Central Vermont 220

Central Vermont 220
No. 220 on static display
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder American Locomotive Company Serial number 55018 Build date February 1915
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0  • UIC 2’C Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 69 in (1,800 mm) Wheelbase 58.79 ft (17.92 m) ​  • Engine 27.33 ft (8.33 m)  • Drivers 15.50 ft (4.72 m) Adhesive weight 141,000 lb (64,000 kg) Loco weight 189,000 lb (86,000 kg) Tender weight 139,000 lb (63,000 kg) Total weight 328,000 lb (149,000 kg) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 12 short tons (10.9 tonnes) Water cap. 7,000 US gal (26,000 L; 5,800 imp gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 53.40 sq ft (4.961 m2) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1,400 kPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 184 sq ft (17.1 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 20 in × 28 in (510 mm × 710 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 27,594 lb (12,516 kg) Factor of adh. 5.11
Career Operators Central Vermont Railway Power class I-7-a Number in class 3 of 4 Numbers CV 220 Retired 1956 Preserved 1960 Current owner Shelburne Museum Disposition On static display

Central Vermont No. 220 is a preserved rail locomotive inside an exhibition building at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.

Background

In 1915, the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York, built No. 220, the last coal-burning, ten-wheeler steam engine used on the Central Vermont Railway. Because it possessed a medium-sized 4-6-0 engine (4 leading wheels, 6 driving wheels, and 0 trailing small wheels), the No. 220 served double duty pulling both freight and passenger trains. No. 220 became known as the "Locomotive of the Presidents", because of its use on special trains carrying Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The steam engine persisted as the only type of locomotive operating in the United States until the introduction of the electric train in 1895 and, even then, steam engines continued to dominate the rails until the 1950s when diesel came into wide use. The inscription "28%" on the coal tender indicates that the engine had the potential to lift or drag up to twenty-eight thousand pounds of dead weight. The Central Vermont Railway retired No. 220 from service in 1956 and presented it to the Shelburne Museum for preservation. The museum built the surrounding shed soon afterward to protect the locomotive and the private car (Grand Isle) from the elements.

See also

• Shelburne Railroad Station and Freight Shed

References

• Shelburne Museum. 1993. Shelburne Museum: A Guide to the Collections. Shelburne: Shelburne Museum, Inc.