Southern Pacific class AC-7

Infobox Locomotive
name=Southern Pacific class AC-7
powertype=Steam
railroad=Southern Pacific Railroad
gauge=4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm)
railroadclass=AC-7
driversize=63 in diameter
cylindersize=24 in dia × 32 in stroke
weight=639,800 lb
weightondrivers=514,800 lb
boilerpressure=250 psi
tractiveeffort=124,300 lbf
feedwaterheater=6SA Worthington
roadnumber=4151 – 4176
numinclass=26
builder=Baldwin Locomotive Works
serialnumber=61952-61963, 62038-62051
builddate=January-August 1937
firstrundate=February 8 1937
retiredate=1954 – 1958
disposition=scrapped
whytetype=4-8-8-2

Southern Pacific Railroad's AC-7 class of cab forward steam locomotives was the fourth class of the 4-8-8-2 locomotives purchased by Southern Pacific (SP). The locomotives were built by Baldwin Locomotive Works and shared many of the same characteristics of previous AC class locomotives.

The AC-7s were only slightly larger than their AC-6 predecessors, but they included larger tenders and a beveled cab front in contrast to the earlier classes' flat cab front. In the early 1940s, the majority of the class received larger cab windows of a design that would become standard with the AC-8 class.

In April 1937, locomotive number 4162 was pulled aside for a series of publicity photos at SP's Sacramento, California, shops. It was posed alongside the railroad's first locomotive, "C. P. Huntington" a diminutive 4-2-4T, especially when compared to 4162.

The AC-7 class locomotives were all removed from active service between 1954 and 1958, and they were all scrapped shortly after their removal from service. The first to be scrapped was 4155 on November 26 1954, while the last was 4172 on April 24 1959.

References

*