The Santa Fe class 3450 consisted of ten

4-6-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as t ...

"Hudson" type

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s built by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

. Built as coal-burners, they were later converted to oil-burning during the 1930s. At the same time, the locomotives were given

driving wheel On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). On a conventional, non-articulated locomotive, the driving wheels are all coupled ...

s instead of their original , and the boiler pressures increased from . Combined, these changes reduced the starting

tractive effort As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term tr ...

from , but increased the top speed and efficiency. Their early service was in the Midwest, between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

; later, some were assigned to service in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

between

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

and

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

. They were smaller and less powerful locomotives than the later 3460 class "Hudson" type, but were capable of equivalently high speeds. The first locomotive built, No. 3450, was donated by the Santa Fe in 1955 to the

Railway & Locomotive Historical Society ''Railroad History'' (initially, ''The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin'') is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society since 1921. ''Railroad History'' consists primarily ...

's Southern California chapter, and is preserved at the Society's museum in the

Los Angeles County Fair The Los Angeles County Fair is an annual county fair. It was first held on October 17, 1922, and ran for five days through October 21, 1922, in a former beet field in Pomona, California. Highlights of the fair's first year were harness racing, ...

grounds at

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyte ...

. The locomotive sits inside the

RailGiants Train Museum RailGiants Train Museum is a railroad museum of historic trains located at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, United States. The museum was closed indefinitely in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but after renovations, it reopen ...

. It is not operational, but preserved in good condition as a static exhibit. It received a cosmetic restoration between 2013-2021.

Other Images

Image:Atsf-3450.jpg, 3450 4-6-4 steam locomotive Image:ATSF 3450 2.jpg, Front of #3450 Image:ATSF 3450 3.jpg, Side of #3450

References

* * * {{commonscat, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 3450 class 3450 class Baldwin locomotives 4-6-4 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1927 Steam locomotives of the United States Passenger locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States