This Consolidation (2-8-0) type locomotive was built in 1906 at Alco’s Brooks Locomotive Works in Paterson, NJ, for the Union Pacific subsidiary the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad as C-2 Class #663. In 1916, it became Los Angeles & Salt Lake #3663 and then #6072 in 1921 when the Union Pacific took over the LA&SL.
Leased to the UP in 1936, #6072 was donated to the Fort Riley Historical Society in Kansas, in 1958 and is now on display in Wyman Park. The park is within the confines of an active US military base, so visitors have to report to the Visitor Control Center where, following a routine background check, visitors are issued a temporary pass.
As built, a hand-fired coal burner, #663 weighed 187,000 lbs. 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. The Vanderbilt tender weighed 135,050 lbs light and had a capacity of 7,000 gallons of water and 14 tons of coal.
From 1936, 574 sq ft of superheating were fitted to all in-service C-2s when one hundred and seventy-two boiler tubes were replaced by thirty-two flues. The firebox grew to 191 sq ft and total heating surface to 3,471 sq ft. The engine weight rose by about 3,000 lbs, but little else changed. In 1941, #6072 was converted to burn oil with a tender weighing 135,050 lbs and a capacity of 9,000 gallons of water and 3,535 gallons of oil.
A number of C-2s have survived. You can see some of these on the UP #237, UP #264, UP #616 and UP #6051 pages of this website.
