Chesapeake and Ohio class M-1
The Chesapeake and Ohio class M-1 was a fleet of three steam turbine locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1947–1948 for service on the Chessie streamliner. As diesel locomotives became more prevalent following World War II, the C&O was one of several railroads that were reluctant to abandon coal as a fuel source, and saw coal-fueled steam turbine technology as a possible alternative to diesel. At the time of its construction, the M-1 was the longest single-unit locomotive in the world.
Design
The M-1 was a collaboration between the C&O, the Baldwin Locomotive Works, and Westinghouse. The C&O possessed substantial coal-hauling revenue and was loath to abandon it as a fuel source. Further, C&O's engineering staff expressed concern that oil reserves would be exhausted within 25–30 years. The locomotive contained a Westinghouse turbine that drove four direct current generators, mounted in pairs. Each generator produced and collectively powered eight traction motors.Unlike typical steam locomotives, the M-1's boiler was in the rear and its coal bunker was in the front. In addition, lacking cylinders, its turbine/generator drive system had fewer moving parts which, in theory, meant that it required far less maintenance than conventional steam locomotives; its designers predicted that it could make a round trip between Washington and Cincinnati without servicing.
The locomotive's throttle had 11 settings, ranging from 1 to 11. During a trial run with a reporter from Popular Mechanics aboard, a C&O engineer expressed his dissatisfaction with a local speed limit of, noting that he would "sure like to be able to pull back to 11!" Not including research and development, the three locomotives cost.