The Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society is located at Memorial Blvd and 14th St W in Huntington, WV. Its outdoor display is open free every Sunday 2.00-5.00pm, from the Sunday after Memorial Day until 30th September as long as a volunteer is able to attend.
Founded in 1959, it is named for Collis Potter Huntington, a major investor in the early Central Pacific Railroad. However, Huntington was active in other railroad ventures, including the Southern Pacific, but perhaps his second most important accomplishment was connecting the Atlantic with the Ohio River in 1873 through the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, a connection forged at the town that still bears his name.
The larger, front cylinder is evident in the photo on the
left.
All #1308's drivers are 56" in diameter and are fitted with roller bearings. Both sets of drivers have a 10' wheel base and are equipped with Walschaert valve gear. The rear high pressure cylinders are 22" x 32", the front low pressure 22" x 35".
#1308 was one of ten 2-6-6-2
H-6 class locomotives built by Baldwin in 1949 for the C&O. They were the last steam locomotives built by Baldwin.
#1308 is a true Mallet locomotive, reusing steam from the rear set of high pressure cylinders in larger, lower pressure front cylinders in a process called compound compression.
#1308 is also articulated, with the rear engine rigidly attached to the frame of the locomotive. The front engine rode on a truck attached to the rear frame by a hinge so that it could move from side to side on the tightly curved lines in the C&O's West Virginia and Kentucky coal country.
It worked on the run from Peach Creek, WV, to Russell, KY, with an occasional trip to Hinton, WV.
Above, a volunteer in the fireman's seat.
With a 72.5 sq ft grate area, 370 sq ft firebox and combined heating area of 5,877 sq ft, including 975 sq ft superheating, #1308 operated at a boiler pressure of 210 psi and delivered 70,773 lbs tractive effort.
#1308 weighs 434,400 lbs, 337,500 lbs on its drivers. Note the over-fire jets on the firebox.They were designed to increase fuel efficiency and reduce smoke exhaust. The tender weighs 168,500 lbs light with a 12,000 gallon water and 16 ton coal capacity.
You can see CO H-6 #1309, the last of the ten H-6s built by Baldwin, on the B&O Museum Yard & Car Shop page of this website.
I only had a relatively short time at the collection, so I didn't get photos of any other equipment except for this rather dilapidated
H. K. Porter 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive. It weighs 42,000 lbs and has 30" drivers and
11" x 16" cylinders. A coal burner, it operated at a boiler pressure of 170 psi delivering 9,320 lbs tractive effort.
Built in 1923 for an unknown purchaser, the locomotive was later sold to the Watoga Stone Company in Watoga, TN. It then went through several owners before arriving at the museum.
