This is my first post so don't expect the professionalism you are used to seeing on these pages. I was raised in Warren, Ohio along the B&O track that went to Fairport Harbor. Several times a day, usually while Warren was asleep, huge coal trains passed by my house. These trains from somewhere in PA or WV would carry their eight thousand tons of coal to Lake Erie to be loaded on freighters. In the early fifties huge steam engines would pull these trains up the grade to Painesville. I believe these monsters were EM-1 locomotives. When I was a kid they filled me with terror and wonder. I think they were 2-8-8-4's but I could be wrong. Everything looks bigger to a kid. I am sure they were some type of articulated mallot engines with two sets of drive pistons on each side. Usually there were two engines pulling the train. Sometime there would be a helper at the rear or even in the middle of the train. I usually never missed a train, even in the middle of the night. Nobody along that track missed the passing of these trains as they were building speed to make the climb. They sure spent a lot of steam on that whistle. In those days that was the most excitement any ten year old would find in Warren, Ohio. Can anyone tell me more about these engines, where they were made, and where I can see one, or two. Thank you, Joe
Yep - you are right - the B&O's 2-8-8-4 EM-1's were the B&O's largest articulateds. My dad used to tell me about them hauling coal up to the dock in Lorain, Ohio. These were made by Baldwin in 1944 and 1945. B&O had 30 of these. Pop said that they used to double and even triple head these at times - he said that the thunder and noise they made was fantastic. One of the best pictures I have seen of these is on the cover of the book B&O Thunder in the Alleghenies by Deane Mellander and published by Carstens Publications. Here's a link to North East Rails for some pictures of these: http://www.northeast.railfan.net/bo_steam3.html
Joe, welcome to Trainboard! Personally I know little of the EM-1's. We had a past member who knew all about them. I'm not sure if any survive anywhere in the country but they must have been awesome to see running. There have been a lot of controversial (in fun) discussions about which one of the big guys was the heaviest, the biggest, the one with the most tractive effort, etc., among the UP Big Boy 4-8-8-4, the C&O and Virginian Allegheny 2-6-6-6, the EM-1's, the DM&IR (2-8-8-4?). In any event, we need more steam folks here. Glad to see you and I think you will enjoy it. :teeth:
No EM-1's survived the scrap torch. You can find tons of pictures at the various Fallen Flags websites. The locos were numbered in the 7600-7629 series then renumbered 650-679 later in their life. North East Rails Archive: http://www.northeast.railfan.net/bo_steam3.html Fallen Flags: http://gelwood.railfan.net/bo/bo-steam.html Attached also is a picture of an S scale brass EM-1 that was sent to me by another B&O fan. That should give you a start.
Thanks Tim, Fitz and Skip. You folks are very helpful. I'm looking forward to expanding my knowledge about railroading. I'm a big fan of Amtrak and would love to share any stories of my many travels aboard their trains in the past 13 years. Now I have some sites to visit to see EM-1's. Thank you, Joe
Joe and all, If you're interested in seeing the EM-1's in action, check out the video (or DVD) called Rubber City Rails part 1. LOTS of big steam action on the B&O in the Akron, Kent, and Ravenna, Ohio areas. Not affiliated with the owners of the DVD.....just a very happy viewer!! Tim in Akron
A lot of the coal that went to Lorain came out of the Grafton, WV area. It was routed via the Short Line Sub-Division/Brooklyn Jct/Ohio River Sub/Benwood and across the Ohio River into Bellaire. My grandfather was a B&O locomotive engineer and many times would run helper to Hartzel, WV. There he would tie onto a Lorain bound coal train and double-head to Benwood. Most times the helper was a Q-3 or Q-4 mike.
