The Delaware & Hudson Railroad purchased 15 Class K-62 Northerns from the American Locomotive Company in 1943 and assigned them road numbers 300 through 314.
These were dual service locomotives having 24.5 x 32 cylinders, 75" drivers, a boiler pressure of 285 psi, weighed 470,000 pounds and had a tractive effort of 62,040 pounds.
They were assigned to freight service, but were used regularly on the New York to Montreal Laurentian passenger trains. As a result, some referred to the D&H 4-8-4s as "Laurentians".
There are no survivoring D&H 4-8-4s.
Data from 1946 D&H 1- 1946 Locomotive Diagrams and 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia tables. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for correcting the boiler pressure figure.) Works numbers were 69975-69979 in March 1943, 70133-70142 also in 1943.
Firebox heating surface included 55 sq ft (5.1 sq m) of arch tubes. Prominent "elephant-ear" smoke lifters flanked the smokebox.
Fifteen engines delivered to the railroad in 1943 that served until 1952-1953.
These were relatively small "Northerns" that made very efficient use of firebox heating surface, which included a 7-ft-long (2,134 mm) combustion chamber, and superheater area. The boiler maintained a traditional ratio of tubes to flues and, in fact, resembled closely installations in several other 4-8-4 batches delivered during World War II. These included the Milwaukee Road S-3 (Locobase 249), Rock Island R-67 (Locobase 251), and the Union Pacific's FEF-3 (Locobase 8340).
All four driving axles turned in SKF roller bearings.
Like most late North American steam, these engines served for only a short time. All were replaced by diesels in 1952-1953.
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
|---|---|
| Class | K-62 |
| Locobase ID | 256 |
| Railroad | Delaware & Hudson |
| Country | USA |
| Whyte | 4-8-4 |
| Number in Class | 15 |
| Road Numbers | 300-314 |
| Gauge | Std |
| Number Built | 15 |
| Builder | Alco-Schenectady |
| Year | 1943 |
| Valve Gear | Walschaert |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | |
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 19.75 / 6.02 |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 47.08 / 14.35 |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.42 |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 91.58 / 27.91 |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 270,000 / 122,470 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 470,000 / 213,189 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 298,000 / 131,224 |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 768,000 / 344,413 |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 20,000 / 75.76 |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 25 / 23 |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 113 / 56.50 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 75 / 1905 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 285 / 2000 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 24.5" x 32" / 622x813 |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 62,042 / 28141.81 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.35 |
| Heating Ability | |
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 199 - 2.25" / 57 |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | 58 - 3.5" / 89 |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 20 / 6.10 |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 482 / 44.80 |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 96.20 / 8.94 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 4477 / 416.08 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1473 / 136.90 |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 5950 / 552.98 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 256.41 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 27,417 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 34,271 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 171,713 |
| Power L1 | 41,101 |
| Power MT | 1342.40 |
