Great Northern Mountains

The Great Northern Railway ordered fifteen 4-8-2s from the Lima Locomotive Works and took delivery of these Class P-1 "Mountains", road numbers 1750 through 1764, in 1914. These locomotives had 28 x 32 cylinders, 63" drivers, a 180 psi boiler pressure and a tractive effort of 60,930 pounds. They were bought to speed up passenger trains over the mountains. When they proved to be too slow they were transferred to freight. In 1928, the fifteen Class P-1s were rebuilt and returned to service as 2-10-2s.

In 1923, the GN received 28 Class P-2 "Mountains" from the Baldwin Locomotive Works. These locomotives were assigned road numbers 2500 through 2527 and had 29 x 28 cylinders, 73" drivers, a 200 psi boiler pressure, a tractive effort of 54,823 lbs and weighed 365,600 pounds each. Later, the boiler pressure was raised to 210 psi which increased the tractive effort to 57,580 pounds. The Class P-2 "Mountains" did an excellent job in passenger service. They were eventually replaced by the S-2 Northerns in Empire Builder service. The P-2 class locomotives were then used in freight service and were retired in 1955.

There are two survivors, number 2507 in Port of Pasco, WA and number 2523 at the Kandiyohi County Historical Park in Willmar, MN.

Class	Road Numbers	Year Built	Builder
P-1	1750-1764	1914	Lima
P-2	2500-2527	1923	Baldwin

Specifications
	Class P-1	Class P-2
Wheel Arrangement:	4-8-2	4-8-2
Length:
Drivers:	63" dia.	73" dia.
Weight on Drivers:	220,000 lbs	242,000 lbs
Locomotive Weight:	326,000 lbs	365,600 lbs
Locomotive & Tender Weight:		617,000 lbs
Grate Area:
Cylinders (dia. x stroke):	(2) 28" x 32"	(2) 29" x 28"
Boiler Pressure:	180 psi	210 psi
Tractive Effort:	60,930 lbs	57,580 lbs
Tender Capacity
Water:		12,000 gals.
Fuel Oil:		5,000 gals.

Great Northern Mountains

Photos

References