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DM&IR Yellowstone 2-8-8-4
The Strongest Steam Locomotive Ever Built
— And the Only Giant We Completely Lost (1930–1960)
140,000 pounds of tractive effort. 18,000-ton ore trains. Zero survivors.
1. The Iron Range Needed a Monster
In the late 1920s the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range was moving 100–140-car trains of iron-ore pellets — up to 18,000 tons — on 1–2 % grades between the Mesabi Range mines and the Lake Superior docks. Existing 2-8-8-2 Mallets were triple-headed and still struggled.
2. Baldwin Creates a New Wheel Arrangement
1930: Baldwin invents the 2-8-8-4 “Yellowstone” type specifically for DM&IR — the first (and only) railroad to order it in quantity.
3. Construction & Delivery
- 1930 → 8 units (200–207) – original M-3 class
- 1941 → 6 units (220–225)
- 1943 → 4 units (226–229) – heaviest ever built
- Total built worldwide: 49 (18 DM&IR + 1 NP + 30 B&O)
4. Territory — Mesabi Iron Range & Dock Lines
Red = heaviest grades (1.0–2.0 %)
Black dots = mines & docks (Proctor, Virginia, Two Harbors, Duluth)
Yellowstones ruled this 120-mile iron artery for three decades.
5. Technical Specifications (1943 batch — the absolute heaviest)
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine-only weight | 781,900 lb (354.7 t) — heaviest rigid-frame engine ever |
| Total weight engine + tender | ~1,207,000 lb (547 t) |
| Starting tractive effort | 140,000 lbf — highest of any production steam locomotive |
| Driver diameter | 63 in |
| Boiler pressure | 275 psi (1943 batch) |
| Typical train | 140 ore jennies = 18,000+ tons |
6. Head-to-Head with the Other Giants
| Locomotive | Starting TE | Drawbar HP | Built | Survivors | Still Runs? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DM&IR Yellowstone | 140,000 lbf | ~6,500 hp | 49 | 0 | No |
| UP Big Boy | 135,375 lbf | ~6,300 hp | 45 | 8 | Yes (4014) |
| C&O Allegheny | 110,211 lbf | 7,498 hp | 60 | 2 | No |
7. Fate
All 49 Yellowstones scrapped 1958–1961. Not one saved. The iron-ore boom turned to taconite pellets and diesel-electrics overnight. By 1960 the type was extinct.
8. Final Thought
They were the strongest, ugliest, most brutally effective steam locomotives ever put on rails — and we let every single one go to the torch.
The trilogy is complete.
Big Boy lives. Allegheny sleeps. Yellowstone is gone forever.
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