#2573
Southern Pacific GS-3 class
🇺🇸 United States ·built by Lima Locomotive Works· from 1937· class of 14 American 4-8-4 locomotives
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Southern Pacific GS-3 locomotives: DOPS for Southern Pacific (see "SP 1003" notation at front lower right).· Public domain
- 2. Southern Pacific Railroad, SP GS-3 4416: Unknown author Unknown author· CC0
what is it?
The GS-3 was a class of streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1938 to 1957. A total of fourteen were built by the Lima Locomotive Works, numbered 4416 through 4429.
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 89 years ago, in 1937.
- Top speed is 1.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 14 minutes.
- 3.7 MW is about 44 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 35 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Served for 20 years (1937–1957).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1937
- in service from
- 1937
- retired
- 1957
- status
- retired
- number built
- 14
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- Lima Locomotive Works
- operators
- Southern Pacific Transportation Company
- top speed
- 171 km/h
- power
- 3.7 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 4-8-4
- weight
- 209 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7570305, Wikipedia: Southern Pacific GS-3 class (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.