Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-0 Consolidation Steam Locomotives
By Thomas W. Dixon, Jr. and Karen Parker
This book has just been released as the first Quarter 2020 issue of our Quarterly History Book Series. As such, it is somewhat buried away from the usual attention
given to important new C&O steam locomotive books.
- Softbound, 96 pages, 100-lb glossy paper, 150 photos, diagrams and charts.
The book is a MUST for anyone interested to any degree in C&O steam. After all:
- C&O had MORE 2-8-0s over time than ANY OTHER type;
- it was the longest lived of any type on C&O, 1881-1956;
- these engines worked all kinds of jobs;
- they are important for any understanding of C&O motive power history.
And. . .yet this is the first ever book-length treatment of these work-a-day locomotives. Except for four pages in C&O Power, 2-8-0s have never been written about to any degree other than occasional brief articles.
This book now corrects that with a full, documented, authoritative history of every one of C&O’s 2-8-0s from 1881 to the end of steam. Included as well are the obscure classes that were inherited from smaller
railroads that were merged—not only HV and PM, but others such as SV&E, AC&I, White Oak, CC&L, etc. C&O Consolidations were the premier freight engines until the Mallets began arriving in quantity in the 1911-1925 era. After that, though their numbers declined, especially in the Depression years, some of the G-7 and G-9s lasted in local freight, coal mine shifter, and branch line service up to the very end of steam.
This book details the mechanical aspects of each class as well as history of their operational service. Tables show the numbers of 2-8-0s in service year-by-year, and each class year-by-year. Excellent, mostly previously unpublished pictures show them in all eras and all types of service. Most photos are displayed in 1/3rd of ½-page size so all the detail can be seen. Two 2-page spreads are if specially created mechanical drawings of the G-7 and G-9 classes. A complete, detailed roster lists all engines by road numbers, builder, year built, and when the last of each class was retired.C&O motive power has been as thoroughly treated in books, articles, and models as that of any railroad in America, BUT, the 2-8-0s have been largely ignored, as has been their important role not only in the development of the modern, 20th century, coal-hauling C&O, but in their long service right up to the end of steam. People who have so long concentrated on the glamorous ladies of the C&O: the Alleghenies, Mallets, Greenbriers, Mountains, Pacifics, Mikados, Hudsons, and Kanawhas, have simply missed the importance of the Consolidations. This is a chance to catch up on that!
NOTE:
This is part of the year 2020 group of four quarterly History Series books, so if you are not a subscriber to this series you may sign up for only $70.00 and get all four books at essentially wholesale prices (and no shipping fees). If you are a subscriber, you should have your 2-8-0 book about now or will receive it soon. If not, now is the time to sign up! But, if you want this book alone it is $24.95 plus shipping to non-members and, of course, members get it at this price minus member discount.
