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CHESAPEAKE & OHIO CLASS K-4 2-8-4 KANAWHA During World War Two when the C&O needed medium sized freight locomotives, 40 2-8-4's were ordered from ALCO. Due to War Production Board restrictions the order was based on related Pere Marquette's 1941 Lima 2-8-4's. The order also closely followed the Lima built 1943 2-8-4's for the RF&P, but included a number of improvements such as cast steel frames with integral cylinders, boosters and engine roller bearings. The new 2-8-4's had a "face" that was patterned after the C&O Baldwin 4-6-4's constructed in 1941 with the headlight mounted on the pilot beam , an oval number plate centered on the smokebox and bell mounted over the front of the smokebox. The tender was also of the same size as those used on the 4-6-4's. The C&O named their new 2-8-4's the KANAWHA type, after the river in West Virginia. Built in 1943 and 1944 and numbered 2700-2739 the engines were assigned Class K-4. The engines were so well received that 10 more were built by Lima the following year and numbered 2740-2749. More engines were ordered in 1947 and the order was split, 2750-2759 being built by Lima and 2760-2789 by ALCO. All these engines were virtually identical except for slight increases in weight, but numbers 2785-2789 had all welded boilers. The K-4's were probably the best all around design that the C&O was to acquire in their post 1941 locomotive purchase program. They were capable of being used in just about any service and were, from coal drags to fast merchandise, and a number even saw service into the 1950's in passenger service supplementing 4-6-4's, 4-8-2's and 4-8-4's. They could also be used on many routes that were closed to the huge 2-10-4's and 2-6-6-6's. Their primary use was on the low grade routes, such as Cincinnati-Hinton and Clifton Forge-Newport News. By 1949 the C&O embarked on a dieselization program and it is doubtful if the road ever received their money's worth on their fine fleet of modern steam power, including the K-4's. The 2-8-4's were supplemented by former Pere Marquette 2-8-4's transferred from the old Northern district after 1950. Most of the K-4's remained intact until the end of steam in 1957, but many locomotives were stored from time to time as traffic levels varied. Fortunately many K-4's were preserved, including the 2716 which was donated to the Kentucky Railway Museum. SPECIFICATIONS
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