View source for Timken 1111

{{More citations needed|date=December 2024}}{{Infobox Locomotive
| name = Timken 1111
| powertype = Steam
| image = Timken 1111 builders portrait 1929.jpg
| caption = Timken 1111 as built
| builder = [[American Locomotive Company]] (ALCO)
| serialnumber = 68056
| builddate = 1930
| totalproduction = 
| whytetype = {{whyte|4-8-4}}
| uicclass = 2′D2′ h2
| gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| leadingdiameter = 
| driverdiameter = {{convert|73|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| trailingdiameter = 
| locoweight = ''Working:'' {{convert|417500|lb|ST LT t|abbr=on}}<br>''Empty:'' {{convert|371100|lb|ST LT t|abbr=on}}
| tenderweight = ''Working: ''{{convert|301000|lb|ST LT t|abbr=on}}<br>''Empty:'' {{convert|140700|lb|ST LT t|abbr=on}}
| tendertype = Class 55E
| fueltype = [[Coal]]
| fuelcap = {{convert|21|ST|LT t|1}}
| watercap = {{convert|14550|usgal|abbr=on}}
| boilerpressure = {{convert|250|lbf/in2|MPa|2|abbr=on}}
| firearea = {{convert|88.3|sqft|abbr=on}}
| superheatertype = Type E
| cylindercount = Two, outside
| cylindersize = {{convert|27|x|30|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| tractiveeffort = ''Loco:'' {{convert|63700|lbf|kN|2|abbr=on}}<br>''Booster: ''{{convert|12800|lbf|kN|2|abbr=on}}
| factorofadhesion = 4.15
| operator = [[Timken Roller Bearing Company]]
[[Northern Pacific Railroad]]
| operatorclass = A-1
| numinclass = 1
| fleetnumbers = 2626
| nicknames = ''Four Aces''
| locale = regular service in [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Idaho]] and [[Montana]]
| deliverydate = February 8, 1933
| retiredate = August 4, 1957
| disposition = Scrapped
}}

'''Timken 1111''', also named the '''''Timken Four Aces''''', was a [[4-8-4]] [[steam locomotive]] built in 1930 by [[American Locomotive Company]] (ALCO) as a demonstration unit for new [[roller bearing]]s produced by the [[Timken Roller Bearing Company]]. It was the first locomotive built with all sealed roller bearings rather than [[plain bearing]]s or a combination of the two. It was later operated by the [[Northern Pacific Railroad]] (NP) as their No. 2626.

Timken attempted to cooperate with NP at the end of the engine's career to preserve it and while the Northern Pacific was willing to cooperate in preserving the engine, the attempt ultimately failed, and the locomotive was scrapped in 1958.<ref>{{cite book |last= Boyd |first= Jim |author-link= |date=  |title= The Steam Locomotive A Century of North American Classics |url= |location= |publisher= MetroBooks |page= 86 |isbn=1586636138}}</ref>

== Design and construction ==
Timken chose a 4-8-4 on which to demonstrate the company's [[roller bearing]]s so the locomotive could be used in all types of railroad work, especially on heavy freight and fast [[passenger train]]s. 52 manufacturers agreed to supply parts for the locomotive "on account" until the locomotive operated over {{Convert|100,000|mi|km}}. The suppliers' names were placed on a plaque attached to the tender for the duration of the demonstration period.

Assembly took place at the American Locomotive Company's (ALCO) [[Schenectady, New York]] plant, the former [[Schenectady Locomotive Works]].

== In-service demonstration ==
No. 1111's first demonstration runs were freight trains on the [[New York Central Railroad]]. It was subsequently used in both freight and passenger trains on 13 other major railroads, including the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] (C&O), the [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad]] (New Haven), and the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] (PRR), and Timken allowed the railroads to use the locomotive free of charge.<ref name=":NucklesDixon8">{{Cite book |last=Nuckles |first=Douglas |title=Chesapeake & Ohio Greenbrier Type 4-8-4 Locomotives |last2=Dixon |first2=Thomas |date=1994 |publisher=The Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society |isbn=0-939487-18-7 |location=Clifton Forge, Virginia |pages=8}}</ref> The PRR used the locomotive on a passenger train where it hauled twelve [[Passenger car (rail)|passenger car]]s through the [[Allegheny Mountains]] so well that the train did not require the use of [[Bank engine|helpers]] and arrived at its destination three minutes early.

