loco-info.com - Southern Railway (USA) classes K and Ks

No. 849

collection Rich Driver

The class K designated a class of standard Consolidations of the Southern, with over 500 built beginning in 1903. The first 128 locomotives had a boiler with 437 smoke tubes, the later ones only had 403 tubes. In addition to the Southern, the subsidiaries also received a three-digit number of the second version. From 1921, a total of 393 units were equipped with a superheater, the valve chest was also replaced and the class designation was changed to “Ks”. Depending on whether the individual locomotives had been rebuilt, they were taken out of service towards the end of the 1930s or even survived the early 1950s.

Variant	first variant	second variant	Ks - 22½ inches

General
Built	1903-1904	1905-1906	from 1921
Manufacturer	ALCO, Baldwin	Baldwin	Southern
Axle config	2-8-0 (Consolidation)
Gauge	4 ft 8 1/2 in (Standard gauge)

Dimensions and Weights
Wheelbase	24 ft 3 1/2 in
Rigid wheelbase	16 ft
Total wheelbase	54 ft 11 1/2 in	56 ft 9 in
Service weight	199,875 lbs	199,910 lbs	213,000 lbs
Adhesive weight	176,750 lbs	180,610 lbs	189,000 lbs
Total weight	319,875 lbs	346,910 lbs	360,000 lbs
Axle load	44,188 lbs	45,153 lbs	46,945 lbs
Water capacity	8,000 us gal	7,500 us gal
Fuel capacity	25,000 lbs (coal)		24,000 lbs (coal)

Boiler
Grate area	53 sq ft	54 sq ft	53.5 sq ft
Firebox area	143 sq ft	237 sq ft	232 sq ft
Tube heating area	3,375 sq ft	3,065 sq ft	2,094 sq ft
Evaporative heating area	3,518 sq ft	3,302 sq ft	2,326 sq ft
Superheater area			510 sq ft
Total heating area	3,518 sq ft	3,302 sq ft	2,836 sq ft

Variant	first variant	second variant	Ks - 22½ inches

Power Plant
Driver diameter	56 in	57 in
Boiler pressure	200 psi		215 psi
Expansion type	simple
Cylinders	two, 22 x 30 in		two, 22 1/2 x 30 in

Power
Power source	steam
Estimated power	1,700 hp (1,268 kW)	1,750 hp (1,305 kW)	1,900 hp (1,417 kW)
Starting effort	44,079 lbf	43,305 lbf	48,693 lbf

Calculated Values
Factor of adhesion	1 : 4.01	1 : 4.17	1 : 3.88
Optimal speed	25 mph	26 mph	25 mph
Power-to-weight ratio	0.0085 hp/lb	0.0088 hp/lb	0.0089 hp/lb
Heating Area Equivalent	4,233 sq ft	4,487 sq ft	4,506 sq ft
Cylinder volume/HAE	1 : 950.41	1 : 896.61	1 : 892.82
Adhesive weight/Total	1 : 1.13	1 : 1.11	1 : 1.13
Tractive force/Heating area	1 : 2816.76	1 : 2948.32	1 : 3859.87
Grate area/Heating area	1 : 63.68	1 : 56.76	1 : 48.68
Firebox/Tube area	1 : 23.60	1 : 12.93	1 : 11.22
Total/Superheater			1 : 4.56

steam locomotive

freight

last changed: 07/2023

Navigation