Southern Pacific class AC-9
United States 1939 12 produced
While most of Southern Pacific's later articulated locomotives were Cab Forwards, the twelve AC-9s were of conventional design. Since there were no tunnels to pass through on the line from Tucumcari, New Mexico to El Paso, Texas, they were able to burn coal in the usual way. Since the coal available was not of high quality, the grate measured 139.5 square feet or just under 13 m².
These Yellowstones were the heaviest locomotives that the Southern Pacific operated. They had a skyline casing on the top of the boiler and were designed for speeds of 75 mph or 121 km/h. After their traditional line was converted to diesel, they were converted to run on oil and moved to other lines. They were retired between 1953 and 1956.
Technical data
General
- Built
- 1939
- Manufacturers
- Lima
- Wheel arrangement
- 2-8-8-4 (Yellowstone)
- Gauge
- 1,435 mm (Standard gauge)
Dimensions and weights
- Wheelbase
- 20.19 m
- Total wheelbase
- 34.44 m
- Service mass
- 312.9 t
- Adhesion mass
- 240.9 t
- Total mass
- 494.7 t
- Rigid wheelbase
- 5.16 m
- Axle load
- 30.1 t
- Water capacity
- 83,733 l
- Fuel capacity
- 25.4 t (coal)
Boiler
- Grate area
- 12.96 m²
- Firebox surface
- 54.72 m²
- Tube heating surface
- 587.984 m²
- Evaporative heating surface
- 642.704 m²
- Superheater surface
- 263.009 m²
- Total heating surface
- 905.7 m²
Power plant
- Driver diameter
- 1,613 mm
- Boiler pressure
- 17.9 bar
- Expansion type
- simple expansion
- Cylinders
- four, 610 x 813 mm
Power
- Power source
- steam
- Estimated power
- 4,474 kW (6,083 PS)
- Starting effort
- 570.7 kN
Calculated values
- Factor of adhesion
- 1 : 4.14
- Optimal speed
- 48 km/h
- Power-to-weight ratio
- 14.3 kW/t
- Heating Surface Equivalent
- 1,442.3 m²
- Cylinder volume/HSE
- 1 : 657.90
- Adhesive weight/Total
- 1 : 1.30
- Tractive force/Heating surface
- 1 : 13.16
- Grate area/Heating surface
- 1 : 69.89
- Firebox/Tube surface
- 1 : 10.75
- Total/Superheater
- 1 : 2.44