When the Southern Pacific Railroad placed an order for fourteen new "Daylight" locomotives from Lima in 1943, World War II was raging and the War Production Board restricted what types of locomotives could be manufactured. SP's order was turned down, with the government deciding that streamlined passenger engines were not necessary to move wartime traffic. Southern Pacific re-designed the engines for general service and the order was finally approved. The smaller and power-starved Western Pacific Railroad was also looking for locomotives at the time and had first requested diesels, then a different style of steam locomotive. The War Production Board instead diverted six GS-6s (reportedly to have been numbered SP 4470-4475) to the WP. SP patented items were not included and the WP requested Franklin boosters be installed, making them slightly different from the SP engines upon delivery. The WP referred to them as GS-64-77s.
The GS-6 looked similar to the GS-2, with a silver smokebox with a cone-shaped single headlight casing and 73-inch (1.854 m) drivers. Like all GS engines, they had teardrop classification lights and an air horn to supplement their whistle. They retained the skyline casing on the top of the boiler but did not have the side skirting of previous GS locomotives. Southern Pacific's GS-6s also lacked the orange and red "Daylight" paint scheme that the previous GS engines so famously wore. Western Pacific's GS-6s received "elephant ears" similar to that of the Union Pacific Railroad's 4-8-4 locomotives.
The Western Pacific used its GS-6s (GS-64s as WP classified them) on passenger trains and in freight service as well. They acquired a different look from their SP sisters when the WP applied the "elephant ear" style smoke deflectors to all six locomotives. When the Western Pacific dieselized in 1953 they sold three GS-64 engines (WP 481, 484, and 485) to Southern Pacific for spare parts, but kept the tenders and converted them to steam generators for rotary snowplows.
Also, the tender of Western Pacific GS-6 No. 484, which was used in its final years as a water and fuel tank for a rotary snowplow, is stored at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California.
Referencesedit
Church, Robert J. (2004). Southern Pacific Daylight Locomotives (1st ed.). Signature Press. ISBN1-930013-11-6.
Diebert, Timothy S. & Strapac, Joseph A. (1987). Southern Pacific Company Steam Locomotive Compendium. Shade Tree Books. ISBN0-930742-12-5.
Southern Pacific 4-8-4 "Northern" Type Locomotives
Western Pacific 4-8-4 "Northern" Type Locomotives
November 02, 2023
southern, pacific, class, class, semi, streamlined, northern, type, steam, locomotive, operated, southern, pacific, railroad, from, 1943, 1958, western, pacific, railroad, from, 1943, 1953, total, sixteen, were, built, lima, locomotive, works, numbered, 4460, . The GS 6 is a class of semi streamlined 4 8 4 Northern type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad SP from 1943 to 1958 and the Western Pacific Railroad WP from 1943 to 1953 A total of sixteen were built by the Lima Locomotive Works numbered 4460 through 4469 by SP and 481 through 486 by WP GS stands for Golden State or General Service Southern Pacific GS 6Western Pacific GS 64 77SP 4460 the oldest and sole remaining GS 6 at the National Museum of TransportationType and originPower typeSteamBuilderLima Locomotive WorksSerial numberSP 8013 8016 8248 8253WP 8017 8022Build dateJuly August 1943Total produced10SpecificationsConfiguration Whyte4 8 4 UIC2 D2 h2Gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeDriver dia 73 1 2 in 1 867 mm Axle load67 900 lb 30 800 kilograms 30 8 metric tons Adhesive weight283 200 lb 128 500 kg 128 5 t Loco weight468 400 lb 212 500 kg 212 5 t Total weight867 500 lb 393 500 kg 393 5 t Firebox Firegrate area90 sq ft 8 4 m2 Boiler pressure260 psi 1 79 MPa Heating surface4 582 sq ft 425 7 m2 Superheater Heating area2 086 sq ft 193 8 m2 Cylinder size27 in 30 in 686 mm 762 mm Valve gearWalschaertsPerformance figuresTractive effort65 759 lbf 292 51 kN 76 050 lbf 338 29 kN with boosterCareerOperatorsSouthern PacificWestern PacificClassSP GS 6WP GS 64 77Number in classSP 10WP 6NumbersSP 4460 4469WP 481 486Nicknames War Babies Baby Daylights First run1943RetiredSP 1958WP 1953PreservedNo 4460 on static displayCurrent ownerNational Museum of TransportationDispositionNo 4460 preserved remainder scrapped Contents 1 History 2 Preservation 3 References 4 External linksHistory editWhen the Southern Pacific Railroad placed an order for fourteen new Daylight locomotives from Lima in 1943 World War II was raging and the War Production Board restricted what types of locomotives could be manufactured SP s order was turned down with the government deciding that streamlined passenger engines were not necessary to move wartime traffic Southern Pacific re designed the engines for general service and the order was finally approved The smaller and power starved Western Pacific Railroad was also looking for locomotives at the time and had first requested diesels then a different style of steam locomotive The War Production Board instead diverted six GS 6s reportedly to have been numbered SP 4470 4475 to the WP SP patented items were not included and the WP requested Franklin boosters be installed making them slightly different from the SP engines upon delivery The WP referred to them as GS 64 77s The GS 6 looked similar to the GS 2 with a silver smokebox with a cone shaped single headlight casing and 73 inch 1 854 m drivers Like all GS engines they had teardrop classification lights and an air horn to supplement their whistle They retained the skyline casing on the top of the boiler but did not have the side skirting of previous GS locomotives Southern Pacific s GS 6s also lacked the orange and red Daylight paint scheme that the previous GS engines so famously wore Western Pacific s GS 6s received elephant ears similar to that of the Union Pacific Railroad s 4 8 4 locomotives The GS 6s were used by Southern Pacific for the San Joaquin Daylight as well as San Jose San Francisco Peninsula Commute service and freight service The Western Pacific used its GS 6s GS 64s as WP classified them on passenger trains and in freight service as well They acquired a different look from their SP sisters when the WP applied the elephant ear style smoke deflectors to all six locomotives When the Western Pacific dieselized in 1953 they sold three GS 64 engines WP 481 484 and 485 to Southern Pacific for spare parts but kept the tenders and converted them to steam generators for rotary snowplows Preservation editOne GS 6 locomotive survives today Southern Pacific 4460 the first one to be built which pulled the final movement of steam of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1958 It was donated to the National Museum of Transportation in St Louis Missouri where it has remained ever since Also the tender of Western Pacific GS 6 No 484 which was used in its final years as a water and fuel tank for a rotary snowplow is stored at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola California References editChurch Robert J 2004 Southern Pacific Daylight Locomotives 1st ed Signature Press ISBN 1 930013 11 6 Diebert Timothy S amp Strapac Joseph A 1987 Southern Pacific Company Steam Locomotive Compendium Shade Tree Books ISBN 0 930742 12 5 Johnson Kenneth G 2006 Southern Pacific Daylight Steam Locomotives 1st ed Specialty Press ISBN 978 1 58007 194 9 External links editSouthern Pacific 4 8 4 Northern Type Locomotives Western Pacific 4 8 4 Northern Type Locomotives Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Southern Pacific class GS 6 amp oldid 1172433037, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
