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Timken 1111

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Railway transport

   CAPTION: Timken 1111

   Timken 1111
     Power type                         Steam
       Builder     American Locomotive Company (ALCO)
     Build date    1930
    Configuration  4-8-4
        Gauge      4  ft 8½  in (1435  mm)
       Career      Northern Pacific Railroad
        Class      A-1
   Number in class 1
       Number      2626
       Locale      regular service in Washington, Idaho and Montana
      Delivered    February 8, 1933
       Retired     August 4, 1957
     Disposition   scrapped

   Timken 1111, also called the Timken Four Aces, was a 4-8-4 steam
   locomotive built in 1930 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) to serve
   as a demonstration unit for new roller bearings produced by the Timken
   Roller Bearing Company. It was the first locomotive built with roller
   bearings rather than friction bearings.

Design and construction

   Timken chose a 4-8-4 on which to demonstrate the company's bearings so
   the locomotive could be used in all types of railroad work, especially
   on heavy freight and fast passenger trains. A total of 52 different
   parts manufacturers agreed to supply their parts for the locomotive "on
   account" until the locomotive operated over 100,000  miles (161,000
   km). The suppliers' names were placed on a plaque that was fastened to
   the tender for the duration of the demonstration period.

   Assembly took place at ALCO's Schenectady, New York, plant, the former
   Schenectady Locomotive Works.

In-service demonstration

   The locomotive's first demonstration runs were hauling freight on the
   New York Central Railroad. After those demonstrations, it was used on
   thirteen other major railroads, including the Chesapeake and Ohio
   Railroad, New Haven Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), in both
   freight and passenger service. The PRR used the locomotive on a
   passenger train where it hauled twelve passenger cars through the
   Allegheny Mountains so well that the train did not require the use of
   helpers and arrived at its destination three minutes early.

   At some of the stations on the locomotive's demonstration runs,
   publicity stunts were held where the locomotive would be pulled by as
   few as three men (or as was done in Chicago, by three women); these
   publicity stunts were designed to show that the roller bearings
   produced so little friction that the locomotive could easily be moved
   by hand.

   By August 1931, the locomotive had been used for over almost
   90,000 miles (145,000 km) when it was delivered to the Northern Pacific
   Railroad, the fifteenth railroad to trial the locomotive, for its final
   demonstration runs. With a dynamometer car in tow, the Northern Pacific
   was able to drive the locomotive as fast as a sustained 88  mph (142
   km/h) while pulling the North Coast Limited passenger train past Willow
   Creek, Montana.

Regular use and disposition

   The Northern Pacific was pleased enough with the locomotive's
   performance to purchase it from Timken on February 8, 1933, after it
   crossed the 100,000 mile mark. The railroad renumbered it to 2626,
   classifying it internally as locomotive class A-1 (this locomotive was
   the class's sole member), and used it in passenger service between
   Seattle and Yakima, Washington, and later shifted its service to
   passenger trains between Seattle and Missoula, Montana. Northern
   Pacific used the locomotive for 23 years before retiring it from active
   service. The locomotive's last run was made on August 4, 1957 when it
   pulled a passenger train from Seattle to Cle Elum and return.

   Efforts were made at preservation for the locomotive, and the Timken
   Company even seriously considered purchasing the locomotive and moving
   it back to the company's Canton, Ohio, headquarters under its own
   power. But the locomotive was scrapped before Timken and Northern
   Pacific could complete their negotiations.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timken_1111"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
