Name: C&O No.2705
Railroad of Record: Chesapeake & Ohio Railway
Type of Locomotive: 2-8-4, Kanawha
Class:  C&O Class K-4
Manufactured by: American Locomotive Company (ALCO)
Date Built: 1943

Locomotive Weight: 230 tons
Driver Diameter: 69 inches
Cylinders: 26 x 34 inches
Tractive Effort: 69,350 lbs (without booster),  83,750 lbs (with  booster)

In 1943, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) purchased 40 2-8-4s  from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO).The Nickel Plate  Railroad and Pere Marquette Railway made these all-purpose locomotives popular and referred to them as "Berkshires."  However, the C&O coined their 2-8-4s "Kanawhas" after the West  Virginia river in their territory. "Kanawhas" were also referred  to as "Big Mikes" because they were a larger version of the USRA  "Mikado" design.

The 2-8-4s were very powerful and considered an all-purpose  locomotive that was capable of dragging and shifting coal, and   transporting passengers. The C&O used these locomotives for almost all of their services. Unfortunately, the "Kanawhas" could never perform as efficiently as the new diesel-electrics. In 1955, the No. 2705 retired to Russell, Kentucky.  The No. 2705 found its new home at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad  Museum in 1972.


 

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