USRA 2-8-8-2

USRA 2-8-8-2

During the first World War, the United States government put the nation's railroads under the control of a government agency: the USRA (United States Railroad Administration). The lasting legacy of the USRA was a group of standard locomotive designs, which were used by railroads across the country. The locomotives were designed to use a minimum of materials to conserve vital materials for the war effort. To serve as many roles as possible, the USRA created a set of 12 standard steam loco designs.
The first to be delivered was Baltimore & Ohio 4500, a USRA light 2-8-2. This engine is currently on display at the B&O Railway Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. The USRA engines came very late: even 4500 served for only a few months before the war ended; many USRA engines were not delivered until after the war.
The origin of the USRA Heavy Mallet can be traced to the Norfolk'n Western Y2 class of 1918. The Y2s had several major issues in their design which prevented them from being very successful. The N&W, having a large amount of influence in the USRA, essentially used the USRA to fix the Y2. The end result was a very successful Mallet that was made for haulin' coal in the Appalacians. 80 USRA 2-8-8-2s were allocated and built to CC&O, Virginian, and N&W. Copies went to N&W, D&RGW, and NP in 1923; the N&W continued revising and copying the design into the 1940s.

USRA Heavy Mallet (2-8-8-2)
Builder: ALCo
Drivers: 57 inch
Cylinders: 39 and 25 by 32 inch
Weight: 531,000 pounds
Tractive Effort: 101,300 pounds
Cost: $92,195 ($1,161,812 in 2010 dollars)

Author: Ben Neal

USRA 2-8-8-2
• readme.txt 2.63KB
sound
clank_loop_low.wav 62.30KB
dynamo.wav 41.75KB
piston_stroke1h.wav 19.16KB
piston_stroke1l.wav 19.16KB
piston_stroke2h.wav 19.34KB
piston_stroke2l.wav 19.34KB
piston_stroke3h.wav 19.42KB
piston_stroke3l.wav 19.42KB
piston_stroke4h.wav 18.56KB
piston_stroke4l.wav 18.56KB
stokereng.wav 23.11KB
• stack.tfx 532 bytes
• steamlococabindata.gs 10.36KB
• steamlocomotive0905.gs 11.35KB
usra_mallet_art
mallet_art_512.bmp 192.05KB
mallet_art_512_a.bmp 192.05KB
mallet_art_icon.bmp 24.05KB
mallet_art_icon_a.bmp 24.05KB
usra_mallet_art_512.texture.txt 77 bytes
usra_mallet_art_icon.texture.txt 79 bytes
usra_mallet_body
boundingbox-boundingbox.texture.txt 57 bytes
boundingbox.bmp 822 bytes
lod1.im 4.02KB