The C&O used No. 1111 to haul eight freight trains and twenty passenger trains, and in doing so, the locomotive accumulated 6,291,116 [[Gross ton mile|gross ton miles]] with minimal coal and water consumption, and on one occasion, it made up 81 minutes of delayed time while hauling the [[Sportsman (train)|''Sportsman'']] between [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]] and [[Clifton Forge, Virginia]].<ref name=":NucklesDixon8" /> No. 1111's performance encouraged the C&O to upgrade their passenger locomotive fleet with 4-8-4s with similar design features to those on No. 1111, and it resulted in the introduction of the C&O's "[[Chesapeake and Ohio Greenbrier|Greenbrier]]" fleet.<ref name=":NucklesDixon8" /> 

At some of the [[train station|stations]] on No. 1111's demonstration runs, [[publicity stunt]]s were held where the locomotive was pulled by as few as three men (and in [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], by three women). The stunts showed that the roller bearings produced so little [[friction]] that the locomotive could easily be moved by hand.

By August 1931, No. 1111 had accumulated over {{Convert|90,000|mi|km}} when it was delivered to the Northern Pacific Railroad (NP), the 15th railroad to demonstrate it. With a [[dynamometer car]] in tow, the Northern Pacific was able to operate the locomotive at sustained speeds as high as {{Convert|88|mph|km/h}} while pulling the ''[[North Coast Limited]]'' passenger train past [[Willow Creek, Montana]]. However, while in service for the NP, No. 1111 suffered severe [[crown sheet]] damage. Timken demanded NP repair it, but the railroad refused to repair a locomotive they did not own. The resulting agreement led to the sale of No. 1111 to Northern Pacific.

== Regular use and disposition ==

The Northern Pacific purchased No. 1111 from Timken on February 8, 1933, after it crossed the {{convert|100000|mi|km|adj=on}} mark.  The railroad renumbered it as No. 2626, classifying it internally as an A-1 (it was the class's sole member), used it in passenger service between [[Seattle]] and [[Yakima, Washington]], then shifted its service to passenger trains between Seattle and [[Missoula, Montana]]. They operated it for 23 years before retiring it from active service. Its final run occurred on August 4, 1957, when it pulled a passenger train from Seattle to [[Cle Elum, Washington|Cle Elum]] and return. 

NP subsequently reported that No. 2626 had accumulated around {{Convert|2,100,000|mi|km}} while in NP service and had consumed {{Convert|80,000|tonnes|lb}} of coal, {{Convert|9,000,000|U.S.gal|Impgal}} of fuel oil, and more than {{Convert|17,500,000|U.S.gal|Impgal}} of water.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |date=December 1958 |title=Arrivals & Departures - Steam Snippets |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/magazine/archive-access/trains-december-1958/ |url-access=limited |access-date=December 18, 2024 |magazine=[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]] |publisher=Kalmbach Publishing |page=10 |volume=19 |issue=2}}</ref> Efforts were made to preserve the locomotive; the Timken Company even tried to purchase it and return to the company's [[Canton, Ohio]] headquarters under its own power. In 1958, before Timken and Northern Pacific could complete their negotiations, the No. 2626 was scrapped in South Tacoma.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* ''[http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/trbc1111.Html 1930 Timken Roller Bearing Company Engine]''.  Retrieved October 17, 2005.
* Nixon, Ron; ''Northern Pacific Locomotives: [https://web.archive.org/web/20050318082913/http://www.geocities.com/meyerssl/timkenhistory.html Class A-1 (2626) 4-8-4 Northern]''. Retrieved October 17, 2005.
* The Timken Company, ''[https://www.timken.com/industries/rail/overview/overview3.asp The History of Timken Rail Bearings]''.  Retrieved October 17, 2005.

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110722071427/http://muse.museum.montana.edu/rvndb/rvn-jpgs/RVN00732.jpg Ron Nixon's Northern Pacific Photos].  Northern Pacific 2626, a 4-8-4 Northern Class A-1, is ready for an exhibition train at Missoula, Montana.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060307082356/http://www.steamlocomotive.com/northern/np.shtml SteamLocomotive.com - Northern Pacific Northerns].  Further discussion of 4-8-4 use on the Northern Pacific.

[[Category:ALCO locomotives]]
[[Category:4-8-4 locomotives]]
[[Category:Northern Pacific Railway locomotives|2626]]
[[Category:Individual locomotives of the United States]]
[[Category:Schenectady, New York]]
[[Category:Steam locomotives of the United States]]
[[Category:Scrapped locomotives]]
[[Category:Unique locomotives]]
[[Category:Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States]]
[[Category:Railway locomotives introduced in 1930]]