Originally Posted by ironlake2:
The Allegheny had 7000 boiler hp but sorry not the tractive effort. That is what pulls trains not boiler hp
Hold on just a minute there, Bucko. All tractive effort does is start the train. The infamous Erie Triplex had monstrous amounts of tractive effort, but didn't have enough HORSEPOWER roll the train faster than about 10 mph or it would run out of steam.
It is HORSEPOWER that gets you over the road at speed. And the Lima-Built C&O Allegheny produced 7,498 DRAWBAR HORSEPOWER, far more than the Big Boy. That's REAL Horsepower, at the coupler, as measured by a dynamometer car behind the tender, not a calculated number.
