Historical sizes of railroads
North America
By 1948, there were 14 railroads in North America with more than 1000 locomotives in service each. Twelve were located in the US and two were in Canada. The total number of steam locomotives and the number of route miles for each railroad in 1948 are given by Bruce (1952).
| Railroad | Number of Steam Locomotives
in Service, Early 1948 |
Number of Route
Miles of Track |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 4467 | 9736 |
| New York Central Railroad | 3473 | 10534 |
| Canadian National Railway | 2300 | 23000 |
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | 2030 | 6192 |
| Canadian Pacific Railway | 1800 | 17000 |
| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | 1730 | 13081 |
| Southern Pacific Railroad | 1554 | 8195 |
| Southern Railway | 1509 | 7705 |
| Illinois Central Railroad | 1324 | 6581 |
| Union Pacific Railroad | 1323 | 9756 |
| Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad | 1213 | 10359 |
| Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad | 1208 | 5076 |
| Chicago and North Western Railway | 1042 | 8058 |
| Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad | 1030 | 8867 |
| Color Key | Canadian Railroad | US Railroad |
Bruce (1952) also reports that by the end of 1949 a total of approximately 29,000 steam locomotives were left on Class I railroads in the United States.
See also
- Timeline of United States railway history
- History of rail transport in the United States
- 1948 in rail transport
References
- Bruce, Alfred W. (1952) The Steam Locomotive in America: Its Development in the Twentieth Century, New York, Bonanza Books, Table 6, plus additional material from text for Canadian Railroads.