The GS-5 was a class of streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" 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 ...

operated by the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

(SP) from 1942 to 1958. A total of two were built by the

Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shop's location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between ...

, numbered 4458 and 4459. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."

History

The GS-5s were identical in appearance to the GS-4s, the only difference being the

roller bearing In mechanical engineering, a rolling-element bearing, also known as a rolling bearing, is a bearing which carries a load by placing rolling elements (such as balls or rollers) between two concentric, grooved rings called races. The relative m ...

s that gave the locomotive a smoother ride and added weight. No. 4458 had roller bearings from the

Timken Company The Timken Company is a global manufacturer of bearings and power transmission products. Timken operates from 42 countries. Company history In 1898, Henry Timken obtained a patent for an improved tapered roller bearing, and in 1899 incorporat ...

and No. 4459 used

SKF AB SKF (Swedish: ''Svenska Kullagerfabriken''; 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing and seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication and l ...

brand roller bearings. They had a silver

smokebox A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is e ...

with a dual-headlight casing (the top headlight was a

mars light Mars Lights are signal-safety lights used in the United States and built by Mars Signal Light Company for railroad locomotives and firefighting apparatus. Mars Lights used a variety of means to cause the light to oscillate vertically, horizontally ...

), and an enclosed, all-weather cab. It retained the skyline casing on the top of the boiler, skirting on the sides, an air horn (for use at speeds due to being louder than the whistle which was rarely if ever used on the main line), and teardrop classification lights. They received the orange and red "Daylight" paint scheme. The GS-5's were designed for high-speed passenger service on Southern Pacific's premier

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

s, the ''

Coast Daylight The ''Coast Daylight'', originally known as the ''Daylight Limited'', was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful ...

'', ''

San Joaquin Daylight The ''San Joaquin Daylight'' was a Southern Pacific passenger train (train numbers 51 and 52) inaugurated between Los Angeles and San Francisco's Oakland Pier by way of the San Joaquin Valley and Tehachapi Pass on July 4, 1941. Travel times wer ...

'', and the ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betwe ...

.'' In later years they were painted black and had their side skirting removed for easier maintenance. The GS-5s were considered the pinnacle of the GS series and ended their careers on Southern Pacific's

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 ...

line, pulling the ever popular ''San Joaquin Daylight'' until late 1956. The roller bearings on the two GS-5s were so successful that when both No. 4458 and No. 4459 were scrapped, they were examined and showed minimal wear.

Preservation

Both GS-5s were scrapped after running well over one million miles. However, preserved GS-4 No. 4449 was equipped with roller bearings on the lead truck, trailing truck, and tender (but not the main axles or rods) in 2008, and therefore shares some similarities to a GS-5.

References

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External links

Southern Pacific Coast Daylight Engines

''Accu-Craft Model Trains'' {{SP GS locomotives GS-5 4-8-4 locomotives Lima locomotives Streamlined steam locomotives Passenger locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1942 Steam locomotives of the United States Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States