The Southern Pacific Class P-8 was a class of 4-6-2 "Pacific" 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 that were 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 ...

(BLW) for the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) 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 oper ...

(SP) in 1921.

History

Introduction, construction and revenue service

In all, a total of 15 locomotives of what had become the Southern Pacific Class P-8 were ever constructed by the

in 1921 and they were all numbered 2461 through 2475. They were designed to be used on the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

specifically for the Overland Route from

Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...

, to

Oakland, California 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, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. The P-8 locomotives had operated on the Overland Route until the larger, more powerful Mt-class of 4-8-2s were delivered in the late 1920s. Most of the P-8s were then transferred further west for service between

and

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, along with the demanding

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, San Jose and San Francisco, California, San Francisco on the San Francisco Peninsu ...

services between

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and

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. Withdrawal of the class commenced in 1957 and concluded in 1958, and all but two were scrapped.

Excursion star: No. 2475

On January 1, 1958, No. 2475 was pulled out of storage and fired up for an excursion train over

Altamont Pass Altamont Pass, formerly Livermore Pass, is a low mountain pass in the Diablo Range of Northern California between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley. The name is actually applied to two distinct but nea ...

, after the excursion train finished, No. 2475 was retired again on May 21, 1958, moved to West Oakland and scrapped on March 25, 1959, at San Jose, California.

Preservation

Two locomotives have survived into preservation. * 2467 had run in operational condition until August 2005 when No. 2467 was subsequently towed back to the

California State Railroad Museum The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the California State Parks system that interprets the role of railroads in the Western U.S. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 111 I Street, Sacramento, California. Featu ...

(CSRM) in

, where a long-term

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

was signed to keep the locomotive in storage at the CSRM's property. As of 2022, No. 2467 is still stored serviceable while being displayed inside the CSRM's main hall with the chances of it running in operational condition being unlikely. * 2472 was donated to

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

, where they had put the locomotive on static display at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds, it remained there in that spot until 1976 when a group of volunteers decided to restore the locomotive to operating condition. Restoration work was completed on April 30, 1991, the locomotive had also met up with Southern Pacific GS-4 #4449, as of 2023, No. 2472 is undergoing a 1,472-day inspection and overhaul.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

{{Wikimedia Commons, Southern Pacific P-8, Southern Pacific Class P-8
Southern Pacific Class P-8 Information Page
Southern Pacific Railroad locomotives Southern Pacific Railroad Baldwin locomotives Steam locomotives of the United States 4-6-2 locomotives 2′C1′ locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1921 Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States