Grand Trunk Western 5632

Grand Trunk Western 5632
Type and origin References: Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Serial number 61073 Model USRA Light Pacific Build date November 1929
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2  • UIC 2′C1′ h2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 73 in (1,854 mm) Wheelbase Coupled: 13 ft (3.96 m) Locomotive: 34 ft 9 in (10.59 m) Loco and tender: 68 ft 7+1⁄2 in (20.92 m) Length 83 ft 3 in (25.37 m) Height 15 ft (4.57 m) Axle load 55,000 lb (25,000 kilograms) Adhesive weight 184,540 lb (83,710 kilograms) Loco weight 299,330 lb (135,770 kilograms) Tender weight 210,970 lb (95,690 kilograms) Total weight 510,300 lb (231,500 kilograms) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons) Water cap. 10,000 US gal (38,000 L; 8,300 imp gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 66.7 sq ft (6.20 m2) Boiler pressure 215 psi (1.48 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 344 sq ft (32.0 m2)  • Tubes 2,091 sq ft (194.3 m2)  • Flues 981 sq ft (91.1 m2)  • Total surface 3,418 sq ft (317.5 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 789 sq ft (73.3 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 25 in × 28 in (635 mm × 711 mm) Valve gear Baker Valve type 14-inch (356 mm) piston valves
Performance figures Tractive effort 43,810 lbf (194.9 kN) Factor of adh. 4.21
Career Operators Grand Trunk Western Railroad Class K-4-b Retired June 13, 1958 Preserved 1961 Current owner City of Durand, Michigan Disposition On static display

Grand Trunk Western 5632 is a class K-4-b 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin in 1929 for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW). Despite suffering an accident in 1930, No. 5632 pulled passenger trains for the GTW for several years. It was retired from the railroad in 1958, and then it was put on static display at Durand, Michigan, three years later.

History

Construction and revenue service

No. 5632 was one of three K-4-b class 4-6-2's (Nos. 5632-5634) constructed by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Eddystone, Pennsylvania in November 1929, and it was delivered to the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) in 1930. The K-4-b locomotives were copies of the United States Railroad Administration's (USRA) Light Pacific design, and they were follow-ups to the GTW's K-4-a class (Nos. 5627-5631).

The only difference from the USRA design is that the K-4-b class was equipped with an all-weather vestibule cab and an enclosed coffin feedwater heater. The GTW ordered the K-4-b's from Baldwin to use them for their sleeper trains—the Chicago Express and the Detroit Express—between Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan, in competition with the Michigan Central (MC), but both trains were quickly discontinued, due to challenges from the Great Depression.

No. 5632 was subsequently reassigned to pull regular passenger trains in the GTW's Chicago Division between Chicago and Port Huron, Michigan alongside the K-4-a's. In 1938, when the GTW received six streamlined U-4-b class 4-8-4 locomotives, No. 5632 was relegated to the GTW's Detroit Division, where it was reassigned again to pull commuter trains between Detroit and Muskegon. The K-4-b last operated for the GTW on June 13, 1958, before it was retired from revenue service.

Retirement

In August 1960, the GTW donated No. 5632 to the city of Durand, Michigan. The following year, in 1961, the K-4-b was put on static display near the GTW mainline in Durand, and a dedication ceremony was held on May 20. No. 5632 is the only surviving member of the K-4-b class, and it is the only surviving copy of the USRA Light Pacific locomotives after GTW K-4-a class No. 5629 was scrapped in July 1987.

Accident

On May 28, 1930, No. 5632 pulled the eleven-car "Inter-City Limited" train from Port Huron to Chicago, but at the GTW's Belsay yards in Flint, while traveling at 60 to 65 miles per hour (97 to 105 km/h), the locomotive hit an open switch, leaped upward, and toppled onto its side, with nine of its passenger and mail cars derailing behind it. Engineer Arthur Morden and fireman Clyde Pierce were both killed upon impact, while some of the crew in the derailed cars were severely injured—passengers only received minor injuries, since some of the derailed cars between them and the locomotive were empty.

See also

• Atlanta and West Point 290
• Atlantic Coast Line 1504
• Grand Trunk Western 4070
• Grand Trunk Western 6039

Further reading

• Dorin, Patrick C. (1977). The Grand Trunk Western Railroad: A Canadian National Railway (1st ed.). Superior Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87564-526-7.
• Meints, Graydon (1987). 150 Years of Michigan's Railroad History. Michigan Department of Transportation.
• Kean, Randolph (1973). The Railfan's Guide to Museum & Park Displays. H. E. Cox.
• Edwin, Alexander (1976). Bancroft - Durand - Lennon - Vernon Heritage 1976. Durand Area Bicentennial Commission.
• Hubbard, Freeman (1965). Railroadman's Magazine - Volumes 77-78. Popular Publications, Inc.
• Agreement Between Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company and Employees Represented by Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen. Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company. 1944.
• Solomon, Brian (1929). Baldwin Locomotives - Volume 8. Baldwin Locomotive Works.