USRA 2-8-8-2

4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)Driver dia.57 in (1,448 mm)Adhesive weight474,000 lb (215.0 t)Loco weight531,000 lb (240.9 t)Fuel typeCoalBoiler pressure240 lbf/in² (1.65 MPa)CylindersFour, two LP (front), two HP (rear)High-pressure cylinder23 in × 32 in (584 mm × 813 mm)Low-pressure cylinder39 in × 32 in (991 mm × 813 mm)Valve gearBakerLoco brakeAirTrain brakesAir

Performance figures
Tractive effort	101,300 lbf (450.6 kN)

Career
Disposition	One copy (N&W 2050) preserved, remainder scrapped

The USRA 2-8-8-2 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. These locomotives were of 2-8-8-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or (1'D)'D1' in UIC classification. A total of 106 locomotives were built to this plan for the USRA; postwar, it became a de facto standard design.

History

While the 2-8-8-2 had been built in the United States since 1909,^[1] most development work had gone into making subsequent locomotives larger and heavier. The Norfolk and Western Railway however, had taken development in a different direction. By using smaller cylinders and higher boiler pressure, the result was a locomotive capable of powerful performance, and a turn of speed higher than the 20 mph (32 km/h) maximum of the ‘traditional’ designs.^[1]

The USRA 2-8-8-2 drew heavily on the Norfolk and Western Railway’s Y2 class locomotive design, as their delegate to the 2-8-8-2 design committee had brought a full set of blueprints.^[2]

Original owners

USRA originals

Railroad	Quantity	Class	Road numbers	Notes
Clinchfield Railroad	10	L-2	725–734	^[3]
Norfolk and Western Railway	45	Y3	2005–2049	^[4]
Virginian Railway	5	—	900–904	Refused, to Norfolk and Western 2000–2004^[5]
Virginian Railway	20	USA	701–720	^[5]
Total	80

Copies

Railroad	Quantity	Class	Road numbers	Notes
Clinchfield Railroad	10	L-3	735–744	^[3]
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad	10	L-107	3500–3509	^[6]
Interstate Railway	2	Class 20	20-21	^[1]
Norfolk and Western Railway	30	Y3a	2050–2079	^[4]
Norfolk and Western Railway	10	Y3b	2080–2089	Later reclassified as Y-4’s^[4]
Northern Pacific Railway	4	Z-4	4500–4503	^[7]
Virginian Railway	15	USB	721–735	^[5]
Total	81

Preservation

While none of the original USRA 2-8-8-2’s are preserved, one of the copies is. Norfolk and Western 2050, a 1923 ALCO product of N&W's Y3a class, is on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c E. W. King, Jr. in Drury pp.298–299
^ E. W. King, Jr. in Drury p.299
^ ^a ^b Drury pp.131, 133
^ ^a ^b ^c E. W. King, Jr. in Drury pp.299, 308
^ ^a ^b ^c E. W. King, Jr in Drury pp.417, 419
^ Drury pp.157, 161
^ Drury pp.310, 317

Bibliography

Drury, George H. (1993), Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company, ISBN 0-89024-206-2, LCCN 93041472
Westcott, Linn H. (1960). Model Railroader Cyclopedia, volume 1, Steam Locomotives. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89024-001-9.