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USRA Light Mikado diagram

General arrangement drawing.

The USRA Light Mikado was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. This was the standard light freight locomotive of the USRA types, and was of 2-8-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 1′D1′ in UIC classification.

USRA Light Mikado locomotive

A USRA Light Mikado type locomotive donated to the National Museum of Transportation by the Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway

A total of 625 locomotives were built under the auspices of the USRA, with a further 641 copies built after the end of the USRA's control. The first, for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was completed in July 1918 and given #4500. The locomotives were considered well designed and modern, and were popular and successful. Large numbers remained in service until replaced by diesel locomotives. It was also called the McAdoo Mikado after William Gibbs McAdoo, head of the USRA.

With later copies, over 50 railroads used the type, including the following:

Table of original USRA allocation
Railroad Quantity Class Road numbers Notes
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
100
Q-3
4500–4599
Built 1918 by Baldwin.

Scrapped 1959. 4500 preserved.

Chicago and Alton Railroad
10
L-4
875–884
Built 1918 by ALCO. To Alton Railroad 4385–4394, class Q-8. Scrapped 1941-1952
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
15
N-2
1925–1939
Built 1918 by ALCO-Schenectady.

Scrapped 1942-1955.

Chicago Great Western Railway
10
L-3
750–759
Built 1918 by Baldwin. Scrapped 1944-1951.
Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad ("Monon")
5
J-2
550–554
Built 1918 by ALCO-Schenectady.

Scrapped 1947-1949

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
9 (+11 from T&P)
K-55
2300–2308, 2309–2319
Built 1919 by Baldwin And ALCO. Scrapped 1942-1945 and scrapped 1947-1951
Grand Trunk Railway
15
M-3
440–454
Built 1918 by ALCO to Canadian National Railway 3700–3714, class S-3-a. Scrapped 1958-1959.
Grand Trunk Western Railroad
25
M-3
455–479
Built 1918 by ALCO to Canadian National Railway 3715–3739, class S-3-a. Scrapped 1959-1960.

4070/3734 preserved

Lehigh and Hudson River Railway
4
80
80–83
Built 1918 by Baldwin.

Scrapped 1942-1948.

Louisville and Nashville Railroad
18
1500–1517
Built 1919 by Lima.

Scrapped 1951-1954.

Maine Central Railroad
6
S
621–626
Built 1919 by ALCO. Scrapped 1953.
Missouri Pacific Railroad
15 (+10 from PRR)
MK-63
1301–1315, 1316–1325
Built 1926 by ALCO-Brooks.

Scrapped 1947-1950

Monongahela Railway
10
L1
170-179
Built 1919; by ALCO-Schenectady.

Scrapped 1941-1949

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
10
L2-55
650–659
Built 1918 by ALCO-Schenectady.

All scrapped in 1951.

New York Central Railroad
95
H-6a
5100–5194
Built 1918-1919 by ALCO and Lima.

Renumbered 1800–1894, less 11 to PM. Scrapped 1944-1955.

New York Central subsidiary Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway
25
H-6a
6089–6113
Built 1918 by Baldwin. Renumbered 1700–1724. Scrapped 1944-1952.
New York Central subsidiary Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad
24
H-6a
400–423
Built 1918 by ALCO. 10 to SLSF, others to PM.

Scrapped 1949-1950

New York Central subsidiary Lake Erie and Western Railroad
15
5540–5554
Built 1918 by Baldwin.

To Nickel Plate Road 586–600. Scrapped 1947-1957. 587 preserved.

New York Central subsidiary Michigan Central Railroad
20
H-6a
7970–7989
Built 1918 by ALCO. Renumbered 1770–1789. Scrapped 1947-1956
New York Central subsidiary Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad
15
H-6a
9732–9746
Built 1918 by ALCO. Renumbered 1732–1736. Scrapped 1945-1955
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway ("Nickel Plate Road")
10
601–610
Built 1918 by ALCO.

Scrapped 1940-1950

Pennsylvania Railroad
(33)
L2s
20006-20038
Built 1919 by ALCO. Refused; 10 to MP, 23 to SLSF.

