The GS-2 was a class of streamlined
4-8-4 "Northern" 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, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...
operated by the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was ...
(SP) from 1937 to 1958. A total of six were built by the
Lima Locomotive Works
Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shop's location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between ...
, numbered 4410 through 4415. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."
[.]
History
The GS-2 had a very different appearance than that of their predecessor, the
GS-1. The GS-2s were streamlined and designed by Southern Pacific Company for high-speed passenger service in 1935. They featured a silver
smokebox
A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is ...
with a cone-shaped single headlight casing, skyline casing on the top of the boiler, skirting on the sides, and an air horn. They retained the teardrop classification lights and whistles of the GS-1. They had 73.5 inches drivers and could develop 4500 horsepower at 55 mph with a maximum speed of 90 mph. The tenders were rectangular and had two independent tanks: a 6010-gallon fuel oil tank, and a 22,000-gallon water tank. Access to the open cab was by two ladders attached to the front of the tender.
[.]
They were the first to receive the silver, black, red, and orange "Daylight" paint scheme designed by Charles L. Eggleston of the Southern Pacific,
[.][.] and were used for the streamlined debut of Southern Pacific's premier
passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...
, the ''
Coast Daylight
The ''Coast Daylight'', originally known as the ''Daylight Limited'', was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful ...
'', in 1937. The following year they were replaced by the improved
GS-3 engines. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, they were painted black and silver and were used to transport troops. In the 1950s their side skirting was removed for easier maintenance, and the locomotives were assigned to general service, such as the
San Jose-
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
''
Peninsula Commute
The Peninsula Commute, also known as the Southern Pacific Peninsula or just Peninsula, was the common name for commuter rail service between San Jose, California and San Francisco, California on the San Francisco Peninsula. This service ran as a ...
'' service, the "Coast Mail" trains, and freight service.
References
Further reading
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External links
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Southern Pacific Coast Daylight Engines
{{SP GS locomotives
GS-2
4-8-4 locomotives
Lima locomotives
Streamlined steam locomotives
Passenger locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1937
Steam locomotives of the United States
Scrapped locomotives
Standard gauge locomotives of the United States