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Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 Mallet Locomotives by Karen Parker C&O Railway Series
Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 Mallet Locomotives by Karen Parker C&O Railway Series #15
Soft Cover
96 pages
Copyright 2016
CONTENTS
1: Introduction4
2: The Early Mallets: Classes H-1, H-2, and H-35
Sidebar: N&W's Z Class 2-6-6-2s 12
3: C&O's Workhorse Mallet: Class H-414
Sidebar: The H-4a Simple Articulated38
4: USRA Mallets: Class H-541
5: The Last-and-Best: Class H-650
The H-6s of 194972
6: Hocking Valley Mallets: Class H-3 (second)78
7: Tenders 81
8: Drawing Portfolio82
9: Summary Data - Construction and Retirement92
10: References96
INTRODUCTION
When we think of mine runs on the C&O we think of strings of hopper cars pulled up the hollows by 2-6-6-2 Mallet compound locomotives, usually of the H-4 or H-6 class. But these doughty locomotives were not originally bought for mine runs. When the first 2-6-6-2, class H-1 No. 751, was delivered in July, 1910, it was an experiment to learn if something more capable than the class G-9 Consolidation-type 2-8-0s was practical on the climb up and over the Alleghany summit. Its success was spectacular. It was able to do 70 percent more work than a pair of the G-9s, eliminating the helper operation between Ronceverte, W.Va. and the summit at Alleghany, Va. The railway didn't hesitate to order 24 near duplicates in Class H-2, placing them in service in February, 1911. They banished the G-9s, and indeed all non-articulated steam power, from the Alleghany run forever. These engines' increased productivity allowed the C&O to handle the same tonnage with 17 fewer trains per day.
It didn't take the railway long to decide that the 2-6-6-2 Mallet was the ideal heavy freight engine, and they began ordering duplicates of this general design in classes H-4, H-5, and H-6, ultimately rostering 275. These included 20 United States Railroad Administration (USRA) design engines, acquired while the railway was under the control of the federal government during WW I and 25 virtual duplicates of the
C&O's H-4 class, inherited from the Hocking Valley railroad when it was merged into the C&O in 1930. The final 10, in class H-6 although differing significantly from the earlier engines in that class, were delivered from Baldwin in September, 1949. These were intended to replace earlier worn-out 2-6-6-2s in mine run service.
During their long life on the C&O the 2-6-6-2s worked ' in just about every kind of service. Mainline freight was a specialty up through the mid-1920s. They proved to be particularly well-adapted for mine run service, where their power allowed them to handle heavy trains and their short rigid wheelbase gave them the agility to negotiate the sharp curves on the branches extending back into the hollows. The powerful Mallets were even used occasionally in passenger service.
So, for 40 years or more, the 2-6-6-2 Mallet compound locomotive had its place on the C&O, with important roles to fill. During the 1940s and early 1950s the Superpower locomotives were the glamour engines - big, powerful, fast, and impressive. But the 2-6-6-2s, whose basic design dated back to 1910, plodded on, doing their important jobs right up until the end of steam. In fact, the last steam locomotive to run on the C&O was not one of the fancy Superpower engines, but rather one of the lowly 2-6-6-2s, on a mine run out of Logan, W.Va.
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