ATSF class 3460

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ATSF class 3460
ATSF 3460, the “Blue Goose”
ATSF 3460, the “Blue Goose”
Numbering: 3460-3465
Number: 6th
Manufacturer: Baldwin Locomotive Works
Year of construction (s): 1937
Type : 2'C2 'h2
Genre : Hudson
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Length: Locomotive : 16,550 mm (54 ft 3 3 ⁄ 4 in )
Locomotive and tender : 34,320 mm (112 ft 7 in)
Height: 5,080 mm (16 ft 8 in)
Width: 3,280 mm (10 ft 9 in)
Service mass: 187.1 t (412,380 lb )
Service mass with tender: 323.2 t (712,500 lb )
Friction mass: 95.9 t (211,400 lb )
Starting tractive effort: 219.3 kN (49,300 lb f )
Driving wheel diameter: 2,134 mm (84 in )
Impeller diameter front: 940 mm (37 in)
Rear wheel diameter: 1,016 mm (40 in)
Control type : Heusinger control
( Walschaert valve gear )
Number of cylinders: 2
Cylinder diameter: 597 × 749 mm (23.5 × 29.5 in)
Boiler overpressure: 2.07 MPa (300 lb / in² )
Grate area: 9.24 m² (99.5 ft² )
Water supply: 76,000 L
(20,000 US gallons ; 17,000 Imperial gallons )
Fuel supply: 26,000 liters of oil
(7,000 US gallons ; 5,800 imperial gallons )

The class 3460 of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway consisted of six 2C2 - Hudson - steam locomotives built in 1937 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the service between La Junta , Colorado and Chicago , Illinois, a fairly flat, suitable for the Hudson-type, Railway line. They were much larger than the older ATSF class 3450 locomotives . All were built with oil firing, but in a way of construction that enabled easy conversion to coal firing.

They had a lot in common with Class F7 on Milwaukee Road and Class E-4 on Chicago and North Western Railway . All three types were fast and "Hudsons" ( Whyte notation 4-6-4 ) with 84- inch drive wheels for service in the Midwest with 300  lb / in² boiler pressure.

In December 1937, locomotive 3461 set a world record for the longest continuous run of a steam locomotive for the full 2,227 miles (3,584 km) from Los Angeles , California to Chicago, with just five stops on the line to replenish supplies. She pulled train 8, the "Fast Mail Express". An average speed of 45  mph (72  km / h ) was achieved, including stops; the maximum speed while driving was 90 mph (140 km / h). A leader locomotive was necessary for support on steep inclines , but such long-distance universal locomotives were a target of the railway operations departments because the associated reduction in the various locomotive models and the increased use of the individual locomotive was suitable for lowering operating costs.

The first locomotive of this class with the number 3460 was built streamlined and brightly painted in "Robon's blue" and silver. Known as the "Blue Goose," it was the Santa Fe's only streamlined steam locomotive and was widely featured in railroad publications and popular with fans.

Locomotive number 3461 was also provided with streamlined cladding along the top of the boiler, which also clad the dome. The aim of this experiment was to try to guide smoke away from the locomotive, but this did not prove successful and was therefore rejected again. Otherwise, all locomotives had a telescopic chimney construction developed by Santa Fe, which served to divert smoke into the air, but at the same time enabled passage through low bridges and tunnels.

The "Hudson" Class 3460, the Northerns of Class 3765 and the Texas locomotives of class 5001 were approximately developed at the same time and ordered and had much in common in design. In addition, they all used the same six-axle tender , which led to them being often called the "Big Three".

Only the locomotive with the number 3463 remained as the only locomotive of this class. It now stands as an exhibit on a pedestal on the grounds of the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka , Kansas.

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