Louisville & Nashville 2-8-2 "Mikado" Locomotives in the USA

Class J-1 (Locobase 5445)

Data from table in May 1916 issue of Railway Mechanical Engineer, as amended and supplemented by L&N 8 1927 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

According to Drury (1993), these engines pulled long trains from the coal fields of eastern Kentucky to Louisville & Cincinnati. The tube/flue balance was very similar to that adopted for light Mikes (Locobase 40) by the USRA, but the J1s had the smaller diameter found in many Type A superheater installations of the day and a smaller grate. Arch tubes contributed 29 sq ft (2.69 sq m) to the firebox heating surface.

Twelve J1-As were built new in 1918 (see Locobase 8124) and at least 4 J1s were upgraded to that standard. The chief difference appears to have been slightly larger cylinders.

Class J-1A (Locobase 8124)

Data from L&N 8 1927 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 26 November 2015 email describing the Bethlehem Auxiliary Engine.)

Locobase 5445 describes the original home-built Mikados turned out by the L & N in 1914-1915. Apparently deciding that 27" cylinders were just slightly undersized, the shops produced twelve more to exactly the same design in 1918, but gave them 27 1/2" cylinders. Arch tubes contributed 29 sq ft t(2.69 sq m) to the firebox heating surface.

For some reason, a two-ton weight growth accompanied the upgrade. Of that gain, 3,000 lbs (1,361 kg) rested on the third coupled axle, which took the power from the main rod. Was the original assembly perhaps a bit too lightly built?

Chris Hohl reported that the 1461 had a Bethlehem Auxiliary Engine built into the front tender truck to supplement the engine's starting tractive effort with 13,260 lb (6,015 kg/58.98 sq m) of its own.

Class J-2/J-2A (Locobase 18)

Data from L&N 8 1927 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. (Many thanks to Chris Hohl for his 22 September 2017 email reporting unlikely boiler pressure values for 177 entries. A Locobase macro caused the error .)

When the L & N shops examined the J1-A design rolling out in 1918 (Locobase 8124), they found ways to tweak it for even more power at the cost of more engine weight. The grate area grew as did the firebox heating surface. The latter included 31 sq ft of arch tubes. The designers also changed the balance between tubes and flues, replacing 4 tubes with 3 flues. Boiler pressure increased by 10 psi and the cylinders gained another 1/2". The piston valves measured a healthy 14" in diameter.

Weight on the drivers climbed 7 tons, but was more evenly spread across the 4 axles so that the maximum axle loading actually fell by 2,000 lb. Apparently concluding that the 60" driver was better suited to the mountainous train of the eastern Kentucky coal fields, the shops retained that diameter in lieu of adopting the nearly universal 63" drivers found on most US 2-8-2s of the time.

Continuing in the same vein, the shops supplied 16 more J2-A in 1921 to the same specifications. Like all of the L & N's Mikados, the J-2s worked up to the end of steam on the road in the 1950s.

Class J-3 (USRA) (Locobase 8125)

Data from L&N 8 1927 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Lima delivered the 18 USRA Light Mikados (Locobase 40) that started this class. As it is usually conceded that the USRA 2-8-2s were excellent designs, it comes as no surprise that these engines pleased their new owners enough to prompt orders for an additional 75 locomotives from Alco in 1920-1923.

The J3s were lighter and a bit smaller than the home-built J1 and J2 classes that preceded. Their taller drivers and somewhat lower tractive effort meant they took freight trains on the more supine routes in the L & N system.

Charles B. Castner in Drury (1993) offers a handy summary of their value to the L & N:"The crews liked them, and they gave less mechanical trouble than any other class of freight power."

Class J-4 (USRA) (Locobase 19)

Data from L&N 8 1927 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also Charles B. Castner in Drury (1993). (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 26 November 2015 email commenting on the J-4 class batches and road numbers for his 22 September 2017 email reporting unlikely boiler pressure values for 177 entries. A Locobase macro caused the error .)

USRA Heavy Mikados (Locobase 41) built by Alco-Brooks. Brooks and Alco's Richmond Works contributed many more in the mid-1920s.

