Six more 4-6-4s were designed by the Santa Fe in 1936 and ordered and received from Baldwin in 1937 (road numbers 3460 through 3465). They were oil burners and of a larger and more robust design then the earlier ten. One of this last group, number 3460, was built as a streamlined locomotive and called the "Blue Goose", the only one the road would have. These last six had 23.5 x 29.5 cylinders, 84" drivers, a boiler pressure of 300 psi and a tractive effort of 49,300 pounds.
In December of 1937, number 3461 led a train from Los Angeles all the way to Chicago a distance of 2,227 miles to set a world's distance record for a steam locomotive.
There are two surviving AT&SF 4-6-4s, number 3450, at the LA County Fairplex in Pomona, CA and number 3463, at the Expocenter in Topeka, KS.
Data from diagram presented at [] . See also DeGolyer, Volume 77, pp. 152-185. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 7 March 2016 email noting the "as-specified" driver diameter and the tender's loaded weight and coal capacity.) Works numbers were 59993-59997 in April 1927 and 60033-60037 in May. Cost set at $73,735.60 each.
This first series of 10 Hudsons had the same boiler as the 3400-series Pacifics, but a much bigger grate. The cylinders got their steam through 15" (381 mm) piston valves that had a maximum travel of 9" (227 mm). They were delivered with 73" drivers, but by 1933 had been fitted with thicker tires that increased their diameter to 74". Likewise, although they were delivered as coal burners fitted with a Locomotive Stoker Company Duplex C-2 automatic stoker, the class was soon converted to oil burning. As modified, their tenders now carried 5,000 US gallons (18,900 litres) of fuel oil and weighed 287,000 lb (130,181 kg) loaded.
Retrofitted in the late 1930s with redesigned tube layout and larger, 79-in drivers; see Locobase 11102.
Data from diagram presented at []; and ATSF Assorted Steam Locomotive Diagrams by Class supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange collection. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 22 February 2021 email supplying a linke to a much more readable version of the 1937 diagram. It corrected, among other things, engine and total wheelbase, superheater area, tube counts and lengths, and firebox area.)
About 10 years after the AT&SF took delivery of its first Hudsons (Locobase 406), they substantially modified their boilers by cutting 34 tubes out of the boiler and adding a 28" (711 mm) combustion chamber to the firebox. Further supplementing the direct heating surface by adding 108 sq ft (10 sq m) of thermic syphons changed the ratio of direct to total heating surface to truly superpower proportions.
Overshadowed by the world-class 3460 Hudsons and the series of 4-8-4 in Santa Fe passenger work, the 3450s operated in the Midwest between Chicago and Colorado. Later on, they connected San Francisco with Bakersfield down the San Joaquin Valley.
Data from ATSF - 1953 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in August 2023 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange collection, tables in 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia and 1945 diagram at "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe steam engine diagrams and blueprints," Kansas Memory, a website of the Kansas Historical Society, diagram at [] . See also Kevin P Keefe, "Santa Fe 3460 Hudsons: 'Super' 4-6-4s", Classic Trains, 11February 2024 at [
], last accessed 4May 2024. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for persuading me that the rebuild did not include changing the valve gear and for his 22 September 2017 email reporting unlikely boiler pressure values for 177 entries. A Locobase macro caused the error. Thanks to Leo Drake for his 26 February 2024 email pointing out an apparently abrupt end to the comments. Locobase reviewed the entry and added several new comments.)
Santa Fe rebuilt the 3460-series Hudsons described in Locobase 449 in 1945, installing a new arrangement of tubes and flues. Adding a 25" (635 mm) combustion chamber dictated cutting all of the tubes and flue lengths by an equivalent 25". Adding 10 larger Type E flues necessitated trimming the already small small-tube count by 25.
he engine had the unusual combination of 108 sq ft (10.03 sq m) of duplex thermic syphons in the firebox and one security water circulator in the 25-in (635 mm) combustion chamber. (Note: duplex syphons had two necks near the bottom of the firebox, one on a water leg [i.e. a side wall] and on the tube sheet. The two flows merged and exited through a single fan-shaped opening at the top.)
The axles turned in SKF roller bearings, water entering the boilet gained a boost from the Worthington feed water heater. and American multiple throttle. The frame now consisted of a cast-steel bed.
Since these were rebuilds of Baldwin "Super Hudsons", were they "Super Duper Hudsons". Whatever their prodigious, even profligate displays of power, the 3460s couldn't withstand the march of diesels
See also "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe steam engine diagrams and blueprints," Kansas Memory, a website of the Kansas Historical Society, diagram at [] . (Thanks to Chris Hohl for the valve gear ID.) Works numbers were 62083-62088
Firebox had combustion chamber, two thermic syphons, Worthington feedwater heater.
Built ten years later than the 3450 series (Locobase 406), these engines show the impact of the superpower revolution. Relatively high-drivered type on S.K.F. roller bearings but, unlike the Northwestern and Milwaukee Road engines, five of the six were never streamlined. The firebox sported 95 sq ft (8.8 sq m) of thermic syphons and arch tubes, tube and flue ratios are reversed, the boiler is much larger and has a much larger superheater area. Boiler pressure increased by 36%. Steam was admitted to the cylinders through 13" (340 mm) diameter valves with 7" (179 mm) travel.
