| USRA 2-8-8-2 | |
| Powertype: | Steam |
| Builder: | ALCO, Baldwin |
| Totalproduction: | 80 originals, (plus 81 copies) |
| Whytetype: | 2-8-8-2 |
| Uicclass: | (1′D)D1′ h4v |
| Driverdiameter: | 570NaN0 |
| Weightondrivers: | 4740001NaN1 |
| Locoweight: | 5310001NaN1 |
| Fueltype: | Coal |
| Boilerpressure: | 2402NaN2 |
| Cylindercount: | Four, two LP (front), two HP (rear) |
| Hpcylindersize: | 23x |
| Lpcylindersize: | 39x |
| Valvegear: | Baker |
| Tractiveeffort: | 1013001NaN1 |
| Locobrakes: | Air |
| Trainbrakes: | Air |
| Disposition: | One copy (N&W 2050) preserved, remainder scrapped |
The USRA 2-8-8-2 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 2-8-8-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or (1'D)'D1' in UIC classification. A total of 106 locomotives were built to this plan for the USRA; postwar, it became a de facto standard design.
While the 2-8-8-2 had been built in the United States since 1909,[1] most development work had gone into making subsequent locomotives larger and heavier. The Norfolk and Western Railway however, had taken development in a different direction. By using smaller cylinders and higher boiler pressure, the result was a locomotive capable of powerful performance, and a turn of speed higher than the 20mph maximum of the ‘traditional’ designs.
The USRA 2-8-8-2 drew heavily on the Norfolk and Western Railway’s Y2 class locomotive design, as their delegate to the 2-8-8-2 design committee had brought a full set of blueprints.[2]
| Railroad | Quantity | Class | Road numbers | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinchfield Railroad | [3] | ||||
| [4] | |||||
| Virginian Railway | Refused, to Norfolk and Western 2000–2004[5] | ||||
| Virginian Railway | |||||
| Total | 80 |
| Railroad | Quantity | Class | Road numbers | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinchfield Railroad | |||||
| Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad | [6] | ||||
| Interstate Railway | Class 20 | ||||
| Later reclassified as Y-4’s | |||||
| Northern Pacific Railway | [7] | ||||
| Virginian Railway | |||||
| Total | 81 |
See main article: Norfolk and Western 2050. While none of the original USRA 2-8-8-2’s are preserved, one of the copies is. Norfolk and Western 2050, a 1923 ALCO product of N&W's Y3a class, is on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.