Norfolk & Western Other Articulated Locomotives in the USA

Class X1 (Locobase 13802)

Data from "Articulated Compound Locomotive," American Engineer & Railroad Journal, Volume 84, No 10 (September 1910), pp. 341-342. See also N&W 12-1929 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for supplying the valve gear ID.)

In the same year that Baldwin delivered its Y-1 2-8-8-2 locomotives, Alco produced this pair of all-adhesion pushers. The AERJ report notes that the two builders differed in their approaches with these two orders displaying three main areas of differences: "...wheel arrangement, boiler construction and system of compounding."

The absence of a leading truck meant that these would remain unique on the N & W - all of their other large articulateds had at least two auxiliary axles.

Contrasting the two boilers reveals that Baldwin's interest in its own style of large feedwater heater (such as fitted to most Santa Fe articulateds at this time, for example) and Baldwin reheater ahead of the boiler proper stood in stark relief against Schenectady's provision of "...simply and entirely a steam generator." Tube length was 3 feet (914 mm) longer, reaching the maximum extent any articulated would ever deploy. Even with so long a boiler and the lack of a leading truck, the smokebox door opening was above the space between the first and second driving axles.

Schenectady's use of the Mellin compounding system meant the inclusion of an automatic intercepting valve (as opposed to the much simpler, nonadjustable valve used in the Y1s) that admitted steam "...at a reduced pressure to the receiver as soon as the throttle is opened and automatically closes when the exhaust from the high-pressure cylinders builds up the receiver pressure to the proper point."

Locobase observes that both had very small fireboxes for the boiler.

Which design better suited the purpose of moving freight over the road? Well, according to Drury (1993), "Tests showed the X1 was the better performer, but the leading and trailing trucks of the Y1 gave it better riding stability." He also points out that the Y1s were retired first because of their complicated separable boilers, while the N & W superheated the X1s and raised their boiler pressures to 230 psi.

They ended their days as hump switchers before being retired in 1934.