Built by Baldwin in 1907 for the Union Pacific subsidiary, the Oregon Short Line, this Consolidation type (2-8-0) locomotive was originally numbered #1066. It is one of three hundred and fifty-eight of what became known as "Harriman Common Standard" Consolidations built for the UP and its subsidiaries by Baldwin, Brooks and Schenectady from 1904 to 1910. Renumbered #616 in 1915 when leased to the Union Pacific, it was donated to the
City of Nampa, ID, in 1958 and is on display in Lakeview Park.
E. H. Harriman, Chairman of UP's Executive Committee from 1898 until he died in 1909, saw the benefit in building everything from locomotives to cabooses using common standards. From an initial interest in the Lake Ontario Southern, which he renamed the Sodus Bay & Southern, reorganised and sold to the Pennsy, he became a major railroad tycoon: when he died, he was also President of
the Southern Pacific and controlled the Saint Joseph & Grand Island, Illinois Central and Central of Georgia. As a result, "Harriman Common Standards" were found on
many US railroads during the first half of the twentieth century!
#616’s tender weighs 133,050 lbs light with a 7,000 gallon water and 14 ton coal capacity.
The engine has 57" drivers, Stephenson valve gear and 22" x 30" cylinders. With a 49.5 sq ft grate, 177 sq ft firebox and total heating surface of 3,403 sq ft, it operated at a boiler pressure of 200 psi delivering 43,305 lbs tractive effort.
As built, #616 weighed 187,000 lbs. From 1936, superheaters were fitted to all in-service C-2s when #616’s engine weight rose by about 3,000 lbs.
You can see another
C-2 on the UP #237 page of this website.
