Steam & Excursion > Photo wanted - SP MT-1 4307 w/o skyline casing

Folks;

I have looked in several SP Steam books and online, but have been unable to find a shot of SP4307 without the skyline casing. I have the builders plate and a brass HO scale model of a SP MT-1 and would like to build a display with a photo of the locomotive.

Any help is appreciated.

Mike Coen

Here she is in September 1937 at Los Angeles in a fine Alan Youell photo.

Martin

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I'm Frisco through and through, but I do love those SP 4300s. They were as pretty a 4-8-2 as the best of them and I wonder what the enginemen thought of them.

OK, I have a new idea for a contest. "See if we can find an engine that Martin does NOT have a photo of (restricted to the pacific coast states)."

Seriously, though, Thank you Martin for taking the time to locate, scan and save your collection, and then allow us to enjoy them.

Back in 1958 I rode behind SP 4460 on several summer fan trips. On one trip in July, I got off the train at San Jose so I could make my connection back to LA and eventually San Diego. I bumped into this fellow who said that he used to run both the 4400s and the 4300s. He told me that he liked the 4300 better and they were easier to start. As the 4460 left the San Jose station, she spun her wheels on the sweeping curve leaving... I think she was dragging 18 or so commute coaches.

John K. Herreshoff

Frisco1522 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm Frisco through and through, but I do love
> those SP 4300s. They were as pretty a 4-8-2 as
> the best of them and I wonder what the enginemen
> thought of them.


Having talked to a few old heads, they loved them. They were loved more than SP's Pacific types. Ride quality and tractive effort were the best of all SP steamers, so they said.

A challenge for Martin: A photo of an S.P. steam locomotive with Parsons indicators.

Scott,

I can once you give me a photo of what those look like.

Martin

Thanks, Martin.

Your vast collection never fails to impress. I, too, have heard that SP hogger's liked the 4300's the best. From what I have read, they were easy firing, smooth riding, with enough power to get the train moving without slipping. The 4400's were supposed to improve on those qualities, but never had the adhesion of the 4300's. One of the greatest preservation losses was the MT that was offered for preservation in Oregon and never taken. It languished on the lead tracks at Eugene for several years before being scrapped in the early 1960's.

Mike

From everything that I've read/heard, the 4300s were indeed the epitome of steam on the Peninsula Commute Service and outdid the GS-Class locos (although the GS-Classes did better on the long haul routes and of course had more boiler and drawbar horsepower for such services). One exception would be the batch of ex-Cotton Belt Northerns (and I keep forgetting which "GS-#" they were assigned after they were SP-ized)??? But with their lower drivers and considerable drawbar horsepower they, too, were very well-liked by the SP Peninsula Commute hoggers. And after many trips riding behind the SSW 4-8-4 819 most years that it ran from Pine Bluff to Tyler on an annual basis, I can see why: quite capable of running at 75 MPH or higher (on one trip she achieved 75 MPH over the stiff Hogback Territory on the pre-merger SSW when authorized to run "Amtrak Detour Speed" by the Cotton Belt Superintendent in 1988 or so when his biz car was on the rear end), and, the acceleration of that locomotive was simply incredible with a 13-car train. Better than 2 F40s on the Texas Eagle over the same territory when detouring between Texarkana, AR & Big Sandy, TX. And, a LOUD stack talker, just like the Frisco 1522 (or anecdotally...like the SP4300s). And the ex-SSW 800s had cast-steel frames and roller bearings front to rear. Nope, not a 100 MPH eng like a GS-4 or GS-5, but a terrific dual-purpose loco for frt or psrg (or triple purpose if you add in their last incarnation as commute locos!!! :-) )... Does anybody have any photos of the ex-SSW L-1, SP GS-XXX Class Northerns in this service to add to this thread?

Those SSW 4-8-4s were designated GS 7&8 after they came west to the SP. I believe they were delivered to SSW in two batches, and were designated for two separate classes by the SSW. AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA