Hocking Valley 4-4-0 "American" Locomotives in the USA

Class P-5 (Locobase 7849)

Data from Hocking Valley 9-1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 38656-38658 in November 1905.

Locobase enjoys the little mysteries unearthed while compiling a database of the world's steam locomotives. For example, the editor often notes that a successor class often connotes merely removing a few tubes from the boiler. Such happened on the HV from 1900's P-3 ((Locobase 7847) to 1904's P-4 (Locobase 7848).

But why take out 54 more in the next year's delivery, as happened in the current entry? The Loughridge Belpaire firebox remained and the power dimensions are identical. Was the original boiler too big? One possibility is that this trio piggy-backed on an order for two 4-4-0s for the Kanawha & Michigan (Locobase 2078).

At this point, one should note, the grate area is no longer "great" - the "printo" has been corrected.

81 remained on the HV until its merger with the Chesapeake & Ohio in 1910,. It spent only four years on the C&O roster before its retirement in August 1935 and scrapyard date in October.

82-83 joined their siblings on the K&M in 1910.

Let's press on; see Locobase 7850.

Class P3 (Locobase 7847)

Data from Hocking Valley 9-1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

There's little information about the history of these locomotives in the diagram, but it does have one typo (or "printo" since the annotation is handwritten) that results in amusing overstatement. The Loughridge Belpaire firebox's area on these little Eight-wheelers was in fact a bit bigger than the average, but to call coal's landing place "great area" perhaps preens a bit. See Locobase 7848 for the P-4s, which had not so greats but more firebox area.

Class P4/A-14 (Locobase 7848)

Data from Hocking Valley 9-1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.Works numbers were 29501-29504 in February 1904.

Four years after the P-3s arrived from Brooks (Locobase 7847), that builder rounded out the decade with four more. These had slightly less "great" area in their narrower Loughridge Belpaire fireboxes but more heating surface, and six fewer boiler tubes. Otherwise they were quite similar.

Class P6/A-15 (Locobase 7850)

Data from Hocking Valley 9-1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.Works numbers were 43691-43692 in June 1907.

See Locobases 7847-7849 for the first three HV classes of Eight-wheelers in this series. All had the Loughridge Belpaire firebox, the same power dimensions and wheelbases.

Compared to the others, this final pair of 4-4-0s had a boiler whose size put it in the middle. Unlike the others, however, the P6 threw over the Stephenson link motion and slide valve in favor of Walschaert constant-lead radial gear and 10 1/4" (260 mm) piston valves.

The pair remained in service as the HV merged with the Chesapeake & Ohio in 1930. Both were retired in August 1935 and scrapped two months later.