This order followed an order for ten Class K-4s "Berkshires" for the C&O. Due to war time restrictions, the design was frozen so the Virginian's "Berkshires were made identical to the C&O's. These Class BA Virginian locomotives had 69" diameter drivers, 26" x 34' cylinders, a 245 psi boiler pressure, they exerted 69,350 pounds of tractive effort and each weighed 460,000 pounds.
There are no surviving Virginian 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type locomotives
Class | Qty. | Road Numbers | Year Built | Builder | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BA | 5 | 505-509 | 1946 | Lima | Numbers 505-509 scrapped in 1960 |
Data from a 1951 Virginian locomotive diagram supplied to Locobase 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 .)Works numbers were 9107-9108 in June 1946, 9109-9111 in July.
Said to be virtually identical to C&O K-4s. How powerful and smooth was a Lima 2-8-4? EW King, Jr. (in Drury, 1993) says they "had speed well beyond that required." In a detour move on the Norfolk & Western, the Virginian's 505, pulling a 3,500 ton train, was claimed to have hit 87 mph.
The diagram shows that the firebox had two arch tubes (19 sq ft/1.76 sq m) and two thermic syphons (103 sq ft/9.57 sq m) that contributed to the firebox heating surface. A Worthington5 1/2 SA feed water heater added energy to the steam-generating system. Fourteen inch (356 mm) piston valves had a travel of 8" (203 mm). Although the diagram shows a combustion chamber, it doesn't give the length.
Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
---|---|
Class | BA |
Locobase ID | 63 |
Railroad | Virginian (VGN) |
Country | USA |
Whyte | 2-8-4 |
Number in Class | 5 |
Road Numbers | 505-509 |
Gauge | Std |
Number Built | 5 |
Builder | Lima |
Year | 1946 |
Valve Gear | Baker |
Locomotive Length and Weight | |
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 18.25 / 5.56 |
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 42 / 12.80 |
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.43 |
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 93.17 / 28.40 |
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | 74,400 / 33,747 |
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 295,600 / 134,082 |
Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 460,400 / 208,834 |
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 410,200 / 186,064 |
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 870,600 / 394,898 |
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 25,000 / 94.70 |
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 21 / 19 |
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 123 / 61.50 |
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 69 / 1753 |
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 245 / 1690 |
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 26" x 34" / 660x864 |
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 69,368 / 31464.83 |
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.26 |
Heating Ability | |
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 73 - 2.25" / 57 |
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | 202 - 3.5" / 89 |
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 19 / 5.79 |
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 475 / 44.13 |
Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 90.30 / 8.39 |
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 4776 / 443.87 |
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1932 / 179.55 |
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 6708 / 623.42 |
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 228.63 |
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 22,124 |
Same as above plus superheater percentage | 28,539 |
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 150,124 |
Power L1 | 33,097 |
Power MT | 987.37 |