MTH - Premier Steam Locomotives (Scale Wheels) - 4-12-2 - O Scale 2 Rail

For much of the twentieth century, the Union Pacific had a love affair with massive, bigger-than-life locomotives. Some examples, like the Challenger and Big Boy, were great successes, while others like the gas turbines and DD40AX "Centennial" diesel were noble failures. One of the UP's earliest and most successful big engines was the 9000-class 4-12-2, which boasted the longest rigid wheelbase of any American steam locomotive. Designed for fast freight service, the eighty-eight 9000-class engines were built by Alco in 1926-30, during a period when low-speed "drag" freight service - the norm on American railroads for decades - was being largely supplanted by freight trains running at passenger speeds. The 9000s could haul a mile-long train at 50 mph, twice the speed of the Mallet articulateds they replaced.