#2888
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie class A-2a
🇺🇸 United States ·built by American Locomotive Company· from 1948· class of 7 American 2-8-4 locomotives; last steam locomotives built by Alco
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. NYC-P&LE 9401 A-2 Berkshire: Geoffrey Hubbs· Public domain
what is it?
The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie class A-2a was a class of seven 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotives built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York for the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) in 1948.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 78 years ago, in 1948.
- Weighs about as much as 32 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Served for 9 years (1948–1957).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1948
- in service from
- 1948
- retired
- 1957
- status
- retired
- number built
- 7
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- American Locomotive Company
- operators
- Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, New York Central Railroad
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 2-8-4
- weight
- 193 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q130236049, Wikipedia: Pittsburgh and Lake Erie class A-2a (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.