Delaware and Hudson K-62 Class

The K-62s had a semi-streamlined sort of look to them. This was due to the fact that they used elephant-ear smoke deflectors and the use of side skirts along the running board.^[2] The dome and sandboxes were both housed in the same casting, while the headlight was recessed within the smokebox door. This was a feature that could be commonly found on other D&H locomotives such as their P Class and P-1 Class Pacifics and J-95 Class Challengers. Although laid out according to orthodox American design, these engines had a British look in their clean boilers, thick and wide face shield below the smokebox, and plain smokebox face with headlight centered.

 

In 1944, Alco took the boiler from the K-62s and tweaked them, resulting in the boilers on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad R-67B Class, Milwaukee Road S3 Class, and Union Pacific FEF-3 Class all being of similar designs.^[3] The three later designs all shared the same valve gear, except the FEF-3s had a larger grate area at 100.2 square feet. The R-67Bs and FEF-3s also had similar cylinders as the K-62s, with the boiler being very closely related to those on the S3s. The K-62s and S-3s also had very similar tenders and similar driving wheels, with those on the K-62s being only slightly larger than those on the S3s. All four classes also had Walschaerts valve gear and roller bearings on their driving axles.

The K-62s were assigned to freight work all over the D&H. However, their large 6 ft 3 in (1,905.000 mm) drivers with roller bearings meant that the class were well-equipped to handle passenger trains between New York and Montreal.^[4] The class was eventually retired between 1952 and 1953, and like all steam locomotives on the D&H, none were preserved.

Although none of the K-62s survive, one member did return for a short while. To commemorate the sesquicentennial of the opening of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, Reading Railroad T-1 No. 2102 masqueraded as No. 302 between 1973 and 1974.

There are four other Alco 4-8-4s that were built during World War II. These are Milwaukee Road S3s Nos. 261 and 265 and Union Pacific FEF-3s Nos. 838 and 844 (8444 between 1962 and 1989). Nos. 261 and 265 are the closest that a preservationist can get to a K-62, having similar boiler dimensions and similarly sized tenders.