The Santa Fe class 3450 consisted of ten

4-6-4 , under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as ...

"Hudson" type

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 ...

s built by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Eddystone in the early 20th century. The com ...

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

. Built as coal-burners, they were later converted to oil-burning during the 1930s. At the same time, the locomotives were given

driving wheel On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). On a conventional, non-articulated locomotive, the driving wheels are all coupled t ...

s instead of their original , and the boiler pressures increased from . Combined, these changes reduced the starting

tractive effort In railway engineering, the term tractive effort describes the pulling or pushing capability of a locomotive. The published tractive force value for any vehicle may be theoretical—that is, calculated from known or implied mechanical proper ...

from , but increased the top speed and efficiency. Their early service was in the Midwest, between

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

; later, some were assigned to service in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

between

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

and

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

. They were smaller and less powerful locomotives than the later 3460 class "Hudson" type, but were capable of equivalently high speeds. The first locomotive built, No. 3450, was donated by the Santa Fe in 1955 to the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Southern California chapter, and is preserved at the Society's museum in the

Los Angeles County Fair The Los Angeles County Fair is an annual county fair. It was first held on October 17, 1922, and ran for five days through October 21, 1922, in a former beet field in Pomona, California. Highlights of the fair's first year were harness racing, c ...

grounds at

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

. The locomotive sits inside the

RailGiants Train Museum RailGiants Train Museum is a List of railway museums, railroad museum of historic trains located at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, United States. It is owned and maintained by the Southern California Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Hist ...

. It is not operational, but preserved in good condition as a static exhibit. It received a cosmetic restoration between 2013-2021.

Other Images

Image:Atsf-3450.jpg, 3450 4-6-4 steam locomotive Image:ATSF 3450 2.jpg, Front of #3450 Image:ATSF 3450 3.jpg, Side of #3450

References

* * * {{commonscat, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 3450 class 3450 class Baldwin locomotives 4-6-4 locomotives 2′C2′ locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1927 Steam locomotives of the United States Passenger locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States