Chesapeake and Ohio class M-1
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The Chesapeake and Ohio class M-1 was a fleet of three steam turbine locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1947–1948 for service on the Chessie streamliner. As diesel locomotives became more prevalent following World War II, the C&O was one of several railroads that were reluctant to abandon coal as a fuel source, and saw coal-fueled steam turbine technology as a possible alternative to diesel. At the time of its construction, the M-1 was the longest single-unit locomotive in the world.
Design
[edit]The M-1 was a collaboration between the C&O, the Baldwin Locomotive Works, and Westinghouse.[4]: 202 The C&O possessed substantial coal-hauling revenue and was loath to abandon it as a fuel source.[5]: 109 Further, C&O's engineering staff expressed concern that oil reserves would be exhausted within 25–30 years.[3]: 109 The locomotive contained a Westinghouse turbine that drove four direct current (DC) generators, mounted in pairs.[6]: 116 Each generator produced 1,000 kilowatts (1,300 hp) and collectively powered eight traction motors.[1]: 161
Unlike typical steam locomotives, the M-1's boiler was in the rear and its coal bunker was in the front. In addition, lacking cylinders, its turbine/generator drive system had fewer moving parts which, in theory, meant that it required far less maintenance than conventional steam locomotives; its designers predicted that it could make a round trip between Washington and Cincinnati without servicing.[3]: 110–111
The locomotive's throttle had 11 settings, ranging from 1 (idle) to 11 (full speed). During a trial run with a reporter from Popular Mechanics aboard, a C&O engineer expressed his dissatisfaction with a local speed limit of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h), noting that he would "sure like to be able to pull [the throttle from position 7] back to 11!"[3]: 110, 252 Not including research and development, the three locomotives cost US$1.6 million.[7]: 45
Use
[edit]The C&O cancelled the Chessie in 1948 before it ran in revenue service.[4]: 202 Unable to fill the role for which they were intended, the M-1s were instead used between Clifton Forge and Charlottesville, Virginia, where they proved expensive to operate and mechanically unreliable before being scrapped in 1950.[8]: 62 [2]: 141
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Lamb, J. Parker (2003). Perfecting the American Steam Locomotive. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34219-8. OCLC 50858989.
- ^ a b Solomon, Brian (1998). American Steam Locomotive. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International. ISBN 0-7603-0336-3. OCLC 38132717.
- ^ a b c d e Railton, Arthur R. (March 1948). "Chessie Has That New Look". Popular Mechanics.
- ^ a b Schramm, Jeffrey W. (2010). Out of Steam: Dieselization and American Railroads, 1920-1960. Bethlehem: Lehigh University Press. ISBN 978-0-9821313-7-4. OCLC 521744662.
- ^ Grant, H. Roger (2005). The Railroad: The Life Story of a Technology. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-33079-4. OCLC 57143252.
- ^ Solomon, Brian (2010). Baldwin Locomotives. Minneapolis, MN, USA: Voyageur Press. ISBN 9780760335895.
- ^ George, Geoffrey H. (July 1968). "This Was The Train That Was (But Never Was)". Trains. Vol. 28, no. 9.
- ^ Casto, James E (2006). The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-4334-5. OCLC 123954873.
External links
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