Although tractive effort is only 10% higher, the drier steam must have given the engines disproportionately more power. 3461 showed the class's long legs when it ran the full 2,227 miles (3,585 km) from Los Angeles to Chicago in December 1937, making five fuel stops along the way. The average speed was 45.4 mph (73 kjph) with top speeds of 90 (145 kph).
A thread in Yahoo's steam_tech forum includes a post by Kurt Greske, ([]), who notes that S Kip Farrington, in his book "Santa Fe's Big Three", quotes extensively from a highly critical engineering report of 3461's many defects after two months of running in October-December 1937.
Locobase has not been able to determine if the other locomotives in the class fell victim to so many leaks, misalignments, and overheated bearings and bushings. Certainly the design's use of such high steam pressures was likely to strain any weak point in the engine's design or manufacture. Baldwin's response to such a string of calamities is also not reported and would make very interesting reading.
See Locobase 125 for the 1945 rebuild into possibly the most powerful express passenger locomotive ever.
Retired in 1956.
Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Class | 3450 | 3450 | 3460 | 3460 |
Locobase ID | 406 | 11102 | 125 | 449 |
Railroad | Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) | Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) | Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) | Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) |
Country | USA | USA | USA | USA |
Whyte | 4-6-4 | 4-6-4 | 4-6-4 | 4-6-4 |
Number in Class | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 |
Road Numbers | 3450-3459 | 3450-3459 | 3460 | 3460-3465 |
Gauge | Std | Std | Std | Std |
Number Built | 10 | 6 | ||
Builder | Baldwin | Santa Fe | Santa Fe | Baldwin |
Year | 1927 | 1937 | 1945 | 1937 |
Valve Gear | Walschaert | Walschaert | Walschaert | Walschaert |
Locomotive Length and Weight | ||||
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 13.67 / 4.17 | 13.67 / 4.17 | 14.50 / 4.42 | 14.50 / 4.42 |
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 38.58 / 11.76 | 38.75 / 11.81 | 41.12 / 12.53 | 41.10 / 12.53 |
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.35 |
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 81.38 / 24.80 | 81.55 / 24.86 | 88.67 / 27.03 | 88.67 / 27.03 |
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | 68,300 / 30,980 | 70,000 / 31,752 | 71,600 / 32,477 | 71,570 / 32,464 |
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 198,300 / 89,947 | 206,000 / 93,440 | 210,800 / 95,617 | 213,440 / 96,815 |
Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 343,500 / 155,809 | 352,600 / 159,937 | 417,300 / 189,284 | 412,330 / 187,030 |
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 283,000 / 128,367 | 298,600 / 135,443 | 396,746 / 179,961 | 396,340 / 179,777 |
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 626,500 / 284,176 | 651,200 / 295,380 | 814,046 / 369,245 | 808,670 / 366,807 |
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 15,000 / 56.82 | 15,000 / 56.82 | 20,000 / 75.76 | 20,000 / 75.76 |
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 20 / 18 | 5000 / 18,925 | 7107 / 26,900 | 7000 / 26,495 |
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 110 / 55 | 114 / 57 | 117 / 58.50 | 119 / 59.50 |
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | ||||
Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 73 / 1854 | 79 / 2007 | 84 / 2134 | 84 / 2134 |
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 220 / 1520 | 230 / 1590 | 300 / 2070 | 300 / 2070 |
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 25" x 28" / 635x711 | 25" x 28" / 635x711 | 23.5" x 29.5" / 597x749 | 23.5" x 29" / 597x737 |
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 44,829 / 20334.12 | 43,307 / 19643.75 | 49,456 / 22432.89 | 48,618 / 22052.78 |
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.42 | 4.76 | 4.26 | 4.39 |
Heating Ability | ||||
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 214 - 2.25" / 57 | 160 - 2.25" / 57 | 21 - 2.25" / 57 | 46 - 2.25" / 57 |
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | 40 - 5.5" / 140 | 40 - 5.5" / 140 | 211 - 3.5" / 89 | 300 - 3.5" / 89 |
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 21 / 6.40 | 19.75 / 6.02 | 18.81 / 5.73 | 21 / 6.40 |
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 314 / 29.17 | 388 / 36.05 | 433 / 40.23 | 375 / 34.84 |
Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 88 / 8.18 | 88 / 8.18 | 99 / 9.20 | 98.50 / 9.15 |
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 4156 / 386.10 | 3397 / 315.59 | 4303 / 399.76 | 4770 / 443.31 |
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 980 / 91.04 | 922 / 85.66 | 2020 / 187.66 | 2080 / 193.31 |
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 5136 / 477.14 | 4319 / 401.25 | 6323 / 587.42 | 6850 / 636.62 |
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 261.22 | 213.51 | 290.55 | 327.61 |
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | ||||
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 19,360 | 20,240 | 29,700 | 29,550 |
Same as above plus superheater percentage | 23,038 | 24,490 | 39,204 | 38,415 |
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 82,205 | 107,980 | 171,468 | 146,250 |
Power L1 | 24,472 | 25,953 | 69,900 | 73,168 |
Power MT | 816.21 | 833.25 | 2193.12 | 2267.26 |