The Uintah Railway was a 3'-0" narrow gauge railway built and owned by the Barber Asphalt Paving Company. It built the railway to haul Gilsonite, which in an ingredient in the making of paving asphalt, from the Uintah Basin in Utah to the main line of the Denver Rio Grande Western Railway at Crevasse, Colorado. The railway's eclectic all-time roster of 17 locomotives included seven shays, four "Consolidations", two 0-6-2T tank type locomotives, two 2-8-2 "Mikado" type locomotives and two 2-6-6-2T tank type locomotives.
One of the "Mikados", number 30 was bought new from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1911. This locomotive had 40" diameter drivers, 18" x 22" cylinders, a boiler pressure of 200 psi and it exerted 30,300 pounds of tractive effort and weighed 146,000 pounds. The other 2-8-2 was bought second hand from a sister company, the New York & Bermudez Company, railroad, the G&LaB railroad. This locomotive was given road number 40 and had 42" diameter drivers, 17" x 22" cylinders, a 170 psi boiler pressure and it exerted 21,800 pounds of tractive effort and weighed 119,400 pounds.
Both of the Uintah 2-8-2 "Mikado" type locomotives were scrapped in 1939. There are no surviving Uintah 2-8-2 "Mikado" type locomotives.
| Qty. | Road Numbers | Year Built | Builder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | 1911 | Baldwin | Narrow Gauge 3'-0", Purchased new from Baldwin and was sold for scrapped in 1939. |
| 1 | 40 | 1913 | Baldwin | Narrow Gauge 3'-0", Built in 1913, for the New York & Bermudez Company's railroad and sold to the Uintah Railway in June 1919. Sold for scrap in 1939. |
Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 39, p. 44; and Uintah Railway Assorted Steam Locomotive diagrams supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See Locobase 12801 for a short history of the Uintah. Works number was 36908 in 1911.
This Mikado was fated to spend its entire career battling grades of 4-6 1/2% (according to the specs) and curves with radii of 30-degrees (103 feet/31.4 metres). Uintah historians claim that the last 5 miles up to Baxter Pass, fully 8,400 feet above sea level and more, ran at a steady 7 1/2% incline. Also, as this was the alkaline desert, railside observers could see the 40 roll by trailing its tender and 3-4 special water cars. (The desert stretches on the South African Railways led to similar innovations.)
When the Uintah was closed and abandoned in 1939, the 40 went to the ferro-knacker.
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
|---|---|
| Class | 30 |
| Locobase ID | 13815 |
| Railroad | Uintah Railway |
| Country | USA |
| Whyte | 2-8-2 |
| Number in Class | 1 |
| Road Numbers | 30 |
| Gauge | 3' |
| Number Built | 1 |
| Builder | Baldwin |
| Year | 1911 |
| Valve Gear | Variable cut-off |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | |
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 11.67 / 3.56 |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 26 / 7.92 |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.45 |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 44.67 / 13.62 |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 120,000 / 54,431 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 146,000 / 66,225 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 100,000 / 45,359 |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 246,000 / 111,584 |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 5000 / 18.94 |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 5 / 5 |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 50 / 25 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 40 / 1016 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 180 / 1240 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 19" x 22" / 483x559 |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 30,378 / 13779.25 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 3.95 |
| Heating Ability | |
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 229 - 2.25" / 57 |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 16.50 / 5.03 |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 122 / 11.33 |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 32 / 2.97 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 2336 / 217.02 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 2336 / 217.02 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 323.55 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 5760 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 5760 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 21,960 |
| Power L1 | 4896 |
| Power MT | 359.79 |
