The Pennsylvania Railroad's class N2sa comprised rebuilds to PRR practice of the 130

USRA Heavy Santa Fe The USRA Heavy Santa Fe 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. These locomotives were of 2- ...

steam locomotives the railroad received under the auspices of the

United States Railroad Administration The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the name of the nationalized railroad system of the United States between December 28, 1917, and March 1, 1920. It was the largest American experiment with nationalization, and was undertaken a ...

, the nationalized central control of the nation's railroads during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. These locomotives, as received, were classified N2s. Rebuilds began from 1923 and all locomotives were rebuilt, classified N2sa after the rebuild. They received a

Belpaire firebox The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers to the shape of the outer shell of the firebox which is approximately flat at the top and sq ...

, the PRR-standard

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 ...

front, a raised headlight following PRR practice, and the bell moved from smokebox front to boiler top. Brakemen's "doghouse" shacks were built on the rear tender decks. Their assignments were primarily in PRR ''Lines West'' (of Pittsburgh), especially after the introduction of the I1s

2-10-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement ...

“Decapods”. Both these and the PRR-designed N1s 2-10-2s were primarily used to haul iron ore from the ports on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

and coal towards them, at a slow

drag freight A drag freight is a long, slow, high-tonnage railroad train, often carrying commodities such as coal or ore. Compared to "fast freight" trains, drag freight trains have a very low power-to-weight ratio, making them somewhat unpredictable on steep ...

maximum speed of . The arrival of larger power such as the J1 shifted the N2sa locomotives to more secondary roles.

References

* * * * {{PRR locomotives ALCO locomotives Baldwin locomotives 2-10-2 locomotives N2sa Steam locomotives of the United States Scrapped locomotives Freight locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States