Class K-1 (Locobase 7607)

Data from table in June 1906 American Engineer and Railroad Journal (AERJ) and from Erie 1907 Locomotive Diagram supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

These large-boilered Pacifics were the largest class of 4-6-2s built for the Erie. Alco built 3 (30712-30714) in 1905, Rogers 41 (38578-39724) in 1906, and Baldwin 15 (32917-32929, 32937-32939, 32948-32950) in 1908.

Delivered with Stephenson link motion actuating inside slide valves, K1s soon rebuilt with Baker gear and Schmidt superheaters; see Locobase 455

Class K-1 - superheated (Locobase 355)

Data from Erie 1930 Locomotive Diagram (noted as revised "Feb 1, 1927") supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Delivered with Stephenson link motion actuating inside slide valves, K1s were rebuilt in 1912-1917 with Baker valve gear and outside piston valves. At that point, the renovators removed 17 tubes, reducing the tubes' heating surface. They also modified the firebox so that, including the 26.5 sq ft of arch tubes, its area increased 15.9% to 226 sq ft. And the makeover allowed an increase in boiler pressure to 215 psi and tractive effort to 32,540 lb. That increase was later retracted and the 1948 diagrams show 200 psi.

Class K-2 (Locobase 356)

Data from Erie 4 - 1928 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection. Lima works #1230-1234.

5 locomotives built by Lima in 1913 introduced mechanical stokers to the Erie Pacific. The firebox heating surface included 28 sq ft of arch tubes.

10 Alco-built sisters (K2a; 1917; 2905-2914) had similar power dimensions; see Locobase 6671.

Class K-2-A (Locobase 6671)

Data from Erie 4 - 1928 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection. Works #57521-57530.

These locomotives were the 10 sisters to the Lima-built K-2s described in Locobase 356.

The data as built were very close to the Limas and fit the reported differences well, so Locobase has taken the opportunity afforded by a much later diagram book to show the changes to the heating surfaces wrought by decades of operation and rebuilding. By now,

The firebox heating surface included 27 sq ft of arch tubes. These follow-ons to the K-2 (Locobase 356) had more superheater area as a percentage of total heating surface, but were otherwise similar to the 1913 locomotives.

Class K-3 (Locobase 128)

Data from Erie 4 - 1928 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection, supplemented by data from reproduction of 1913 Alco Bulletin 1016 on Richard Leonard's http://www.railarchive.net/alcopacifics/index.html (accessed 16 June 2006).

Originally built as an experiment by Alco and numbered 50,000. The length of the boiler tubes is exceptional for a Pacific of the time and highlights the size of the boiler. Locobase finds that the firebox heating surface area is a surprisingly small percentage of the whole, but observes that the great length of the tubes and flues are the principal reason. The 1913 table reveals that 28 sq ft of the firebox heating surface consisted of arch tubes; it also credits the superheater with 897 sq ft, 25 more than the Erie book.

Drury (1993) comments that this engine lasted until 1950, considerably longer than most experiments.

Class K-4 (Locobase 358)

Data from Erie 4 - 1928 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection. Alco works #53451-53160, 55853-55862 ; Baldwin works #40812-40821, 40858-40859, 40893-40895, 40910-40911, 40935-40937, 41640-41641, 41655, 41664, 56305-56310, 56479-56482.

3 batches of K4s were built: Alco (1913; 2700-2709), Baldwin (1914; 2710-2733), and Alco again (1916; 2734-2743). The first batch were not superheated, the second and third were. Weight on the drivers varied slightly.

Class K-4-A (Locobase 6672)

Data from Erie 4 - 1928 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection. Works #56305-56310, 56479-56482.

Baldwin added these ten locomotives to the K-4 design several years after the earlier engines. In the meantime, arch tubes had been replaced in many fireboxes by thermic syphons, so the firebox heating surface comprised 14 sq ft of arch tubes, but 58 sq ft of syphons. Note, too, the high degree of superheat and the rearrangement of tube and flue dimensions. Although they were intended for fast freight and were delivered with 69" drivers as in the K-4, their obvious value as passenger engines led to their being fitted with 75" drivers 6 years later and it's this version that shown in the specs.

A very similar overhaul of the design occurred with the Erie's K-5 USRA Heavy Pacifics; see Locobase 145 for the K-5, Locobase 9241 for the K-5-A.

Class K-5 (Locobase 145)

Data from Erie 4 - 1928 and 7-1949-1 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Firebox had combustion chamber. Intended to be the standardized Pacific heavy passenger express locomotive for the government-run USRA beginning in 1918, but only Erie operated any. These were built by Alco-Richmond (works #59320-59329) and Baldwin (51802-51965).

As delivered, they had 28 sq ft of arch tubes in the firebox, but the Erie later renovated the furnace along the lines of the K-4-A (Locobase 6672) and K-5-A (Locobase 9241) engines of the mid-1920s. In the process, two of the arch tubes was replaced, leaving 14 sq ft, but 71 sq ft of thermic syphons were added. The tender also grew as it carried 4 tons more coal or 20 tons in all.

Class K-5-A (Locobase 9241)

Data from Erie 7-1949-1 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection. Works #56316-56318, 56416-56417, 56422-56424, 56536-56537.

Firebox had combustion chamber. Based on the K-5 Heavy Pacifics delivered a few years earlier (Locobase 145), these were not merely "copies" as Drury (1993) suggests. Granted, the grate area remained the same and the 14" piston valves were no larger. But these Eddystone giants took the USRA design and boosted the superheat ratio to one of the highest in an American Pacific. As in the K-4-As (Locobase 6672), thermic syphons accounted for 71 sq ft of the direct heating surface while arch tubes contributed another 14 sq ft.