The Prosperity Special

The Prosperity Special

The Prosperity Special ( English for prosperity - special train ) was a special train for a delivery of twenty 1'E'1-Baldwin steam locomotives of the class F-4 in May and June 1922.

history

The delivery of 20 locomotives from Baldwin Locomotive Works to the Southern Pacific Company was part of an order for 50 units. The train itself was almost 800 meters long, excluding the pulling and pushing locomotives. He drove from Eddystone ( Pennsylvania ) on the Pennsylvania Railroad to St. Louis from May 22, 1922 . It then went to Corsicana on the St. Louis Southwestern Railway . The train eventually traveled across the Southern Pacific to Los Angeles , where it arrived in June 1922.

The locomotives were later used in heavy freight transport on the mountain routes in the far west of the United States. Each locomotive was nearly 30 meters long and weighed 282 t (621,000 pounds), making the entire train of 20 locomotives over 6,000 tons.

The tenders had cylindrical water tanks and a smaller oil tank at the front end for the fuel used in all Southern Pacific locomotives. The oil was sprayed into the combustion chamber with a steam jet injector and the fire was blown using valves located within reach of the heater. Various modern devices have been used to increase the efficiency and capacity of the locomotives. The feed water was heated prior to entering the boiler and the steam was severely superheated before entering the steam cylinders. An auxiliary motor, a so-called booster, was attached to the trailer to increase the pulling power when starting heavy trains and on steep inclines. The direction of travel of the locomotive could be reversed by a power-operated device, which relieved the train driver of a lot of manual work.

It was only possible to move twenty of these heavy locomotives in one train, and multiple pull and push locomotives were required on level lines, while additional manpower was needed to cross the Allegheny Mountains west of Altoona. No fewer than six locomotives were required to pull the train through Pennsylvania's Horseshoe Curve . During the entire journey, each locomotive was manned by an experienced driver who was responsible for the locomotive to which he was assigned.

The departure of the train, arguably the most valuable to have moved in the United States by then, was a memorable event at the Baldwin factory that built the locomotives. Many distinguished men from Washington, Pennsylvania , all parts of Pennsylvania and adjacent states, including officials from the Southern Pacific and other railroads in the country, witnessed the launch. Due to the care that had to be taken in handling this train, its movements were only possible during the day. The top speed was limited so that the train was seen by millions of people during its long journey. At many stations in the cities through which the train passed, state and local authorities, officials and members of chambers of commerce, trade and industry associations, public school authorities and local trade and business associations had made arrangements to allow the train to move through their localities to visit. Overnight there was an opportunity to take a close look at the locomotives.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company: A notable shipment of locomotives. In: The Locomotive , October 1922. pp. 111, 112 and 119.
2. ^ GP: Prosperity Special - 1922.