Scrapped 1948-1949

Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad
5
L2s
108-112
Built 1919 renumbered PRR 9627-9631. Scrapped 1949-1953
Pere Marquette Railway
(30)
K-8
1011–1040
Built 1919-1920 by ALCO and Lima.

Acquired secondhand from IHB (14), NYC (11) and WAB (5). To C&O 2350–2379 Scrapped 1952

Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
3
H6
1000-1002
Built 1918 by Baldwin . Scrapped 1949-1951
Rutland Railway
6
H-6a
32–37
Built 1918 by ALCO-Schenectady.

Scrapped 1951-1952

Seaboard Air Line Railroad
10
Q-1
390–399
Built 1918 by ALCO. Renumbered 490-499 in 1925. Scrapped 1954-1957.
St. Louis – San Francisco Railway
(23 from PRR, 10 from IHB)
4000
4000–4032
Built 1919 by ALCO. Scrapped 1950-1951.

4003 and 4018 preserved.

Southern Railway
25
Ms-1
4750–4774
4765–4775.

To subsidiary Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway. Renumbered 6285–6294 in 1920

Texas and Pacific Railway
11
H-1
550–560
Refused; to Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific.
Union Pacific Railroad
20
MK-7
2260-2279
One, No. 2357, is preserved.
Union Pacific subsidiary Oregon Short Line Railroad
20
2535-2554
Built 1918 by Baldwin. Scrapped 1945-1953
Wabash Railroad
20
K-2
2201–2220
Built 1918 by ALCO. 5 to PM, replaced by 5 from WP Scrapped 1950-1955: Wabash
Western Pacific Railroad
5
MK-55
321–325
Built 1919 by Baldwin . Sold to Wabash in 1920. Scrapped 1949-1956
Totals 698

Copies:

Table of USRA copies
Railroad Quantity Class Road numbers Notes
Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad
7
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
74
Canadian National Railway (Grand Trunk (Western))
18
S-3
3740-3757
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
3
Chicago and Alton Railroad
5
L-4a
885–889
to Alton Railroad 4395–4399, class Q-8a
Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway
9
Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad
11
Florida East Coast Railway
15
701
701–715
Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway
1
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
75
J-3
1518–1592
Midland Valley Railroad
16
Missouri Pacific subsidiary International-Great Northern Railroad
10
MK-63
1101–1110
Mobile and Ohio Railroad
37
450
450–486
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México
56
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
12
L2A-55
660–671
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway ("Nickel Plate Road")
61
H-6b–H-6f
611–671
Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway
68
Pere Marquette Railway
10
K-5
1041–1050
to C&O 1060–1069
Seaboard Air Line Railroad
118
Q-3
334–451
Southern Railway subsidiary Alabama Great Southern Railroad
10
Ms-1
6612–6621
Texas and Pacific Railway
11
H-2
800–810
West Point Route (Atlanta and West Point Rail Road)
3
F
425–427
West Point Route (Georgia Railroad)
7
F
320–326
West Point Route (Western Railway of Alabama)
4
F
375–378
Total 641

Preservation[]

Nine USRA Light Mikados both originals and copies are preserved. These are Frisco 4003 at the Fort Smith Trolley Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Frisco 4018 at the Sloss Furness in Birmingham, Alabama, Nickel Plate Road 587 at the Indiana Transportation Museum in Noblesville, Indiana, Nickel Plate Road 624 at Hammond, Indiana, but is now being relocated to Headwaters Junction, Nickel Plate Road 639 in Miller Park at Bloomington, Illinois, Baltimore and Ohio 4500 at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, Grand Trunk Western 4070 at Midwest Railway Preservation Society in Cleveland, Ohio, Union Pacific 2537 at Jefferson Park in Walla Walla, Washington, and C&IM 551 at the St. Louis Transportation Museum.

File:Usra.jpg

Steam Locomotives of the United States Railroad Administration (USRA).
Switchers 0-6-00-8-0
Light 2-8-22-10-24-6-24-8-2
Heavy 2-8-22-10-24-6-24-8-2
Articulated 2-6-6-22-8-8-2
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