@Rusty Traque posted:It was an unsuccessful freight locomotive. The were eventually rebuilt into 2-10-2's between 1915-1918.
Rusty
@Putnam Division posted:Noted, thank you.........
Peter
Peter - The Virginian Railway had 10 of these locos built for them in 1918. They ran out of steam quickly and could only be used as helper locomotives on a short but steep grade. The AE class could take a big train from Mullins to Roanoke but they were much slower than a Norfolk & Western class Y-6 or any simple articulated. The AE class pretty much was limited to 20 mph. In the early 1920s, the Virginia electrified the division the Class AE was designed for. The "Square Head" electric locomotives could move similar sized trains at 25 miles per hour. The AEs were too slow for the relatively level Roanoke to Victoria division, and being a 2-10-10-2 were to long for the tight curves of the branch lines to the coal mines, so they were used as heavy-duty shunters at the Sewell Point coal pier, from 1925 to the late 1940s.
-Greg
