20-3979-1 CHRISTMAS USRA HEAVY PACIFIC #25-O

During World War I, Uncle Sam nationalized the railroads when they proved unequal to the task of moving massive amounts of men and material for the war effort. The agency that ran the trains was the United States Railroad Administration, or USRA, and one of its chief accomplishments was the creation of 12 steam engine designs that lasted for decades. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, USRA locomotives were “the first successful standardization of American motive power” — and the only standard designs until the diesel era.

In the World War I period, the 4-6-2 Pacific was the favored mainline passenger engine in relatively level territory, so the USRA designs included light and heavy 4-6-2s. The heavy version, designed for trackage that allowed a heavier axle load, was similar in most major dimensions to the existing Pennsylvania K4s and Chesapeake & Ohio F-17 Pacific's. Both had been designed around 1913 and were considered powerful and fast locomotives for their time.