Chesapeake & Ohio 4-8-4 "Northern" Locomotives in the USA

Class J-3 (Locobase 246)

Data from tables in 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia and C&O 12 - 1946 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 30 May 2016 email pointing out an inconsistency in the dates for this class and for spotting the Walschaert valve gear on the original class and for a later email asking about driver diameters. ) Works numbers were 7627-7631 in December 1935, 7842-7843 in January 1942

The twelve J-3s really belong in three slightly different sub-classes: J-3 (600-604), J-3a (605-606) in Locobase 15625 and the five J-3a delivered in 1948 with BoxPok drivers (Locobase 15626). By 1944, this batch of five rolled on 74" drivers.

Known as Greenbriers on the C&O, these were among the largest 4-8-4s built. According to Drury (1993), the design was based on the earlier 2-10-4. All of the engines had the same power dimensions (cylinder volume, boiler pressure setting, and driver diameter, which later increased to 74"/1,880 mm) and 14" (356 mm) piston valves. All twelve had trailing-truck boosters to raise starting tractive effort. This first quintet was delivered with Walschaert gear, which was later replaced with the Baker gear that actuated the valves in the rest.

The first two orders used Worthington Type 5-S feed water heaters. In addition to combustion chambers, the 1936 engines had two thermic syphons contributing 108 sq ft (10.03 sq m) to the direct heating surface, and 21 sq ft (1.95 sq m) in arch tubes. Their boilers were originally pressed to 250 psi (17.24 bar), but soon increased it by 5 psi.

The first five were named Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Benjamin Harrison, James Madison, and Edmund Randolph.

In their January 1981 Railfan and Railroad article "The Last Greenbrier", Jim Boyd & Tom Dixon say the J-3's ran between Charlottesville, VA over the mountains to Hinton West Virginia, 175 miles with a ruling grade of 1.52% pullling up to 13 heavy passenger cars.

The authors note that the first five had the steam dome mounted well forward to be closer to the front-end throttle and thus be more efficient. They comment, however, "[t]he theory worked fine on flat-land engines like the T-1s and the Berks], but when its long boiler tipped downhill from the top of a mountain, the C&O J3s had a nasty habit of drowning their dry pipes if the crew was carrying the water a little too high."

600-601 and 603 were retired in April 1953 and sold for scrap, for which the railroad was paid $9,936 each. 602 and 604 followed in July and cost the scrapper $12,155 each.

Class J-3a (Locobase 15626)

Data from tables in 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia and C&O 12 - 1946 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also Eugene L Huddleston, "The Outstanding Features and Many Lives of C&O 614," reproduced at [] [originally published by the Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society, Inc. in their Jan/Feb 2002 issue], last accessed 21 November 2013. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 5 May 2017 email with Lima builder's cards attached that show the class was originally delivered with 72" drivers.) Works numbers were 9302-9306 in June 1948.

The J-3 class is described in more detail in Locobase 246, but the compiler found just enough differences among the sub-classes to give each year's batch its own entry. Like the others, the five J-3as shown here had 14" (356 mm) piston valves.

Lima's builder's card for this last batch shows the engines being delivered with 72" drivers. But a diagram in the C&O's 1947 diagram book dated March 1949 shows 74" drivers and that is reflected in the specifications.

This set saw several changes, however, reflecting both the last few incremental improvements in steam locomotive construction that went into American engines in the late 1940s and the end of material restrictions imposed by war requirements. In response to the latter, weight dropped back to near the 1936 locomotives.

Reflecting the final improvements of the American steam locomotive, nickel steel appeared in every component that seemed to merit it including the integrally cast bed (General Steel Castings). Timken roller bearings reduced friction in every imaginable turning component including all driver and truck axle journals, main and side rods, crank pins, pistons, piston rods, and crossheads. The throttle was an American multiple front end type.

The Worthington feed water heater installed in the first two batches was replaced by a Hancock Type TA-1 exhaust steam injector. Huddleston observes that Alfred Bruce of Alco described such devices as the "poor man's feed water heater" and observes that the C&O was hardly poor in 1948. Yet, he adds, "Steam locomotive historian Phil Shuster warns not to jump to conclusions about the Hancock's performance on 610-614. There is nothing in the "files" to indicate they were ever troublesome or that employees did not

know how to use them effectively."

Gone from the firebox were both the syphons and arch tubes used in the 1936 and 1942 engines. Instead, four security circulators contributed 65 sq ft (6.05 sq m) added to the heating surface area provided by the firebox itself and the longer combustion chamber. Tube and flue counts changed as the Type E superheater tubes now occupied larger-diameter flues. The sand dome casing, which now engulfed the small steam dome, moved its centerline back along the boiler a bit.

Another change: none of the five 1948s had names.

Eugene Huddleston noted the skepticism concerning this order: "Simply amazing is the expenditure of so much money to produce a "state of the art" locomotive in the waning days of steam. It seems nothing was sacrificed to equip the new Greenbriers with the latest features and best appliances. Enthusiasm was still the word in 1947, as this writer well recalls from being told about the order for five more Greenbriers from Lima Locomotive Works by locomotive engineer Vince Hiltz."

Class J-3b (Locobase 15625)

Data from tables in 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia and C&O 12 - 1946 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 5 May 2017 email with Lima builder's cards attach that show the class was originally delivered with 72" drivers.) Works numbers were 7842-7843 in January 1942.

The J-3 class is described in more detail in Locobase 246, but the compiler found just enough differences among the sub-classes to give each year's batch its own entry. Like the others, the two J-3as shown here had 14" (356 mm) piston valves, but substituted Baker-Pilliod gear. for the Walschaert gear of the first five. The J-3as added three superheater flues. Both front and rear trucks had Timken roller bearings.

Their names were Thomas Nelson, Jr and James Monroe.

Like the J-3s, the 1942 locomotives used Worthington Type 5-S feed water heaters. Also like the J-3s, this pair had fireboxes with combustion chambers, two thermic syphons contributing 103 sq ft (12.1 sq m) to the direct heating surface, and 21 sq ft (1.95 sq m) in arch tubes.

Weight increased considerably, however, probably because some types of high-strength steel increasingly used in large American locomotives was reserved for military purposes after the United States entered World War Two in December 1941. Axle loading rose by two tons, adhesion weight increased by 7 tons, and overall engine weight grew almost 15 tons. Tender weight grew by 6,500 lb (2,948 kg). All told, the motive power unit that was the 1942 version of the J-3 weighed just over 447 tons (405.67 tonnes).

The class also underwent a switch in positions for the small steam dome and the large sand dome. The steam dome's opening now appeared over the gap between the second and third driving axles and the sand dome was located over the gap bwteen the first and second driver sets. As noted in Locobase 246, the original position increased the risk that a high water level would cause the dry pipe to mix water with steam. This was never desirable.

By 1948, both engines had received the 74" drivers fitted to the rest of the J-3s.

Both were retired in July 1953, for which the C&O received $12,701 each.