Year Builder Road numbers

1918 Brooks 1550-1569, later renumbered 1750-1769

1923 Richmond 1770-1781 (works 63831-68842)

1923 Brooks 1782-1791

1924 Brooks 1792-1808

1925 Richmond 1809-1824

1925 Brooks 1825-1836

1926 Brooks 1837-1866

All were delivered with mechanical stokers. The firebox heating surface included 27 sq ft (2.51 sq m) of arch tubes. Although Chris Hohl is correct in noting that the L&N included 24 more Brooks engines in the J-4 class, the last batch of Brooks engines were delivered with thermic syphons, which groups this set of 24 with the 24 delivered by Baldwin in 1929 as J-4A.

Many later received the usual upgrades of Worthington Type S feedwater heaters and larger tenders. Some also trailed auxiliary water tenders for the "Silver Bullet" fast-freight service from

They worked the L&N's Cincinnati-Montgomery (Ala) and Cincinnati-Corbin (Ky) arteries, but were seen all over the system. All of these engines remained in service into the 1950s and most were retired only in 1954-1955. The last steam run on the L&N was a J-4 in 1957.

Class J-4/J-4A (Locobase 8126)

Data from L&N 8 1927 and 5 -1941 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Volume 81, pp. 212+. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 26 November 2015 comments on the L&N's 2-8-2s, including those concerning the boosters on these J-4As.) Alco's Brooks works delivered 1867-1890 to the L&N in 1926 (6) and 1927 (18); works numbers were 67077-67083 and 67191-67208). Baldwin works numbers were 60737-60740 in March 1929; 60760--60763, 60773-60780 in April; 60840-60843 in May; and 60854-60857 in June.

Locobase 19 discusses the USRA Heavy Mikados (Locobase 41) built by Alco-Brooks and Alco-Richmond for the L&N in the years after World War One. L&N records show that the first engines to be delivered with thermic syphons were the last 24 of the Brooks J-4 orders. Baldwin added 24 in 1929. The modified design had Nicholson thermic syphons, Worthington feedwater heaters, and larger tenders; like the earlier engines, their piston valves measured 14" (356 mm) in diameter.

Installing the 79 sq ft (7.34 sq m) in two syphons meant deleting two of the four arch tubes, which left 14 sq ft (1.30 sq m) of arch tubes to contribute to the firebox heating surface along with the 58 sq ft (5.39 sq m) of combustion chamber area. The Worthington Type S feedwater heaters had an 8,000 US gallon (30,280 litre) per hour capacity.

Weight increased, of course, and raised the maximum axle loading to 67,000 lb. Chris Hohl was correct in pointing out that neither the Baldwins nor the Brooks at least were not delivered with boosters. The specifications did call for Baldwin to arrange the trailing truck such that a Franklin C-2 booster could be installed later. In fact, by 1941, the Baldwins had boosters of three different tractive-effort ratings.

Ten had Franklin C2L boosters rated at 11,500 lb (5,216 kg): 1892, 1894, 1896-1897, 1899, 1905, 1910-1912.

Thirteen used the Franklin C2L booster rated at 12,075 lb (5,477 kg): 1891, 1893, 1895, 1898, 1900-1902, 1904, 1907-1909, 1913-1914.

And 1903's Franklin C2S booster was rated at 8,694 lb (3,9445 kg).

The latter fourteen had their working boiler pressure increased to 210 psi.

All of these engines remained in service into the 1950s and most were retired only in 1954-1955.

Class J-5 (Locobase 21)

Data from 1930 Locomotive Cyclopedia and the L&N 8 1927 and L&N 5 1941 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also Alfred W Bruce, The Steam Locomotive in America (New York: Bonanza Books, 1952), pp. 201-201, 210. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for pointing out in his 10 May 2013 email Alco's licensing of Nigel Gresley's conjugating gear in its three-cylinder locomotives and for his 22 September 2017 email reporting unlikely boiler pressure values for 177 entries. A Locobase macro caused the error .) Works number was 65739 in October 1924.

Alco's venture into three-cylinder locomotives proved short-lived because of the mechanical complications. This single Mike soured the L&N on any more such freaks. According to Charles B. Castner in Drury (1993): "In road service only a few years, it sat out the Depression, then worked the hump at DeCoursey Yard near Cincinnati."

The two outside cylinders had a stroke of 32 inches, the center cylinder had a 28-inch stroke; all cylinders used 12" (305 mm) piston valves. Arch tubes contributed 27 sq ft (2.5 sq m) to firebox heating surface area.

See also Locobase 22 & Locobase 23 for the Missouri Pacific and Wabash versions.