Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Class L2

The L2 series 2-8-2 Mikados were a fleet of 22 locomotives that worked on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway alongside their older L1 co-workers.
== History ==
On April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War 1, and in December 1 of that year, the United States Railroad Administration was created and took control of every railroad company in the USA to help with the war effort. The USRA created a series of locomotive designs. One of the designs was the Light 2-8-2 Mikado. The NC&StL purchased 10 locomotives from the American Locomotive Company's Schenectady, New York works in 1918 and numbered them 650 to 659 and classified them as the L2 class 2-8-2s.
These locomotives had 63" inch driving wheels, a 200 psi boiler, 26" x 30" inch cylinders, a tractive effort of 54,724 lbs., and weighed in at 151.5 tons (247.17 tons with tender). Their normal rectangular tenders could hold up to 10,000 gallons of water and 16 tons of coal. The L2s also came with Duplex stokers. Originally, all of these engines, along with their L1 colleges, had the Hodges improved trailer truck, however, as time past, they would be fitted with the Delta trailer truck on engines #651, 654, 658, and 659, these engines were reclassified as the L2Bs. Then Franklin boosters were fitted were applied on these four locomotives, while #651 received the signature Vanderbilt tender. The boosters added 11,000 lbs of tractive effort to these engines; however, these were removed in 1946.
As traffic increased, the railroad bought 5 more engines in September 1922, but this time from Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These locomotives became the L2As These locomotives were exact copies of the earlier L2s, the only difference was that they weighed in at 153.1 tons (240.6 tons with tender) and they were fitted with Vanderbilt tenders. An additional 7 locomotives were ordered from Baldwin in January 1923. 
All fo the L2As were fitted with Duplex stokers, and Delta trailing trucks. Franklin boosters were installed on the L2As later on, providing that an additional 11,000 lbs. of tractive effort, which was needed in starting or pulling trains on heavy grades, especially on Cowan Hill.
The L2 series engines were assigned between Nashville and Atlanta in fast heavy freight service and they did an excellent job. In 1939, all of the L2 series engines, including the J1 mountain type steam locomotives, were rated to handle 2,650 tons on slow freight trains between Chattanooga and Atlanta, but not exceeding 50 cars in length. On fast freight trains, they were rated on 2,550 tons, also in on the same stretch of track. The L2s that were not fitted with boosters could haul up to 2,350 to 2,450-ton trains in slow in fast services under the same conditions. As time would go on, the engines would find themselves handling trains on the Memphis to Martin, Tennessee segment of the railroad.
After World War 2, the 2-8-8-2 Mallets were proving to be too old to cope with the increased workload and that's when both the L1 and L2 series engines took over pushing trains up the Cumberland Mountains. They also handled coal trains, either full or empty, between Cowan and Tracy City. As amazing as these engines were, their ages would get the better of them.
On April 2, 1951, 12 engines were retired when the J2 and J3 series 4-8-4s replaced them on the Cumberland Mountains and they began to drop like flies. On June 18, 1951, the last three engines were retired from service and sadly none were preserved.
== Gallery ==
Category:2-8-2 locomotives
Category:2-8-2 steam locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:Baldwin locomotives
Category:NC&StL locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Eight-coupled locomotives
Category:American steam locomotives
Category:Scrapped locomotives
Category:Locomotives