Photos show my New Haven Railroad R-1-a steam engine #3310 made by Lionel (6-28058) as offered in their 2000 Volume 2 catalog. The model itself depicts a USRA 4-8-2 Light Mountain type with Baker valve gear and built-up trailing truck. This configuration is correct for New Haven R-1 steam engines #3300 to #3309 and this model should have been numbered as such by Lionel. The real New Haven #3310 was an R-1-a – a similar locomotive but instead with Southern valve gear, cast Delta trailing truck, and sand dome above the second set of driving wheels.
New Haven R-1s were standard USRA designs built by ALCO’s Richmond Works in 1919 with 69-inch drivers. They had 27 x 30 cylinders, 200 psi boiler pressure, 53,900 pounds of tractive effort, and gave outstanding performance on the New Haven. In 1921, an R-1-a derailed while backing through a slip switch into Boston’s South Station after which its 4-8-2s were barred from the station. They continued in passenger service elsewhere but were used mostly on freights.
MELGAR
