#2756 is on display in Huntington Park in Newport News, VA. The 2-8-4 type, usually known as a "Berkshire", was named "Kanawha" on the Chesapeake & Ohio after the river that cut through the railroad's operational heartland in West Virginia.
The first forty K-4s were built by Alco in 1943-1944 (#2700-#2739). Ten more were built by Lima in 1945 (#2740-2749) and #2756 was one of another ten built by Lima in 1947 (#2750-2759). They operated over most of the C&O system and performed so well, handling heavy drag freight as well as fast passenger services, that the C&O eventually rostered ninety of them.
#2756 was donated to the City of Newport News, VA, in 1963.
Above #2756 is somewhat "embowered" by trees, hedges and borders, which makes it difficult to get good photos.
Twelve K-4s have survived. You can see #2705 on the B&O Museum Yard and Car Shop page of this website, #2716 on the Kentucky Railway Museum, #2707 on the Illinois Railway Museum Yard, #2727 on the St Louis Transportation Museum Train Sheds, #2736 on the National Railroad Museum and #2789 on the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum pages. #2700, #2732, #2755, #2760 and #2776 each have their own page.
#2756 has an engine wheelbase of 42' and driver wheelbase of 18' 2½". The locomotive weighs 468,900 lbs, 293,210 lbs on its 69" drivers. With 26" x 34" cylinders, a 90 sq ft grate area, 462 sq ft firebox and a total heating surface of 6,705 sq ft, including 1,932 sq ft superheating, the K-4 operated at a boiler pressure of 245 psi delivering tractive effort of 69,368 lbs.
All engine axles were had roller bearings, and the trailing truck was fitted with a booster engine to aid traction starting with heavy loads and on heavy grades.
#2756's over-sized box-type sand dome, its front end "frog's eyes"
number plates, pilot mounted headlight and low-slung General Steel Castings pilot give it a particularly Chesapeake & Ohio look.
These featured on most of the railroad's modern steam motive power.
The tender is a cast steel water bottom design, weighing 390,000 lbs light with a capacity of 30 tons of coal and 21,000 gallons of water.
All the Chesapeake & Ohio K-4 tenders were fitted with two Buckeye Steel Casting Company six wheel tender truck sets.
