Pennsylvania Railroad H8b Consolidation locomotive
Known as the "standard Railroad of the
World" the PRR liked to rely on standard designs, and bought nearly a
thousand H8 Consolidations in the early years of the 20th Century for
light freight work. These tough little engines were active until the
end of steam on the Pennsy, but although several other H-class
locomotives were preserved, no H8s survive.
from a 1910 magazine, in the
public domain
What is said to be the heaviest freight train ever hauled by one
locomotive in this country and probably in the world was moved over the
Pennsylvania Railroad between Altoona and Elona Pa on June 22 1909 when
locomotive No 1113 pulled a train of 105 steel coal cars loaded with
5,544 tons of coal for a distance of 127 miles in seven hours and
twelve minutes, or an average speed of 17.6 miles per hour. The maximum
grade over this section of the road is but 12 ft to the mile The total
weight of the train including engine tender and caboose was 7,644 tons
and the weight of the train behind the tender about 7453 tons The train
was about 3,600 ft long
The locomotive that made this record was built at the Juniata shops of
the Pennsylvania
Railroad and is one of what is known as class H8b. It was designed
in the mechanical engineer's office at Altoona and is an excellent
example of a very powerful Consolidation engine equipped with drivers
which permit moderately high speed and with sufficient heating surface
to make such speeds as for instance 20 miles per hour attainable for
long distances at practically full tractive effort. A factor of
adhesion of nearly five was adopted in order to be assured that the
full power of the engine could be delivered even under difficult rail
condiitons. A high factor of safety in a freight locomotive is also of
great benefit in starting a heavy train out of the yards without the
assistance of a pusher.
H8b Consolidation Plans
