USATC S118 Class

The United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) S118 Class is a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotive. Built to either 3 ft (914 mm), 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge or 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge, they were used in at least 24 different countries.

USATC S118 class
SPAP Δ108, later SEK 7108, a post-war S118 copy, displayed at Corinth Old Station, April 2007
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderAmerican Locomotive Company (338),
Baldwin Locomotive Works (253+33),
Davenport Locomotive Works (67+6),
H.K. Porter, Inc. (25+5),
Vulcan Iron Works (58+8)
Build date1942–1945 (for USATC),
1945–1948 (copies)
Total produced741 for USATC, 52 copies
Specifications
Configuration:
  Whyte2-8-2
  UIC1′D1′ h2
Gauge3 ft (914 mm)
1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge
3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Leading dia.26 in (660 mm)
Driver dia.48 in (1,219 mm)
Trailing dia.30 in (762 mm)
Length59 ft 5+12 in (18,123 mm)
Adhesive weight80,000 lb (36,300 kilograms; 36.3 metric tons)
Loco weight119,000 lb (53,980 kilograms; 53.98 metric tons)
Tender weight96,700 lb (43,860 kilograms; 43.86 metric tons)
Fuel typeCoal or fuel oil
Fuel capacity18,000 lb (8,160 kilograms; 8.16 metric tons)
Water cap.5,000 US gal (18,927 L; 4,163.4 imp gal)
Firebox:
  Firegrate area
27.7 sq ft (2.57 m2)
Boiler pressure185 lbf/in2 (1.28 MPa)
Heating surface1,371 sq ft (127.4 m2)
  Tubes and flues1,256 sq ft (116.7 m2)
  Firebox115 sq ft (10.7 m2)
Superheater:
  Heating area374 sq ft (34.7 m2)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size16 in × 24 in (406 mm × 610 mm)
Valve gearIndirect Walschaerts
Performance figures
Tractive effort20,100 lbf (89.4 kN)
Factor of adh.3.98
Career
OperatorsUSATC
Numbers3000–3029, 130–249, 257–639, 661–788, 811–890
LocaleNorth America, South America, North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Middle East, South and South East Asia, Australia

Based on Australia's new C17 class locomotives, their specifications were forwarded to the United States where the United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) drew up plans for a 2-8-2 with specifications similar to a C17 class. 741 were built in the period late 1942–1945 with a further 52 appearing between 1945 and 1948. They were built by Baldwin (253+33), Alco (338), Porter (25+5), Davenport (67+6) and Vulcan (58+8) in the United States. The first thirty were numbered 3000–3029, with subsequently locomotives numbered 130–249, and 257–889. Locomotives 640–660 and 789–810 were cancelled.

The S118 class were the most widespread of all the locomotives of the Second World War. The first twenty locomotives (3000–3019) were sent to Nigeria. Eleven, (190–200), were converted to 3 ft (914 mm) gauge by putting 3 in (76.2 mm) wide spacers (rings) between the wheels and the truck side frames on same length axles, and delivered to the White Pass and Yukon Route in Alaska. Twenty (216–235) were delivered to Queensland where they formed the Queensland Railways AC16 Class. Others were sent to North Africa, Gold Coast, Iraq, India, and Burma.

After the war, surplus locomotives were sold to Malaya, the Philippines (as Manila Railroad 850 class),[1] Siam, Cambodia, Cameroun, Tanganyika,[2] and the United Fruit Company operations in Costa Rica and Honduras.

Copies

Baldwin built 33 copies for the Indian Railways, Porter built two for the Chemins de Fer des Grands Lacs in the Belgian Congo, Vulcan built a batch of eight for the Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways (SPAP) in Greece (class Δ).[3] Davenport built six with a higher boiler pressure for the Chemin de Fer Franco-Ethiopien de Djibouti á Addis-Ababa.

Survivors

Several S118 locomotives still exist:

No. Builder Post WW2 Owner Current Owner Location Status Notes
190 Baldwin 69425 White Pass and Yukon Route Tweetsie Railroad United States Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States Operational Named "The Yukon Queen".
192 Baldwin 69427 White Pass and Yukon Route Dollywood United States Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, United States Operational Named "Klondike Katie".
195 Baldwin 69430 White Pass and Yukon Route City of Skagway United States Skagway, Alaska, United States Displayed
218 Baldwin 69453 Queensland Railways Zig Zag Railway Australia Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia Under overhaul Named "The Yank"
221 Baldwin 69456 Queensland Railways Queensland Rail Australia Ipswich, Queensland, Australia Operational Mainline Certified
1798 Baldwin 74011 Northeast Frontier Railway India New Jalpaiguri, India Operational Post war copy
Δ-104 Vulcan 4703 Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways OSE Greece Kalamata, Greece Displayed Post-war copy, later SEK No. 7104
Δ-108 Vulcan 4707 Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways OSE Greece Corinth, Greece Stored Post-war copy, later SEK No. 7108

References

  1. Smith, Jonathan. "Manila Railroad steam locomotives". Iowa State University. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. Tourret, R (1976). War Department Locomotives. Abingdon: Tourret Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 0-905878-00-0. {{cite book}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. Durrant 1972, p. 58.
  • Durrant, A. E. (1972) [1966]. The Steam locomotives of Eastern Europe. Newton Abbot, Devon: David and Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4077-8.
  • Tourret, R. (1995). Allied Military Locomotives of the Second World War. Abingdon, Oxon: Tourret Publishing. pp. 190–207. ISBN 0-905878-06-X.
  • Smith, J.D.H. "USATC steam locomotives". Retrieved 2009-02-05.
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