Florida East Coast 4-6-2 "Pacific" Locomotives in the USA

Class 141 (Locobase 6665)

Data from FEC 1926 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also Scott A Harley, "One sweet steam restoration", Trains (July 2020), pp. 52-53; and "Bearing Box, Crankpin, and Wheel Work on U.S. Sugar No. 148" on the FMW Solutions website at ttps://www.fmwsolutions.com/newsroom/2019/1/18/fmw-aids-in-restoring-us-sugar-4-6-2-no-148, last accessed 9 June 2020. .(Thanks to Chris Hohl for spotting a mistake in the works numbers, tweaking the class's road numbers, and supplying the valve gear ID and to Ellis Tammeleo's group for creating the "October 2022" Google doc with a series of corrections and questions about Locobase's information, including this entry.) Richmond's order number was R-286 for works numbers 61762-61771 in May 1920. Schenectady closed the class in May 1922 with 63260-63266.

Following up on the first 38 superheated Pacifics of similar design (Locobase 3138), these batches differed only in minor details, their later construction date. and the assignment of the first ten engines to Alco's Richmond Works. Although most were delivered as coal burners and trailing tenders carrying 10 tons of coal, they were all converted to oil burning as shown in the specs. Eleven inch (279 mm) piston valves served the cylinders.

This profusion of Pacifics shows the line had a bustling passenger service into the late 1920s.

In the mid-1930s, the FEC began selling off this relatively young class to a variety of southeastern US railroads. The Atlanta & St Andrews Bay bought five: 142-143, 146 in 1934, 145 and 154 in- 1935. 141 went to the Savannah & Atlanta in 1935.

The Georgia & Florida received the 144, 149, 151, 150 and 156, which took road numbers 508-512. 150 and 155 went to the Apalachicola Northern as 510 and 515, and the Columbia, Newberry & Laurens took the 157 in December 1941.

Three others wound up in industrial service. United States Sugar Company bought the 153 in 1940 and the 148 in 1952. The last to leave the FEC was 147, going to the Bailes Sey Contractors.

USSC's 148 later operated on excursions and on the Black River & Western, last running in 1977. Overhauledby the New Hope & Ivyland, the 148 ran on several New Jersey tourist lines. After three different owners including the Connecticut Valley Railroad Museum, the 148 came back to USSC's shops in Clewiston, FL in Fall 2016 for a complete restoration. Scott Harley provided a list that seemingly covered every possible defect while upgrading the original considerably.

The boiler's firebox, first course and smokebox were "completely rebuilt." Other new bits included "pistons, piston rods, valves, side rods, main rods, crank pins, tires, and driving boxes." All appliances were built, a single cross-compound air compressor was installed, and a new tender tank was made from scratch. The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum refurbushed superheater units, throttle valve, and blower/exhaust nozzle as well as flanging a new rear tube sheet and firebox door sheet.

Expecially noteworthy to Locobase was the installation of roller bearings on pilot axles. See the extended RYPN thread on the pluses and minuses of roller bearings at [], last accessed 9 June 2020.

Rolled out in April 2020, 148 made a revenue run hauling sugar cane to its mill on 28 May. The company announced plans to run the engine as the Sugar Express

Class 65 (Locobase 5716)

Data from FEC 1926 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also "Walschaert Valve Gear for Pacific Type Locomotive", American Engineer and Railroad Journal, Volume 82, No 3 (March 1908), pp. 88-90.

The first in a long line of FEC Pacifics over a 15-year period. The AERJ noted that using the Walschaerts valve motion on the Pacific wheel arrangement offered difficulties because the front driving axle was so close to the cylinder. The article described Schenectady's solution was "one of the simplest and the , illustrating its account with precise drawings and explaining in considerable detail.

These batches - delivered between 1907 and 1910 - were followed by several dozen more. Other than an increase in cylinder diameter to 22" and the introduction of superheating, all of the locomotives were very similar in size and weight. (See Locobase 11033 for the superheated version of this class and Locobase 3138 for the 22" version.)

Class 65 - superheated (Locobase 11033)

Data from FEC 1926 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

As noted in 5716, this class originally was delivered with saturated-steam boilers. When the FEC superheated them, they retained the essentials of the original design, including the 11" (279 mm) piston valves, wapped tubes for flues, but reduced cylinder diameter by 2" (50.8 mm). Five engines (65, 80, 83, 90, 96) received 22" cylinders; their specs closely resembled those of the later class shown in Locobase 3138.

Most were scrapped in 1929-1930, although numbers 69 and 88 went to the Georgia Northern in 1930 as their 106 and 108, 80 traveled to the Savannah & Atlanta in 1935 as their engine #750, and the 96 ended up as Georgia & Florida 500 in 1941.

Class 98 (Locobase 3138)

Data from FEC 1926 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 50143-50147 in July 1911, 53892-53904 in August 1913, 53905-53915 in January 1914; 57541-57550 in September 1917.

Relatively lightweight Pacific class that introduced superheaters to a design that would serve as the standard to acquire from 1907-1922. Fitted with 11" (279 mm) piston valves, they brought only modest power to a relatively easy profile. One of these oil burners operated out on Henry Flagler's Florida Keys viaduct and just made it off the exposed line before the 1938 Hurricane swept the entire line away.

Most of these engines were sold to other railroads in the late 30s-early 40s.

Drury's full list of FEC transfers (Drury, 1993, pp. 185-186) can be summarized as follows:

FEC road numbers Dates of transfer Acquiring road numbers

101, 103, 105, 108, 110-112,

115, 117-123, 125 1930 Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast

71-86

109 1930 Louisiana & Arkansas 309

127-129, 132-135 1934-1937 Georgia & Florida 501-507

130 1934-1937 Georgia Northern

130

131 1934 Atlanta & St Andrews Bay

136 1936, 1935 Savannah & Atlanta 752

Twelve of the AB &C engines later were renumbered by the Atlantic Coast Line, three of the AB&Cs (76, 78, and 85) went to the Appalachicola Northern as 301, 300, and 302, respectively, both of the AN's acquistions wound up as Kansas City, Mexico & Orient engines 152-153, and one of the A & St AB locomotives was sold to the CN&L as their 154.