USRA Light Pacific
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The USRA Light Pacific was a
USRA standard The USRA standard locomotives and railroad cars were designed by the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized rail system of the United States during World War I. 1,856 steam locomotives and over 100,000 railroad cars were built to ...
class of
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 ...
designed under the control of the
United States Railroad Administration The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the name of the nationalisation, nationalized railroad system of the United States between December 28, 1917, and March 1, 1920. It was the largest American experiment with nationalization, and ...
, the nationalized railroad system in the
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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 ...
. This was the standard light passenger locomotive of the USRA types with a
4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...
wheel arrangement in the
Whyte notation Whyte notation is a classification method for steam locomotives, and some internal combustion locomotives and electric locomotives, by wheel arrangement. It was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte, and came into use in the early twentieth ce ...
, or 2′C1′ in
UIC classification The UIC classification of locomotive axle arrangements, sometimes known as the German classification''The Railway Data File''. Leicester: Silverdale, 2000. p. 52. . or German system,Kalla-Bishop P.M. & Greggio, Luciano, ''Steam Locomotives'', Cre ...
.


History

A total of 106 locomotives were built under USRA control; these were sent to the following railroads: After the dissolution of USRA, the ACL and L&N ordered additional copies of the USRA Light Pacific design, while both the
Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding ...
(GTW) and the
Mobile and Ohio Railroad The Mobile and Ohio Railroad was a railroad in the Southern U.S. The M&O was chartered in January and February 1848 by the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It was planned to span the distance between the seaport of Mobile ...
(M&O) also ordered copies in the 1920s...


Notable locomotives


Atlantic Coast Line 1504

No. 1504 is one of seventy USRA Light Pacifics built by ALCO for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL). Classified as a P-5-A, No. 1504 had the capability to haul 10-12
passenger cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
at 70–80 mph (113–129 km/h) between
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
and Jacksonville, Florida. It was assigned to haul the ACL'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 such as the ''Miamian'', ''
Florida Special ''Florida Special'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Ralph Murphy and written by David Boehm, Marguerite Roberts, Laura Perelman and S. J. Perelman. The film stars Jack Oakie, Sally Eilers, Kent Taylor, Frances Drake, Claude Gillingwat ...
'', '' Palmetto Limited'', ''
Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...
'', ''
South Wind A south wind is a wind that originates in the south and blows in a northward direction. Words used in English to describe the south wind are auster, buster (a violent south gale), föhn/foehn (alps), ghibli (Libya with various spellings), friagem ...
'' and '' Dixie Flyer''. On December 25, 1952, ACL retired the No. 1504 locomotive from revenue service and put it on static display in front of their
headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
building in Jacksonville, where it became the only USRA Light Pacific steam locomotive preserved in original as-built condition. In 1986, ACL's successor,
CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
donated the No. 1504 locomotive to the
Jacksonville City Council The Jacksonville City Council is the legislative governing body of the city of Jacksonville, Florida. The council meets in its chambers at Jacksonville City Hall, 117 W. Duval St. Under Florida’s government transparency laws, all official co ...
, where they relocated it to its new static display site in the parking lot of the
Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center is a convention center located in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Opened in 1986, it was built incorporating Jacksonville Terminal Complex / Union Station as well as several thousand square feet of newly bui ...
, located at the former Jacksonville Union Terminal.. In 1990, the No. 1504 locomotive was designated as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...
(ASME). In 2021, the locomotive was purchased by the U.S. Sugar Corporation (USSC) in
Clewiston, Florida Clewiston is a city in Hendry County, Florida, United States. Its location is northwest of Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic coastal plain. The population was 7,327 at the 2020 census, up from 7,155 at the 2010 census. The estimated population in ...
, where it was being restored to operating condition for use in excursion service on the South Central Florida Express
shortline railroad :''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that opera ...
as part of USSC's
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tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
passenger train named the '' Sugar Express''.


