# What old steam engines were primarily used for passenger service?



## SRV1 (Nov 14, 2010)

I want to begin accumulating for an early 1930s era layout. I found a 2-10-2 Steamer that I really like (love) but I'm wondering if it would be strange to use that large of an engine to pull passenger cars? I know you can do whatever you want but I still wouldn't mind staying as prototypical as possible. I'm trying to decide whether to go passenger or freight for it.

Was just about any engine used at one time? It's difficult to find good info and pics for this era. Did the engines always pull passenger cars with their own road names? I'm thinking not likely but I really don't know.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

You guessed it right...locomotives were generally designed for a specific use and were,whenever possible,restricted to this specific use.

Passenger locomotives had to be fast so generally had the larger drivers.Then,for better high speed stability,were generally fitted with four wheel leading trucks.The most widely used were Pacific (4-6-2),Mountain (4-8-2) and the heavier Hudson (4-6-4) and Northern (4-8-4).Challenger type (4-6-6-4) were also occasionnally use in passenger service.

Then there were the freight locos wich featured smaller drivers and two wheel leading axles.There were a few types too but the most widely used were the Mikado (2-8-2) and Berkshire (2-8-4) types.

The passenger service locos were the faster ones and were also used on some freight services like express trains where delivery delays mattered or when there was no freight loco available.However,I have no knowledge of slower freight locos used for passenger trains though it's possible.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

I think Jake covered it pretty well. A 2-10-2 was more likely to be used as a freight locomotive only. They weren't built for speed, but for power (small drivers as he said).


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## SRV1 (Nov 14, 2010)

Ok, thanks alot guys. This info helps alot. This will help me plan what I want to get. Makes total sense. I read about stability issues on some but hadnt thought about speed for passengers at that time. Relative term to our time.


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## D1566 (Jun 8, 2012)

Would a 2-10-2 have been used to assist passenger trains over steep gradients? There may be some scope to use it and be 'prototypical' at the same time?


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## Grabbem88 (Feb 24, 2012)

A steam engine needing assistance????


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

They did use one 2-10-2 to pull 30 passenger cars out of Chicago I think it was pulling our troops.

It pulled all them cars at a nose bleeding speed of 35 mph. :thumbsup:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The 4-4-2 Atlantic was built as a passenger locomotive, though it pulled freight as well.


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## THE TYCO MAN (Aug 23, 2011)

4-6-2's, 4-8-4's, and 4-6-0's, and 4-6-4's are the most common passenger steamers. This your railroad, run what ya want!


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## SRV1 (Nov 14, 2010)

THE TYCO MAN said:


> 4-6-2's, 4-8-4's, and 4-6-0's, and 4-6-4's are the most common passenger steamers. This your railroad, run what ya want!


 Thanks alot. Still gonna get the 2-10-2. Ill look into these as well.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

SRV1 said:


> Thanks alot. Still gonna get the 2-10-2. Ill look into these as well.



Go for it, it is your RR.

Just get thirty passenger cars to be pulled by it, fill them up with Army men.:thumbsup:


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## THE TYCO MAN (Aug 23, 2011)

I myself have a 2-10-2 by Rivarossi, not a high stepping steamer.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Normally, passenger locomotives had larger diameter drivers for higher speed, freight locomotives had smaller drivers for more pulling power at slower speeds.


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## AmericanRailfan (Feb 16, 2013)

SRV1 said:


> I want to begin accumulating for an early 1930s era layout. I found a 2-10-2 Steamer that I really like (love) but I'm wondering if it would be strange to use that large of an engine to pull passenger cars? I know you can do whatever you want but I still wouldn't mind staying as prototypical as possible. I'm trying to decide whether to go passenger or freight for it.
> 
> Was just about any engine used at one time? It's difficult to find good info and pics for this era. Did the engines always pull passenger cars with their own road names? I'm thinking not likely but I really don't know.


You have to remember, that terrain played a pivotal role in what power was used for what operation. For instance: Your 2-10-2 would be great for pulling passengers up and down mountains (Colorado, for instance) While, on more moderate terrain, you can easily get away with using something more conservative, like a 2-6-0 or something. It just depends what type of terrain you're trying to replicate. If it suits you or makes you happy to use your 2-10-2 to pull a passenger train, don't let anything stop you. 

As far as road names goes: you can see that from the advent of the diesel era, there were different road names pulling other names' passenger and freight consists, so that is once again up to you to decide what you want to do. It seems to me, that back during the frontier days, the individual road names pulled their own trains: passenger or freight. And it wasn't until later on, that you started seeing the intermingling of the different road names. (I suppose some of that has to do with the government intervening during all the mergers and buy-outs that proliferated in the 19th and first half of the 20th century.)


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## broox (Apr 13, 2012)

I got a 2-10-0 decapod that will be pulling passengers, no one that will see our layout IRL will know any different !


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Wiki has a nice table under their Whyte Notation page. Click on the wheel config numbers (4-6-2, for example) in the table, and that will take you to examples of their mfr, usage, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whyte_notation

TJ


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

Here's another good site for steamer information. It goes in-depth as to common usage, which RR's used them and a lot of good details on a lot of facts. It mostly covers American RR's tho. http://www.steamlocomotive.com/

Carl


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Grabbem88 said:


> A steam engine needing assistance????



Sure they did sometimes. ( I just added this to another thread an thought about your comment.)

The proof is in the picture. This one from 1860. Man the trestle looks sturdy huh? 
Is that 2 men hanging on in the center under it?


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## Pfunmo (Feb 21, 2013)

Something not mentioned yet is what level of railroad you are talking. A large first class might not want to move passengers with anything but the best. But then most railroads were not the big operations we hear most about. There were far more roads just scraping to get by than there were roads making the big bucks. That often forced them to use what they had. Many small branchlines were not built to handle large engines either. It didn't take mountains to get around to using an engine meant for one purpose for something totally different. If you want to use a 2-10-2 and still do passenger runs, how about a mixed train. A good example of mixed trains might be a train of mixed freight with a few passengers riding along. Study the drover caboose for insight into smaller operations. They might load the horses and cattle and then the riders were in the caboose. When asking if it was ever done, the honest answer is often going to be that almost everything was done at some point, somewhere. 

The question of who might run what road name is also dependant on where, when and who the road might be. Many large lines fought, smaller lines, just fought to stay in business!


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## sanepilot (Mar 11, 2012)

*railroads*

Hi All..I got a large book on the railroad history during the 1940 era.Amazing how many small RR companys that were closed and running at that time.The Government marshalled them all into a great war machine carrying solders,freight and anything to further the war effort. It was a coast to coast effort. 24/7 days a week. More trains running at that time than ever before or since. Really nice photo`s of different trains from all parts of the country.The two men who published this book job,done a bang-up job.

The railroads played a major,major part in the war effort.It`s too bad 
we can`t come together like they did back then. What a team effort.

I`d like to have a older version of the railroads books say in the 20 or 30 era..

Have a good week,Everett:thumbsup:


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## Pfunmo (Feb 21, 2013)

Thinking about the question of steam needing help led me to think of some rerasons for a 2-10-2 hauling a little bitty passenger run. Since the OP shows Illinois, I'll use that area as an example. Carbondale, Il had lots of coal and many frieghts were hauled into St. Louis using several engines even though it is pretty flat. Just a lot of tonnage took a lot of engines. But then when you get the engines to St. Louis, you only need one engine to haul empies back to the coal field. So you swap out the 2-10-2 and use it to haul the miners passenger run back. No complaint from the miners and a whole lot better than running it back empty. On a wobbly old coal mine branch the speed may not get over 30 anyway.


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