Left front 3/4 view

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Left front 3/4 view

Steam Locomotive

In 1940, Alco delivered another batch of 4-8-2s to the NYC. These were designated class L-3 and numbered 3000-3064. All of them were equipped with steam-heat pipes and were used extensively in passenger service, especially during World War II when long and heavy troop trains abounded. They were useful as supplementary power to the J-1s and J-3s, and probably outperformed the latter on slower schedules with heavy consists and numerous stops. One group of sixteen L-3s was placed in passenger service on the Boston and Albany for a time, and in this tortuous terrain they undoubtedly excelled, wheeling up the sustained grades at a smarter pace than the 4-6-4s and virtually eliminating the need for helpers. (They were restricted to 70 MPH, and top track speed on the B&A is 65 MPH.) The 3012 below was one of this B&A-assigned group, all of which in their later years were reassigned to the Big Four, where they performed stoutly in a dual-service capacity.

Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor

2-1/4x3-1/4 neg

5/1956

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4-8-2

429

L-4b

#3127

Lima

Shelby St., Indianapolis, IN