Grand Trunk Western 5629

No. 5629 was a K-4a Pacific, which was a copy of the
4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...
USRA Light
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
-type built by the
American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...
(ALCO) in 1924 for the Grand Trunk Western. After completing a railroad club-sponsored excursion in 1959, it was purchased by Richard Jensen for further
excursion service A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
in the 1960s. It also pulled the
Circus World Museum The Circus World Museum is a museum complex in Baraboo, Wisconsin, devoted to circus-related history. The museum features circus artifacts and exhibits and hosts daily live circus performances throughout the summer. It is owned by the Wisconsin Hi ...
’s train from
Baraboo Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is situ ...
to
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
,
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
on
Chicago and Northwestern The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...
trackage. Unfortunately, the 5629's good fortunes were soon to change. In 1971, Jensen wanted to use the 5629 to pull an excursion trip on
Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
trackage, which was cancelled due to insurance issues with passenger cars. Ticket buyers wanted refunds, and because Jensen had paid for some passenger cars to be moved to Chicago which never came, he was left with a heavy financial deficit. Worse still, as the 1970s progressed, Jensen broke his back from a fall while helping a friend move a refrigerator to a third-floor apartment, landing him in the hospital for several weeks. This crippled the rest of Jensen's finances and he could no longer afford to run any more excursions with the locomotive. He stored the 5629 at the
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...
(CRI&P)
freight yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
in
Blue Island, Illinois Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,558 ...
. In 1980, the CRI&P was filing for
liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...
, as well as selling the Blue Island freight yard property to the Chicago
commuter railroad Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica provide common carrier passenger transportation along railway tracks, with scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis, primarily for sho ...
,
Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. I ...
. Metra ordered Jensen to move the 5629 to the nearby
Iowa Interstate Railroad The Iowa Interstate Railroad is a Class II regional railroad operating in the central United States. The railroad is owned by Railroad Development Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History The railroad was formed on November 2, 1984, u ...
in order to redesign the Blue Island property and build a repair shop where the locomotive stood. However, they refused to allow him to inspect the engine to have someone else move it. Metra stated that they would not help Jensen move the engine, either. However, Jensen decided to sign a
restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...
where only he was allowed to touch his locomotive and no one else was. The Court's ruling was that Metra was allowed the use of its property, but Metra could not move the 5629. Metra went back to court, asking relief, and got permission if it were not moved, to be
scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
ped. This would lead to a heated dispute as Metra, who became increasingly irritated about the presence of the 5629, threatened Jensen that they would scrap the locomotive if he did not move it out of the Blue Island freight yard. At that point, the
Illinois Railway Museum The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago. Overview Histo ...
(IRM) and the
Mid-Continent Railway Museum The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a railroad museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin, United States. The museum consists of static displays as well as a round trip ride aboard preserved railroad cars. History The rail line used by the Mid-Conti ...
(MCRY) were allowed by Metra to move the locomotive out, but could not have done so since it was owned by Jensen. By June 1987, Jensen had been banned from entering the Blue Island yard to access the No. 5629 locomotive, as he had been selling several parts off of the locomotive to local railfans, so much so that Metra feared that the steam locomotive had become a safety hazard. Metra continued negotiating with Mr. Jensen, including the IRM and MCRY, but to no avail. After the IRM and MCRY attempted to purchase the No. 5629 locomotive and move it out of harm's way free of charge without Jensen's permission, Metra contacted Erman-Howell, who scrapped the locomotive on July 14, 1987..


Grand Trunk Western 5632

No. 5632 is a K-4b Pacific, which was also a copy of the USRA design, but with an all-weather cab. It was 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 ...
in 1929, and it was donated to the city of Durand,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
in 1961, and it has remained on display there ever since.


References


Bibliography

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Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Usra Light Pacific ALCO locomotives Baldwin locomotives 4-6-2 locomotives USRA locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Passenger locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1918