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The 4-8-2 Mountain Type Steam Locomotive

The Mountain Type, with a 4-8-2 wheel arrangement, was a predecessor steam locomotive design of the later highly successful Northern Type. The new type debuted in 1911 for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway to replace the use of Pacifics, which could no longer effectively handle the increased weight of freight and passenger cars, particularly over steep grades (this is also why the new type received the name “Mountains” from the rugged Appalachian range the C&O operated through).

The Mountain Type was originally built by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) for the C&O but by the time production ended on the design, Baldwin and Lima Locomotive Works had also contributed to the over 2,000, in total, built for U.S. carriers. While the Pennsylvania and New York Central would come to own the most Mountain Types several other Class I systems also rostered 4-8-2s by either purchasing from a manufacturer or simply building their own.

For a look at some of the railroads which rostered Mountains, and their designated classes, please have a look at the table below (Please note that the class listing here is very general as many railroads broke the locomotive down into further designations such as H-1a, H-1b, H-1c, etc. Also, not all railroads are listed that owned Mountains):

· Baltimore & Ohio: Class T3 – 44

· Burlington: Class B-1 – 21

· Chesapeake & Ohio: Class J-1/J-2 – 10

· Florida East Coast: No Designated Class – 90

· Illinois Central: No Designated Class – 136

· Lackawanna: No Designated Class – 45

· Missouri Pacific: Class MT – 33

· New Haven: Class R (1-3) – 70

· New York Central: Class L (1-4) – 600

· Norfolk & Western: Class K (1-3) – 48

· Pennsylvania: Class M1 – 301

· Rock Island: Class M50 – 62

· Santa Fe: No Designated Class – 51

· Southern Pacific: Class Mt (1-5) – 83

· Southern Railway: Class Ts – 58

· Union Pacific: Class MT – 60

Today, several of these beautiful locomotives survive including many from the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (the Frisco) and at least one is still in operating condition, Canadian National #6060, owned by the Rocky Mountain Rail Society based in Calgary, Alberta.

For more information on the Mountain Type please click here to visit SteamLocomotive.com to learn much, much more about this steam locomotive.

For more information on the Mountain Type steam locomotive consider How a Steam Locomotive Works by author Karen Parker, which explores in great detail how exactly each component of a steam locomotive works but is also easy enough to read for anyone to understand. The book has received excellent reviews and is a great resource on steam locomotives and a fine reference tool; you should find it very useful.

Also, consider the book American Steam Locomotives from author Brian Solomon. While this publication does not include quite as much technical data as Parker's book, How a Steam Locomotive Works, it is still a very good resource with lots of information covering many of the most popular steam designs such as Pacifics, Ten Wheelers, Berkshires, and Hudsons and best of all, is loaded with photographs! 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.

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