Category: Trains > Chesapeake & Ohio K-4 Class 2-8-4 Steam Locomotives
Chesapeake & Ohio K-4 Class 2-8-4 Steam Locomotives - The First in the History Series Books! This is the 1st book and covers the C&O K04 Kanawha. During World War II, the C&O turned to the 2-8-4 wheel arrangement to handle the fast freight schedule demanded by the war-time needs. The C & O had watched the development of the 2-8-4 on the Nickel Plate Road and the Pere Marquette through the "Advisory Mechanical Committee" which was common to the four railroads controlled by the Van Sweringens. It based its 2-8-4 design on the NKP and Pere Marquette "Berkshires". However it chose to name them "Kanawhas" after the Kanawha River, which paralleled its main line. Between 1943 and 1947, the C & O purchased ninety, Class K-4, 2-8-4 "Kanawhas", twenty from the Lima Locomotive Works and seventy from the American Locomotive Company. These locomotives were numbered 2700 through 2789. All of these locomotives had 69" diameter drivers, 26" x 34" cylinders, a 245 psi boiler pressure, they exerted 69,350 pounds of tractive effort and each weighed about 292,500 pounds. Soft cover Search for more items by this author: Thomas W. Dixon Jr. Chesapeake & Ohio K-4 Class 2-8-4 Steam Locomotives from C&O Historical SocietyView More Specials » Check Out This Week's Specials!View More Specials » |