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The reference for locomotives and railcars

Southern Pacific class AC-9

United States 1939 12 produced
No. 3802 in October 1939 in Kansas City Wesley Krambeck / collection Taylor Rush

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
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