Close up of trailing truck and firebox

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Close up of trailing truck and firebox

Steam Locomotive

The large firebox supported by the four-wheel trailing truck was of course the principal difference between the Js and their immediate predecessors in main line passenger service, the K-3 and K-5 4-6-2s. It gave the Js all of their greatest advantages over the Ks: higher steaming capacity, increased horsepower, and ability to maintain high speeds over longer distances. Grate areas were 81.5 square feet for the J-1s and 82 for the J-3s, and the latter had a 43-inch combustion chamber added. The Js developed more tractive effort than the Ks, particularly in the high-speed ranges, and this gave them the getaway spurt which was so valuable when it came to maintaining schedule with heavy Pullman trains, especially in the face of speed restrictions attending trackwork, operation through congested areas, etc.

Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor

2-1/4x3-1/4 neg

5/1956

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4-6-4

418

J-3a

#5437

Alco-Schen

Shelby St., Indianapolis, IN