The ACE 3000 was a proposed modern 4-4-4-2 coal-burning

duplex drive DD or duplex drive tanks, nicknamed "Donald Duck tanks", were a type of amphibious swimming tank developed by the British during the Second World War. The phrase is mostly used for the Duplex Drive variant of the M4 Sherman medium tank, that w ...

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, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

design for Ross Rowland's ''ACE 3000 Project'' and for the American Coal Enterprises, the locomotive was designed by Ross Rowland and was developed by American Coal Enterprises in the late 1970s.

Testing

In 1985, Chesapeake and Ohio 614 was modified to do better performance under the guidance of David Wardale. For several weeks between January and February of 1985, No. 614 (renumbered to 614-T, with the "''T''" denoting ''testing'') had hauled several coal trains between

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

and

Hinton, West Virginia Hinton is a city in and the county seat of Summers County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,266 at the 2020 census. Hinton was established in 1873 and chartered in 1897. Hinton was named after John "Jack" Hinton, the original ow ...

. When the 1970s came, the 1970s oil crisis had hit and it was causing problems for the railroads that had dieselized in order to cut costs and operating diesels was getting more expensive.

Design

Development of the modern 4-4-4-2 coal-burning

that was classified as the ACE 3000 was done by American Coal Enterprises, which was founded to raise funds to build this steam locomotive using modern technologies that could make steam just as efficient as diesels, such as multiple-unit operation, and computer-operated boiler vigilance. The locomotive was originally designed to be a steam turbine locomotive, but was instead redesigned to utilizing a traditional reciprocating drive as the development of the locomotive had continued. At first it was designed as a duplex-drive,

cab-forward The term cab forward refers to various rail and road vehicle designs that place the driver's compartment substantially farther towards the front than is common practice. Rail locomotives In steam locomotive design, a cab-forward design will ...

cowl unit A cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves, often worn by monks. It was developed during the Early Middle Ages. The term may have originally referred to the hooded portion of a cloak, though contemporar ...

that looked similar to a diesel, before being given a wheel arrangement better suited for eastern coal trains, such as a

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 was of ...

or even a 2-8-0+0-8-2

Garratt locomotive A Garratt locomotive is a type of articulated steam locomotive invented by the engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge". The two other p ...

L.D. Porta Livio Dante Porta (21 March 1922 – 10 June 2003) was an Argentina, Argentine Locomotive#Steam, steam locomotive engineer. He is particularly remembered for his innovative modifications to existing locomotive systems in order to obtain better ...

Testing

Design

References

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