Talk:Norfolk and Western 2156
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Historic significance: Very high, but article could be improved
editI strongly agree with the basic idea that the 2156 has major historical significance, but the article doesn't justify this well. The aspect of the article that bothers me is its focus on tractive effort. The cited tractive effort is for simple (vs. compound) operation, which was used for starting trains, and occasionally when a train was close to stalling, rather than for extended operation. I would say the really important tractive effort for the 2156 is when operating compound. If one compares the 2156 (operating compound) with the best articulated locomotives of other US railroads (which operated simple), the 2156's tractive effort is high, but not outstanding. The outstanding aspect of the 2156 and sisters is the ability to operate in compound, with the efficiencies obtained by compounding, at speeds far higher than other railroads could operate compound articulateds. I think the 2156 and sisters are the finest steam locomotives that ever existed for the specific task of moving very heavy trains uphill. Where grades aren't serious, higher speeds were obtained by using locomotives with a different design (all cylinders the same size) and strictly simple operation.
I acknowledge that various authors (outside Wikipedia) focus on tractive effort. I simply believe that this isn't the most outstanding feature. I suppose some author has published a really good article - clear and accurate - but such an article doesn't come to mind. I don't have access to the Jeffries book; maybe that would be best, but I don't know.
I don't have a number for the tractive effort of the 2156 in compound and after the final improvements. As originally built, the TE was probably listed at 126,838 lbf (564 kN). Source: N&W, Aug. 22, 1938, as cited on page 85 of: "Norfolk & Western's Y-Class Articulated Steam Locomotives" by Thomas W. Dixon Jr., Karen Parker, and Gene Huddleston, TLC Publishing, 2009. (Dixon et al. provide data for the Y6 class but not the Y6a; the 2156 is a Y6a; I think Y6a's were identical to Y6's as to tractive effort.) Oaklandguy (talk) 11:09, 3 October 2015 (UTC)