The USRA Heavy Mikado was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration (USRA), the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. These locomotives were of 2-8-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 1′D1′ in UIC classification. A total of 233 locomotives were built to this plan for the USRA; postwar, it became a de facto standard design, which was built to the total of 957 locomotives including the USRA originals and all subsequent copies.[2]

USRA Heavy Mikado
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderALCO, Baldwin, Lima
Build date1918–1944
Total produced233 originals, plus 724 copies[1]
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte2-8-2
 • UIC1′D1′ h2
Driver dia.63 in (1,600 mm)[2]
Wheelbaselocomotive: 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)[2]
Firebox:
 • Grate area70.8 sq ft (6.58 m2)[2]
Boiler pressure190 psi (1.31 MPa)[2]
CylindersTwo[2]
Cylinder size27 in × 32 in (690 mm × 810 mm)[2]
Valve gearWalschaerts[2]
Performance figures
Tractive effort60,000 lbf (270 kN)[2]
Career
Scrapped1938-1961
DispositionAll scrapped
General arrangement drawing.

Heavy Mikado used the same running gear as the USRA Light Mikado but were built to a higher axle load, larger cylinders and a much larger boiler for more power and steam-generating ability. Many aspects of the PRR L1s class were carried over to the Heavy Mikado, although not that locomotive's distinctive Belpaire firebox.[1]

Original owners

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USRA originals

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Table of original USRA allocation[3]
Railroad Quantity Class Road numbers Notes
Central Railroad of New Jersey
10
M1s
850–859
Built 1918-1925 by ALCO and Baldwin reclassified M63 in 1945.[4] Scrapped between 1947-1955.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
15
O-4
5500–5514
Built 1919 by Baldwin. Several to Colorado and Southern Railway and Fort Worth and Denver Railroad.[5] Scrapped between 1954-1957.
CB&Q affiliate Fort Worth and Denver Railway
5
E-4A2
451–455
[6] Built 1919 by Baldwin. Scrapped 1958-1959
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("Milwaukee Road")
100
8600–8699
Built 1918 ALCO. Renumbered 300–399 (not in order).[7] Scrapped between 1938-1956.
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway ("Omaha Road")
4
J-2
422–425
[8] Built 1919 by ALCO. Scrapped between 1942-1944.
El Paso and Southwestern Railroad
5
H1s-59
363-367
Built 1918 by Baldwin. 4 to Great Northern Railway #3204–3208 in 1920 Scrapped by Great Northern 1947-1950.[9] Remainder scrapped between 1948-1955 by El Paso and Southwestern Railroad.
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway
5
AB
738-742
Built 1918 by Baldwin. To Western Pacific Railroad in 1920.[10] Scrapped 1939-1941.
Erie Railroad
15
N-2
3200–3214
[11] Built 1918 by ALCO. Scrapped between 1950-1952.
Great Northern Railway
4
3145–3148
[9] Built 1918 by ALCO. Renumbered 3200-3203. Scrapped between 1941-1942.
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
20
J4
1750–1769
[12] Built 1918 by ALCO. Scrapped between 1943-1945.
New York Central Railroad subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
15
H-9b, H-9d
9505–9509, 9510–9519
[13] Built 1919 by ALCO and Baldwin. Scrapped between 1950-1952.
New York Central Railroad subsidiary Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad
15
H-9a, H-9c
9580–9589, 9590–9594
[13] Built 1918-1919 by ALCO. Scrapped between 1947-1948.
Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway
20
M-1
6001–6020
Built 1918. Later to New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad ("Nickel Plate Road") #671–690 in 1949.[14] Scrapped between 1950-1953.
Total 233

Copies[1]

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Table of copies
Railroad Quantity Class Road numbers Notes
Central Railroad of New Jersey
56
M2s, M2as, M3
860–915
Built 1920-1923 by ALCO. Later reclassified M63 in 1945.[4] Scrapped 1949-1958
Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad ("Monon")
1
530
[citation needed] Built 1923 ALCO. Scrapped in 1946.
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway ("Omaha Road")
6
J-2
426–431
[8] Built 1919 by ALCO. Scrapped between 1947-1960.
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway ("Omaha Road")
8
J-3
432–439
[8] Built 1926 by ALCO Schenectady. Scrapped between 1949-1961.
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
145
J-4, J-4A
1770–1914
[12] Built 1918-1926 by ALCO. Scrapped between 1945-1960.
Missouri Pacific Railroad
170
MK-63
1401–1570
[15] Built 1921-1923 by ALCO. Scrapped between 1949-1955.
MP subsidiary St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway
10
MK-63
1111–1120
[15] Built 1926 by ALCO-Brooks. Scrapped between 1949-1956.
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad ("Nickel Plate Road")
3
H-6f
662-665
[citation needed]Built 1918 by Lima. Scrapped in 1955.
Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
8
H6, H7
1001-1002, 1110, 1150-1153
Built 1918 by Baldwin and ALCO. Scrapped between 1945-1953.
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
65
4100
4100–4164
[16] Built 1923-1926 by Baldwin. Scrapped in 1952.
Southern Railway
115
Ms-4
4800–4915
[17] Built 1923-1928 by ALCO and Baldwin. Scrapped between 1952-1954.
Southern subsidiary Alabama Great Southern Railroad
8
Ms-4
6622–6629
[17] Built 1926 by ALCO. Scrapped between 1941-1949.
Southern subsidiary Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railroad
43
Ms-4
6320–6337, 6350–6374
[17] Built 1926 by Baldwin and ALCO. Scrapped between 1950-1955.
West Point Route (Atlanta and West Point Rail Road)
1
F
430
[18] Built 1944 by Baldwin. Scrapped in 1949.
West Point Route (Western Railway of Alabama)
1
F
380
[18] Built 1944 by Baldwin. Scrapped in 1952.
Total 724

None of the originals built under USRA auspices or any of the subsequent copies were preserved.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Westcott (1960).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Huddleston (2002).
  3. ^ "USRA locomotives". Steamlocomotive.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-15. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  4. ^ a b Drury pp.74, 76
  5. ^ Drury pp.101, 106
  6. ^ Drury pp.136, 138
  7. ^ Drury pp.116, 122
  8. ^ a b c Drury pp. 95, 98
  9. ^ a b Keyes & Middleton p.102
  10. ^ Drury p.430
  11. ^ Drury pp.172, 180
  12. ^ a b Drury pp.277, 230
  13. ^ a b Drury pp. 268, 278
  14. ^ Drury p.287
  15. ^ a b Drury pp.248–249, 254
  16. ^ Drury pp.342, 345
  17. ^ a b c Drury pp.369, 372–373
  18. ^ a b Drury p.30
  • Drury, George H. (1993), Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company, ISBN 0-89024-206-2, LCCN 93041472
  • Huddleston, Eugene L. (2002). Uncle Sam's Locomotives: The USRA and the Nation's Railroads. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34086-1.
  • Keyes, Norman C Jr; Middleton, Kenneth R (Autumn 1980). "The Great Northern Railway Company: All-Time Locomotive Roster 1861–1970". Railroad History (143). Boston, MA: The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. ISSN 0090-7847.
  • Westcott, Linn H. (1960). Model Railroader Cyclopedia, Volume 1: Steam Locomotives. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89024-001-9.
  • "Clearance and Weight Diagrams for Standard Locomotives". Railway Age. 65 (17): 745–746. October 25, 1918 – via Archive.org.