Chesapeake & Ohio Hudsons

The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad introduced a new type of locomotive to its road in 1941. This new locomotive was the 4-6-4 and eight of them were ordered from the Baldwin Locomotive Works. They had roller bearings on all axles. One of them, number 300, had roller bearings on its side and main rods as well. 300 was also unique in that it had Union Pacific style "elephant ear" smoke deflecters applied some time around 1948. It was one of only two C&O locomotives to recieve this modification. The C&O was content to use the northern name associated with this new locomotive, Hudson, and numbered these Class L-2s 300 through 307. Although they had the same name as the NYC's Hudsons these C&O Hudsons were much larger than the NYC's J-1s.

Starting in 1946, the Chesapeake & Ohio took five of its Class F-19 Pacific 4-6-2 locomotives and converted them into Class L-1 Hudsons. This rework was done in its Huntington Shops and was completed in 1947. All but one of the new L-1s were covered with a streamlined stainless steel cowl which was painted yellow and silver. The tenders were cased in fluted stainless steel and tapered at the top so they would blend exactly with the new Budd passenger cars. The "yellowbellies" as they were called by C&O crews were numbered 490 through 494 (number 494 did not have a cowl applied). Only 490 survives today and is on display at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD.

In 1948, five more Hudsons were ordered from Baldwin and numbered 310 through 314. These were designated as class L-2-A. As it turned out, these were the last passenger steam locomotives built by Baldwin. They were also the heaviest hudsons ever built.

Class	Qty	Road Numbers	Year Built	Builder
L-2	8	300-307	1941	Baldwin
L-1	5	490-494	1946-1947	C&O
L-2-A	5	310-314	1948	Baldwin

Specifications
	NYC J-1	C&O L-2-A
Length:	95' - 11"	108' - 0"
Drivers:	79" dia.	78" dia.
Weight on Drivers:	182,000 lbs	219,500 lbs
Locomotive Weight:	362,400 lbs	439,500 lbs
Locomotive & Tender Weight:	631,000 lbs	839,000 lbs
Grate Area:	81.5 sq ft	90 sq ft
Cylinders (dia x stroke):	(2) 25" x 28"	(2) 25" x 30"
Boiler Pressure:	225 psi	255 psi
Tractive Effort:	42,300 lbs	52,100 lbs
Tender Capacity:	water: 10,000 gals coal: 18 tons	water: 17,500 gals coal: 27.5 tons

Chesapeake & Ohio Hudsons

Photos

References