gokeefe wrote:Here are some data on Dick's comment about #470's size and specifications relative to other all other operational Pacifics:
- Railroad #, Type, Engine Weight, Driver Diameter, Tractive Effort
- MEC #470, Pacific, 260,900, 73'', 36,619
- SP #2472, Pacific, 300,000, 73'', 45,850
- ATSF #3415, Pacific, 352,500, 79'', 42,200
- CPR #1293, Pacific, 234,000, 70'', 34,000
- GM&N #425, Pacific, Unknown, 69'', 35,156
CNR #5588 (Pacific, Unknown, 73'', 33,630) is a candidate for restoration but is not operational at present. Although "middle of the pack" for this particular lot its worth remembering that the Western engines were designed to haul trains over the Sierra Nevada grades or over very long distances across the desert Southwest.
Regardless, 470 isn't that bad... It's a matter of comparison between other similarly sized engines in the Northeast with readily available data. So, using the same format;
MEC 470, 4-6-2, 260,900, 73", 36,619
CN 7470, 0-6-0, 174,000, 51", 36,703
VRR 97, 2-8-0, 141,000, 48", 29,900
BR&W 60, 2-8-0, 141,000, 51", 31,290
A&A 18, 2-8-0, 111,500, 50", 28,400
N&W 475, 4-8-0, 167,500, 56", 40,163
GWR 90, 2-10-0, 190,000, 56", 48,000
Looking at these engines, 470 is easily within the top 4, but has the largest drivers, which equates to better speeds. By far, 7470 is easily the most flexible, but there's no way it can easily operate over 20mph. While some of these engines have operated on the mainline in the past (no. 90 did do a High Iron Company excursion way back when), 470 can easily operate at mainline speeds. Last I checked, that's a necessity with operation on today's rail network...