Union Pacific #2295 is an MK-9 class Mikado (2-8-2) type locomotive on display at the railroad depot in Boise, ID.
The lettering, painted on the side of the cab below the number, means it is a “MacArthur” (the name assigned
to this type by UP during WWII) with 63” drivers and
26” x 28” cylinders weighing 228,000 lbs on its drivers and equipped with a Duplex automatic stoker.
The 81’ 9½” long (engine and tender) coal burner is one of sixteen of this Heavy Mikado class built by Alco in 1920. It has a 35’ 2” engine and 16’ 6" driver wheelbase. Weighing 282,800 lbs with a 70 sq ft grate, 242 sq ft firebox and total heating surface of 5,128 sq ft, including 912 sq ft superheating, it operated at a boiler pressure of 210 psi delivering 51,076 lbs tractive effort.
#2295 worked between North Platte, NE, and Huntington, OR, mainly hauling freight, typically with a consist of fifty to seventy-five loaded cars. It briefly hauled passenger trains between Cheyenne, WY, and Ogden, UT, during the 1920s but was soon returned to freight service. It ended its life as one of the last steam locomotives operating in Idaho, working on yard and freight service out of Pocatello until 1957.
The tender weighs 170,500 lbs and has a 17 ton coal and 10,000 gallon water capacity.
#2295 was retired in 1959 and donated to the City of Boise. Initially displayed in Julia Davis Park, it was moved to its current position in 2007 after further cosmetic work.
Above, the Walschaert valve gear.
Left, note the so-called "bay window" jutting out a few inches on the engineer’s side. #2295 was the only MK-9 equipped with this cold weather window (in
fact, very few locomotives had this feature).
