Timken 1111, also named the ''Timken Four Aces'', was a
4-8-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type wa ...
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 ...
built in 1930 by
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various time ...
(ALCO) as a demonstration unit for new
roller bearing
In mechanical engineering, a rolling-element bearing, also known as a rolling bearing,ISO 15 is a bearing which carries a load by placing rolling elements (such as balls, cylinders, or cones) between two concentric, grooved rings called race ...
s produced by the
Timken Roller Bearing Company. It was the first locomotive built with all sealed roller bearings rather than
plain bearing
file:NYC 100-driving-axle-friction-bearing.jpg, Plain bearing on a 1906 S-Motor locomotive showing the axle, bearing, oil supply and oiling pad
file:Linear-table with detail numbered.png, A sliding table with four cylindrical bearings
file:GWR Spo ...
s or a combination of the two. It was later operated by the
Northern Pacific Railroad
The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
(NP) as their No. 2626.
Timken attempted to cooperate with NP at the end of the engine's career to preserve it and while the Northern Pacific was willing to cooperate in preserving the engine, the attempt ultimately failed, and the locomotive was scrapped in 1958.
Design and construction
Timken chose a 4-8-4 on which to demonstrate the company's
roller bearing
In mechanical engineering, a rolling-element bearing, also known as a rolling bearing,ISO 15 is a bearing which carries a load by placing rolling elements (such as balls, cylinders, or cones) between two concentric, grooved rings called race ...
s so the locomotive could be used in all types of railroad work, especially on heavy freight and fast
passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
s. 52 manufacturers agreed to supply parts for the locomotive "on account" until the locomotive operated over . The suppliers' names were placed on a plaque attached to the tender for the duration of the demonstration period.
Assembly took place at the American Locomotive Company's (ALCO)
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...
plant, the former
Schenectady Locomotive Works.
In-service demonstration
No. 1111's first demonstration runs were freight trains on the
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...
. It was subsequently used in both freight and passenger trains on 13 other major railroads, including the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Rich ...
(C&O), the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
(New Haven), and the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
(PRR), and Timken allowed the railroads to use the locomotive free of charge.
The PRR used the locomotive on a passenger train where it hauled twelve
passenger car
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
s through the
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...
so well that the train did not require the use of
helpers and arrived at its destination three minutes early.
The C&O used No. 1111 to haul eight freight trains and twenty passenger trains, and in doing so, the locomotive accumulated 6,291,116
gross ton miles with minimal coal and water consumption, and on one occasion, it made up 81 minutes of delayed time while hauling the
''Sportsman'' between
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
and
Clifton Forge, Virginia
Clifton Forge is a town in Alleghany County, Virginia, United States which is part of the greater Roanoke Region. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. The Jackson River flows through the town, which as a result was once known as Ja ...
.
No. 1111's performance encouraged the C&O to upgrade their passenger locomotive fleet with 4-8-4s with similar design features to those on No. 1111, and it resulted in the introduction of the C&O's "
Greenbrier" fleet.
At some of the
stations
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle stat ...
on No. 1111's demonstration runs,
publicity stunt
In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utiliz ...
s were held where the locomotive was pulled by as few as three men (and in
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 ...
, by three women). The stunts showed that the roller bearings produced so little
friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. Types of friction include dry, fluid, lubricated, skin, and internal -- an incomplete list. The study of t ...
that the locomotive could easily be moved by hand.
By August 1931, No. 1111 had accumulated over when it was delivered to the Northern Pacific Railroad (NP), the 15th railroad to demonstrate it. With a
dynamometer car
A dynamometer car is a railroad maintenance of way car used for measuring various aspects of a locomotive's performance. Measurements include tractive effort (pulling force), power, top speed, etc.
History
The first dynamometer car was probably ...
in tow, the Northern Pacific was able to operate the locomotive at sustained speeds as high as while pulling the ''
North Coast Limited
The ''North Coast Limited'' was a named passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota. It started on April 29, 1900, and continued as a Burlington Northern Railroad train aft ...
'' passenger train past
Willow Creek, Montana. However, while in service for the NP, No. 1111 suffered severe
crown sheet damage. Timken demanded NP repair it, but the railroad refused to repair a locomotive they did not own. The resulting agreement led to the sale of No. 1111 to Northern Pacific.
Regular use and disposition
The Northern Pacific purchased No. 1111 from Timken on February 8, 1933, after it crossed the mark. The railroad renumbered it as No. 2626, classifying it internally as an A-1 (it was the class's sole member), used it in passenger service between
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
and
Yakima, Washington
Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...
, then shifted its service to passenger trains between Seattle and
Missoula, Montana
Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five ...
. They operated it for 23 years before retiring it from active service. Its final run occurred on August 4, 1957, when it pulled a passenger train from Seattle to
Cle Elum
Cle Elum ( ) is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,157 at the 2020 census. About by car from Seattle, Cle Elum is a popular area for camping and outdoor activities. It is also unofficially considered ...
and return.
NP subsequently reported that No. 2626 had accumulated around while in NP service and had consumed of coal, of fuel oil, and more than of water.
Efforts were made to preserve the locomotive; the Timken Company even tried to purchase it and return to the company's
Canton, Ohio
Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...
headquarters under its own power. In 1958, before Timken and Northern Pacific could complete their negotiations, the No. 2626 was scrapped in South Tacoma.
References
{{Reflist
*
1930 Timken Roller Bearing Company Engine'. Retrieved October 17, 2005.
* Nixon, Ron; ''Northern Pacific Locomotives
'. Retrieved October 17, 2005.
* The Timken Company,
The History of Timken Rail Bearings'. Retrieved October 17, 2005.
External links
Ron Nixon's Northern Pacific Photos Northern Pacific 2626, a 4-8-4 Northern Class A-1, is ready for an exhibition train at Missoula, Montana.
SteamLocomotive.com - Northern Pacific Northerns Further discussion of 4-8-4 use on the Northern Pacific.
ALCO locomotives
4-8-4 locomotives
2626
Individual locomotives of the United States
Schenectady, New York
Steam locomotives of the United States
Scrapped locomotives
Unique locomotives
Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States
Railway locomotives introduced in 1930