Detroit, Toledo & Ironton 2-8-4 "Berkshire" Locomotives in the USA

Class 700 (Locobase 57)

Data from tables in 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia and DT&I 7-1955 Locomotive Diagrams and DT&I 7-1955 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also the discussion of the class at [], last updated 26 February 2012. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for correcting the valve gear ID and for his 22 September 2017 email reporting unlikely boiler pressure values for 177 entries. A Locobase macro caused the error .) Works numbers were 7632-7635 in December 1935 and 7777-7778 in December 1939.

Firebox had 76 sq ft (7.05 sq m) of circulators; these were later replaced by 48 sq ft (4.45 sq m) of arch tubes. 14" (356 mm) piston valves supplied the cylinders.

This was a relatively small 2-8-4 that was built in response to a rising demand for fast freight service out of the automobile plants in the Detroit area. The result, says Drury (1993), was a design that looked like "condensed Nickel Plate Berkshires." They took their place as the elite class as they "were decades more modern than anything else on the property."

The author of the waverlyinfo article reports that the engines were immediately the class of the railroad because they were "decades ahead" of any other motive power. Their niche could be found in basic materials: "The 700's became preferred locomotives on the south end of the line over Summit to Glen Jean, Greggs, and Jackson. because of their superior performance in handling coal and ore drags "

There were problems with the design, at least as far as their service on the DT&I was concerned. The railroad was too narrow in places (south of Jackson, for example, becuase of a tight tunnel at Royersville) and much of the right of way had badly conditioned ties. Moreover, "The four-wheel Commonwealth trailer truck proved troublesome in yard switching duty with its high axle loadings, and the large twelve wheel tender was a problem on light rails of passing sidings and yard trackage."

The verdict on the all-weather cabs split down a seasonal divide: in the winter they were great, but "summer was dreaded. Crewmen would open all the doors and windows and even wore an extra set of coveralls to protect them from the intense heat in the cabs."

Whatever the issues, the power was too modern to give up easily and the DT&I operarted them to the end of steam in 1953-1956.