Railroad History

Passenger and Commuter Rail

Railroading Today

Rolling Stock

Infrastructure and Terms

Museums and Tourism

Miscellaneous

About The Site

[?] Subscribe To American-Rails.com

Baltimore and Ohio Steam Locomotives

The classifications given by railroads to their steam locomotive fleets were as varied as the machines themselves with several different designations within a particular class! The Baltimore and Ohio steam locomotives were no different and featured everything from Consolidations to Yellowstones in several wide ranging classes. The information here is merely meant to list these classes and does not go into detail about their specific differences among general types (i.e., Pacifics, Mikados, Prairies, etc.).

However, it should be noted that the B&O's steam locomotive fleet was comprised of everything from Pacifics built for speed (for use in passenger services) to large Mallets and articulateds for power in the coalfields. As with the rest of the industry, the B&O had retired most of its steam fleet by the 1950s. However, thankfully several types of the B&O's steam locomotives were preserved for posterity although, unfortunately, no large wheel arrangements (aside from a Mikado and Pacific).

Class A

The B&O's Class A steam locomotives were almost entirely 4-4-2 Atlantic Types (Class A-1 to Class A-10) save for the original Class A, which were 4-6-0 Ten-Wheelers.

Class B

The B&O's Class B steam locomotives were entirely Ten-Wheelers ranging from Class B to Class B-58.

Class C

The B&O's Class C steam locomotives were primarily switchers of the 0-4-0 wheel arrangement (some also were saddletank designs).

Class D

The B&O's Class D steam locomotives were switchers of the 0-6-0 wheel arrangement ranging from Class D to Class D-44.

Class E

The B&O's Class E steam locomotives were primarily 2-8-0 Consolidations some of which were also 0-8-0 switchers ranging from Class E-1 to Class E-60.

Class EL

The B&O's Class EL steam locomotives were heavy 2-8-8-0 articulateds ranging from Class EL-1a to Class EL-6.

Class EE

The B&O's Class EE steam locomotives were heavy 2-8-8-2 articulateds and included Class EE-1 and EE-2a.

Class EM-1

The B&O's Class EM-1 steam locomotives were the last steamers ever built for the railroad (early 1940s) and included the heavy 2-8-8-4 Yellowstone articulateds (used in drag service).

Class F

The B&O's Class F steam locomotives were early 4-4-0 American Types and only two were designated for the class.

Class H

The B&O's Class H steam locomotives were entirely 4-4-0 American Types ranging from Class H-1 to H-12.

Class J-1

The B&O's Class J-1 was used to designate the railroad's 4-4-4 Lady Baltimore used along the main line between Baltimore and New York.

Class I

The B&O's Class I steam locomotives were 4-4-0 American Types.

Class K

The B&O's Class K steam locomotives were 2-6-0 Moguls ranging from Class K-1 to K-20.

Class KK

The B&O's Class KK steam locomotives were heavy 2-8-8-2 articulateds ranging from Class KK-1 to Class KK-5.

Class KB-1

The B&O's Class KB-1/KB-1a steam locomotives were heavy 2-6-6-4 articulateds.

Class KL-1

The B&O's Class KL-1 was used to designate the unusual 2-6-8-0 experimental design.

Class L

The B&O's Class L steam locomotives were 0-8-0 switchers and ranged from Class L to Class L-4a.

Class LL-1

The B&O's Class LL-1 steam locomotives were heavy 0-8-8-0 articulateds.

Class M

The B&O's Class M steam locomotives were 4-4-0 American Types ranging from Class M to Class M-6.

Class N-1

The B&O's Class N-1 was used to designate the experimental 4-4-4-4 design.

Class P

The B&O's Class P steam locomotives were the very successful 4-6-2 Pacifics used in everything from passenger to freight service. They included Class P to Class P-19.

Class Q

The B&O's Class Q steam locomotives were 2-8-2 Mikados and were also used in a wide-range of assignments. They included Class Q-1 to Q-10.

Class S

The B&O's Class S steam locomotives were heavy 2-10-2 Santa Fe Types and included Class S and Class S-1.

Class T

The B&O's Class T steam locomotives were heavy 4-8-2 Mountain Types including Class T through Class T-4a.

Class U

The B&O's Class U steam locomotives were 0-10-0 switchers.

Class V

The B&O's Class V steam locomotives were heavy 4-6-4 Hudsons and included Class V-1 to Class V-4.

Class Y

The B&O's Class Y steam locomotives were 2-10-0 Decapods.

The above information is certainly not a complete listing of every steamer the B&O ever operated. For a far more comprehensive listing of Baltimore and Ohio Steam Locomotives, with photographs, please click here.

For more information about Baltimore and Ohio Steam Locomotives, differing classes, information detailing each class, and much more I would highly recommend one, or both, of the books below. Baltimore & Ohio Steam Locomotives: The Last 30 Years 1928-1958 by author Thomas W. Dixon generally covers the B&O's steam roster and is filled with historic photographs covering 128 pages.

Also, Steam Locomotives of B&O Railroad: Photo Archive by author Kim Tschudy is also a pictorial history of the B&O's steam fleet from its earliest beginnings in early 19th century to its final days in the 1940s and 1950s. All in all, if you have any interest in the B&O's steam locomotives or would like to learn more about them both of these books give an excellent general overview regarding such. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

footer for baltimore and ohio steam locomotives page