Class A-1 successfully outperformed a Class H-10 Mikado, the Boston & Albany Railroad became the first to order the new Berkshires. Over 600 were built by Lima Locomotive Works, the American Locomotive Company and Baldwin Locomotive Works. A total of nineteen different railroads purchased Berkshires, including the Erie Railroad, who owned 105 Berkshires, more than any other railroad; the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, who nicknamed theirs the Kanawhas, and the Louisville & Nashville Railroad’s, whose locomotives were technically designed as Class M-1 but were referred to as “Big Emmas.”

Editor’s Note: Over the years, there has been quite a bit of speculation as to the immense power generated by a steam locomotive. In the attached link, Mr. Rich Melvin’s interview will interject some perspective on this long sought after answer.

All photos courtesy of Google; history excerpt courtesy of Wikipedia; video courtesy of Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society via YouTube.

Rock on Trains © 2017, Tom Rock + T.D.R. Productions. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Tom Rock is strictly prohibited.

Canadian Corner: Ontario Northland Steam Locomotives

Posted on May 31, 2017 by rockontrains

Featured subjects on this month’s Canadian Corner post are of Ontario Northland Railway steam locomotives in various Ontario locations:

ON #102 – Cochrane, ON – 1940’s
ON #204 – Cochrane, ON – 1940’s
ON #310 – Englehart, ON – 1952
ON #701 – Last steam run on Ontario Northland – 6/25/57
ON #900 – North Bay, ON – 1940’s
ON #1100 – North Bay, ON – 1940’s

: ON #102 – Cochrane, Ontario – 1940’s (Credit: Jim Parker)

: ON #204 – Cochrane, Ontario – 1940’s (Credit: Jim Parker)

: ON #310 – Englehart, Ontario – 1952 (Credit: Jim Parker)

: ON #701 – Last Steam Run – 6/25/57 (Credit: Jim Parker)

: ON #900 – North Bay, Ontario – 1940’s (Credit: Jim Parker)

: ON #1100 – North Bay, Ontario – 1940’s (Credit: Jim Parker)

All photos courtesy of Old Time Trains.

Depot Doings: Delray Beach, FL / Inverness, FL / Kissimmee, FL / Jacksonville, NC

Posted on May 31, 2017 by rockontrains

Featured depots this month are of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in Florida and North Carolina:

Delray Beach, FL – 10/28/72
Inverness, FL – 6/23/87
Kissimmee, FL – 2/75
Jacksonville, NC – 8/81

: SCL Depot – Delray Beach, FL – 10/28/72 (Credit: Robert Selle)

: SCL Depot – Inverness, FL – 6/23/87 (Credit: Dennis Schmidt)

: SCL Depot – Kissimmee, FL – 2/75 (Credit: Jim Parker)

: SCL Depot – Jacksonville, NC – 8/81 (Credit: Gary Stuebben)

All photos courtesy of www.rr-fallenflags.org.

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Steam Feature for April 2017

Posted on April 30, 2017 by rockontrains

Featured Chesapeake & Ohio steam subjects for this April post are of the famous Allegheny at various locations in Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The history of the 2-6-6-6 Allegheny Type locomotive can be viewed at the enclosed link, courtesy of American-Rails.com.