#1451
Southern Pacific class MC-2
🇺🇸 United States ·built by Baldwin Locomotive Works· from 1909· class of 15 (+2 ex MC-1) American 2-8-8-2 Mallet cab forward locomotives; most rebuilt as AC-1 class
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Mallet compound locomotive Southern Pacific Railroad 1910: No author or publisher shown on front or back· Public domain
what is it?
Southern Pacific Railroad's MC-2 class of steam locomotives was the first class to be ordered by and built for Southern Pacific (SP) as cab forward locomotives. They were built in 1909 following the design of SP's MC-1 class built earlier that year. The success of this locomotive model led to the design and introduction of the AC class of 4-8-8-2 cab forward locomotives in the 1930s and 1940s.
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 117 years ago, in 1909.
- Weighs about as much as 33 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Served for 27 years (1909–1936).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1909
- in service from
- 1909
- retired
- 1936
- status
- retired
- number built
- 15
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- Baldwin Locomotive Works
- operators
- Southern Pacific Transportation Company
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 2-8-8-2
- weight
- 198 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7570312, Wikipedia: Southern Pacific class MC-2 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.