jacksonbarno
Alco Spoken Here
A tale of two mountains:
The first pic is a model of one of the LE&E's class R-3 Mountains. Split into four subclasses (R3, R3a, R3b, R3c), these were LE&E's primary fast freight engines before the first S-class Berkshires arrived on the property in 1928. In total across all variants, 177 were constructed by Baldwin and Lima between 1924 and 1926, taking over most long-haul freight assignments from the LE&E's H-class Mikados. This version will probably represent the most numerous of the class, the original R3. As more modern power was delivered these locomotives were increasingly bumped from premier freight assignments, however they maintained a strong presence into the 1950's. As dieselization began to take hold, the class began to be retired in 1952, with the last being retired in May of 1956.
The second pic is of LE&E's class R2, of which 25 ordered for heavy passenger service in 1924 from Alco's newly implemented "steam catalogue," with LE&E's trademark modifications. These locomotives took over on the LE&E’s top passenger trains of the era, including the Lake Erie Limited, the Midnight Limited, the Ohioan, and the Continental Limited. These locomotives performed admirably, maintaining high speeds even as train lengths increased. Augmented by deliveries of class O Hudsons starting in 1929, these locomotives started to be relegated to secondary runs as the LE&E wholeheartedly plunged into the streamlined era. During WWII, the R2s were truly put to the test, hauling heavy troop trains and being pressed into freight service during the duration of the war. Postwar, the R2s would briefly regain the spotlight hauling crack LCL and time freights, however they were quickly rendered redundant by dieselization and the delivery of 4-8-6 Ohio class locomotives from Lima. Five were sold to the Ohio River & Western in 1949, and five more were sold to the Arizona Texas & Western in 1950. The remaining locomotives on the LE&E were all retired by 1952, however the OR&W and the AT&W both operated theirs until 1956 and 1958 respectively, proving their worth hauling heavier trains than ever before finally succumbing to dieselization.
The first pic is a model of one of the LE&E's class R-3 Mountains. Split into four subclasses (R3, R3a, R3b, R3c), these were LE&E's primary fast freight engines before the first S-class Berkshires arrived on the property in 1928. In total across all variants, 177 were constructed by Baldwin and Lima between 1924 and 1926, taking over most long-haul freight assignments from the LE&E's H-class Mikados. This version will probably represent the most numerous of the class, the original R3. As more modern power was delivered these locomotives were increasingly bumped from premier freight assignments, however they maintained a strong presence into the 1950's. As dieselization began to take hold, the class began to be retired in 1952, with the last being retired in May of 1956.
The second pic is of LE&E's class R2, of which 25 ordered for heavy passenger service in 1924 from Alco's newly implemented "steam catalogue," with LE&E's trademark modifications. These locomotives took over on the LE&E’s top passenger trains of the era, including the Lake Erie Limited, the Midnight Limited, the Ohioan, and the Continental Limited. These locomotives performed admirably, maintaining high speeds even as train lengths increased. Augmented by deliveries of class O Hudsons starting in 1929, these locomotives started to be relegated to secondary runs as the LE&E wholeheartedly plunged into the streamlined era. During WWII, the R2s were truly put to the test, hauling heavy troop trains and being pressed into freight service during the duration of the war. Postwar, the R2s would briefly regain the spotlight hauling crack LCL and time freights, however they were quickly rendered redundant by dieselization and the delivery of 4-8-6 Ohio class locomotives from Lima. Five were sold to the Ohio River & Western in 1949, and five more were sold to the Arizona Texas & Western in 1950. The remaining locomotives on the LE&E were all retired by 1952, however the OR&W and the AT&W both operated theirs until 1956 and 1958 respectively, proving their worth hauling heavier trains than ever before finally succumbing to dieselization.
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