0-8-0 "Switcher" Steam Locomotives in the USA

United States Railroad Administration


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class 0-8-0 A Heavy Switcher (Locobase 16698)

Data from American Locomotive Company, Standardized Locomotives, US Railroad Administration (Alco Pamphlet 10049, 1918), pp. 14-15, reprinted by (Ocean, NJ: Specialty Press , 1973); Eugene L Huddleston, Uncle Sam's Locomotives (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2002), pp. 64-65 and 114; and DeGolyer, Volume 58, pp. 23+. See also "Standard Equipment Specialties," Railway Mechanical Engineer, Vol 93, No 3 (March 1919), pp. 137-138 for a list of all the "special equipment" by manufacturers--everything from air brakes to lubricators to rolled steel wheels--and the USRA designs on which they appeared.

Baldwin supplied 45 to five railroads. Alco's Brooks works supplied 70 to six railroads. Alco's Pittsburgh works delivered 30 to six railroads. Lima Locomotive Works produced 30 to five railroads.

Like the rest of the USRA range of standard locomotive designs, these heavt switchers drew from the best of proven switcher design in engines that served as templates for many of the same wheel arrangement over the rest of the steam era. Eight-coupled, all-adhesion switchers may have often reflected USRA qualities, but it's clear that the wheel arrangement diversified much more widely than those based on the USRA 0-6-0s (Locobase 16697).

14" (356 mm) diameter piston valves with a maximum 6 3/4" (171 mm) travel supplied steam to the cylinders. The relatively uncluttered firebox's heating surface area included 18 sq ft (1.67 sq m) in three arch tubes. When fitted for oil-burning, the tenders carried 2,800 US gallons (10,600 litres) of fuel.

Huddleston reported the widely voiced, positive reactions to both these six-coupleds and the eight-coupleds described in Locobase 16698. Most complaints reflected local preference

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
Class0-8-0 A Heavy Switcher
Locobase ID16698
RailroadUnited States Railroad Administration (USRA)
CountryUSA
Whyte0-8-0
Number in Class175
Road Numbers
GaugeStd
Number Built175
BuilderSeveral
Year1918
Valve GearBaker
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)15 / 4.57
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)15 / 4.57
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase1
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)49.79 / 15.18
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)214,000 / 97,069
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)214,000 / 97,069
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)167,900 / 76,158
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)381,900 / 173,227
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)8000 / 30.30
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT)16 / 14.50
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)89 / 44.50
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)51 / 1295
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)175 / 1190
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)25" x 28" / 635x711
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)51,042 / 23152.29
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.19
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)230 - 2" / 51
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)36 - 5.5" / 140
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)15 / 4.57
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)208 / 19.32
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)47 / 4.37
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)2777 / 257.99
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)614 / 57.04
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)3391 / 315.03
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume174.54
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation8225
Same as above plus superheater percentage9706
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area42,952
Power L18735
Power MT359.95

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