ATSF Motive Power Episode 6 - Articulated Engine Experiments on the Santa Fe.

Santa Fe Railway did exhaustive experimenting with articulated locomotives between 1890 and 1925. All were failures! In fact, no one has ever developed a successful and efficient articulated locomotive, not even Union Pacific, and I can prove it!

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The articulated locomotive design concept was doomed before it even got started. Santa Fe mechanical engineers were the best in the world and they could not produce an efficient, low maintenance, high speed articulated locomotive that could handle their traffic needs and schedules. Finally giving up and dismantling all of their articulated locomotives and either scrapping them, or turning the engines back into simple two-cylinder engines.

What about Union Pacific's Big Boy? Surely that could be considered a successfully designed articulated locomotive. The Big Boy did resolve some of the inherent design flaws of the articulated locomotive. For example, the UP was able to get an equal amount of weight over both engines and the Big Boy was authorized for 80 mph speed, but is it efficient in fuel and water consumption and low maintenance? No way, not compared to the 5000, (Madame Queen) which is equal to Big Boy's tonnage hauling capacity, as are the 5001 and 5011 Classes of Santa Fe's 2-10-4 two-cylinder simple locomotives.

I have done exhaustive research on this subject and I can prove all of this. Watch Episode 6 and then watch "AT&SF 5000 and 4014 - Comparing the Madame Queen and Big Boy", you will understand why I say that there is "no such thing as a successfully designed and efficient articulated steam locomotive!" See the link below.

Video Contents:
00:00 Introduction
00:07 The 4-4-6-2, 1300 & 1301.
02:33 The 2-6-6-2, first of the "Prairie Mallets"
04:12 The 2-8-8-0, built as helper units for Cajon and Tehachapi.
05:17 The 2-10-10-2, largest articulated in Santa Fe Railway history.
07:07 Santa Fe abandons articulated and compound locomotives.
08:12 Sam recommends "Comparing Madame Queen and Big Boy " video for a full understanding of the articulated locomotive story.

Recommended Links:
1. https://youtu.be/86UH4ogqVZk