USRA 0-6-0

The USRA 0-6-0 was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. This was the standard light switcher locomotive of the USRA types, and was of 0-6-0 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or "C" in UIC classification.

USRA 0-6-0
New York Central (Chicago Junction) 221
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder ALCO Build date 1918–1919 (originals) Total produced 255 originals plus copies
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0  • UIC C h2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 51 in (1,295 mm) Wheelbase Locomotive: 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) Loco & tender: 48 ft 10+1⁄2 in (14.90 m) Length 62 ft 10 in (19.15 m) including tender Width 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) Height 14 ft 0+1⁄2 in (4.28 m) Axle load 55,000 lb (25,000 kg) Adhesive weight 165,000 lb (75,000 kg) Loco weight 165,000 lb (75,000 kg) Tender weight 144,000 lb (65,000 kg) Total weight 309,000 lb (140,000 kg) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 32,000 lb (15,000 kg) Water cap. 8,000 US gal (30,000 L; 6,700 imp gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 33 sq ft (3.07 m2) Boiler pressure 190 psi (1.31 MPa) Heating surface 1,886 sq ft (175.2 m2)  • Tubes 1,233 sq ft (114.5 m2)  • Flues 515 sq ft (47.8 m2)  • Firebox 138 sq ft (12.8 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 442 sq ft (41.1 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 21 in × 28 in (533 mm × 711 mm) Valve type 10-inch (250 mm) piston valves
Performance figures Tractive effort 39,100 lbf (173.9 kN) Factor of adh. 4.22
Career Disposition All original locomotives scrapped, three copies and two derivatives preserved.

A total of 255 locomotives were built under USRA control; these were sent to the following railroads:

After the dissolution of the USRA, the Atlantic Coast Line, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway, Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad and Texas and Pacific Railway ordered additional copies of the USRA 0-6-0 design, while the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway ordered only copies.

As of 2022, three USRA 0-6-0 copies are known to be preserved. Two are from the Wheeling and Lake Erie: 3960, which is awaiting a cosmetic restoration at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio,[18] and 3984, which is undergoing an operational restoration at the Lorain and West Virginia Railway in Wellington, Ohio, and it is currently known as Nickel Plate Road 384. The third is 63, built by Alco in 1940 for the Alabama State Docks Commission. It has been on public display at the Kokosing Gap Trail in Mount Vernon, Ohio since 2002.[19] 63 is currently in the best cosmetic shape of the three, but unfortunately, there are no plans to further restore it or make it operational.[20]

There are also two operational 0-6-0s at Heritage Park in Calgary, Alberta, that are indirectly based on the USRA design. Although now known as Canadian Pacific 2023 and 2024, they were never actually owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway.[21] They were built for the US Army in 1942 and 1944, intended for use overseas during World War II, and after the war, they were sold off as surplus and served as terminal switchers in Vancouver, British Columbia until 1965.[22] Because they were intended for military service, they have several visible design changes from the other USRA copies. These changes include a shorter smokestack, a cowcatcher (standard USRA 0-6-0s had footboard pilots), a front-mounted air pump, and a much smaller (and vertically offset) smokebox door, among other minor differences.[23]