Steam & Excursion > Last Of These Giants In Steam On Turntable In Helena!

Built by Baldwin in 1930, Northern Pacific's #5002 was the 3rd of the famous Z-5 Class of engines to be built for that road. This was the first of the famous Yellowstone models sporting a 2-8-8-4 wheel arrangement.

This class initially suffered from some design flaws in their frames and cylinders that were corrected over the years by the NP shops. These changes made these were some of the most powerful engines ever to roam the mainline rails in the U.S..

Shown here at the end of her career on the NP turntable in Helena, Montana on May 21, 1956, this Yellowstone will be the very last of her Z-5 Class to be in steam. The coming of diesels to the NP relegated the Z-5 Class engines to helper service for their last years. #5002 is getting ready to spend her last day of steam doing just this kind of work when she was caught riding the turntable in this fine photo.

What a beast, What a shame she was not saved.


Martin



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/15 04:32 by LoggerHogger.

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Yes, those are nice looking articulateds. Their 4-6-6-4's were impressive engines as well. Still prefer the D&RGW L-131s and L-132s, personally speaking.

As always, thanks for sharing,

TrackGuy

Martin: A great, great photo, and narrative. Thanks for posting. A quick search on Google Earth reveals the roundhouse is gone, but the foundation is still there, as is the turntable on which #5002 rode almost 60 years ago. No ghosts of #5002 visible, at least as far as I could see.

Jerry

I believe that these puppies saw service over Stampede. Seeing one of those exit Stampede tunnel would have been like seeing an infernal monster leaving a smoke belching hole in the side of the mountain.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/15 14:53 by 4000Class.

Were the tenders so small so the engine as whole could fit on a turntable? That's the only reason I can think of for such small tenders being matched to such large engines.

Would a locomotive this large have separate power reverse cylinders for each of the front and rear engines? Trying to make the reach rod articulate sounds difficult. Seems like you would want the valve cutoff to be the same front and rear.

Kit Courter
Menefee, CA
LunarLight Photography

On articulateds the reach rod between the front and rear engines is on the centerline on the locomotive, minimizing the difference.

There is only one power reverser cylinder.

-John



CimaScrambler Wrote:
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> Would a locomotive this large have separate power
> reverse cylinders for each of the front and rear
> engines? Trying to make the reach rod articulate
> sounds difficult. Seems like you would want the
> valve cutoff to be the same front and rear.

I believe Blackie Moser said a Z-5 only crossed Stampede Pass twice, once going over to Tacoma, and once going back east. Apparently there was fear they would create too much smoke in the tunnels and suffocate the crew. The story is in the third Ruth Trueblood Eckes book in her series of railroad stories. I'm away from my book shelf at the moment, or I would give an exact quote. There are some other great stories in the book as well. I would highly recommend reading it.