Between 1906 and 1908, the Denver & Rio Grande (D&RG) received approximately 68 of these typical 2-8-0s riding on 57" drivers. Initially designated Class 220, they were redesignated C-48 after the reorganization of the D&RG into the Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) in 1924. A very adaptable design, the class was gradually downgraded from mainline freight power when built to local freight or switching power by the 1930s. A large portion of the fleet lasted into the 1950s. The final operating standard gauge steam engine on the D&RGW was C-48 #1151, which was retired in December 1956.

This model represents a C-48 as it appeared in the early 1940s.

During the period of government control, the Mikado was the single most common wheel arrangement allocated to the railroads. The Light variant was the most common USRA design, with 625 units allocated to 27 railroads. A light 2-8-2, Baltimore and Ohio 4500, was the first of the government designed engines to be constructed. The Light 2-8-2 was often copied in the post-war era, with an additional 625 copies of the design expanding usage to a total of approximately 50 railroads nation-wide. Copies were constructed as late as World War 2.

This model represents a copy built by Lima for the Georgia Railroad in 1923.

Between 1917 and 1920, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe received approximately 128 of these large 2-8-2s, which were numbered in the 3160 class. The design was quite sucessful, leading the Santa Fe to order and additional 101 engines as the 4000 class with only minor changes. From the factory, the 3160 and 4000 classes differed only in appliances; by the mid-1930s, both classes had been upgraded and were effectively identical. As one of the largest single classes of locomotives on the Santa Fe in the steam era, the 3160 and 4000s could be found across the system in both oil and coal burning forms. Examples of both classes remained in service into the mid-1950s.

This model represents a 3160 class as it appeared in the mid to late 1930s.

Gorre & Daphetid #40 was a Santa Fe 2-8-2 constructed by Toby Models and imported by Pacific Fast Mail. The prototype for the model was either a Santa Fe 3160 or 4000 class 2-8-2. This particular engine appeared in many of the later photographs of the Gorre & Daphetid. Number 40 was destroyed by the January 1973 fire which destroyed the layout.

This model represents G&D 40 as it appeared in the early 1970s.

As would be expected with any governmental agency, some decisions of the USRA were controversial. The inclusion of the Santa Fe wheel arrangement was a surprisingly controversial decision, with many railroads complaining about the rigid wheelbase, tracking ability and reciprocating weight, all issues that had been observed of Santa Fe types built prior to the war. Lines which had acquired Santa Fes prior to the war were typically pleased with the Light 2-10-2s. However, due to a shift in focus from drag freight to fast freight in the 1920s, only four copies of the Light design were produced.

This model represents an original built by ALCo for the Seaboard Air Line in 1919.

Although most USRA-designed engines bore a resemblance to some pre-war engine, the Heavy Mallet was designed as a "patch" to the Norfolk & Western's Y2 class of 2-8-8-2 built in 1918 and 1919. The Y2 boiler was poor steaming, a fault which the USRA design council remedied in the standard Heavy Mallet. Due to the N&W's influence in the USRA, the Heavy Mallet was pretty much tailored for that railroad. The Virginian was the only other line to receive originals. However, copies were sold to many Western roads in the 1920s, and the N&W continued building refined copies into the 1950s (culminating in the Y6b of 1952.)

This model represents a copy built by ALCo for the Denver & Rio Grande in 1923.

In the late 1930s, Lima Locomotive Works applied the principles of Super Power steam locomotive design to come up with an engine capable of moving an approximately 4,500 ton train at 45 miles per hour. The end result was the 2-6-6-6 wheel arrangement. When the C&O came to Lima in the early 1940s for an additional order of T-1 2-10-4 Texases for use on the mountainous portion of the system, Lima offered the 2-6-6-6 design as an option. The C&O chose to purchase the new design, ordering 10 for delivery in late 1941 and early 1942. Due in part to C&O's meddling in the design process, the H-8s were well overweight, leading Lima to pay penalties to the C&O. Despite the weight discrepancy, the C&O returned to Lima for a total of 60 engines split over several orders. The Virginian was the only other railroad to purchase the type, receiving 8 slightly modified copies of the H-8s in 1945. Despite being designed as fast freight engines, both railroads which purchased the design ultimately used the engines in slow, drag freight service.

The C&O model represents a relatively new and fairly clean example of the type while the Virginian model is weathered.

Model and textures produced by Simon van de Laak for MSTS, ported to Trainz by bdaneal.

The EMD SD series began with these in 1952. SD stood for "Special Duty," and these early SDs were essentially stretched GPs with extra axles. This one is undecorated and its got a lot of bitz you can swap around as needed for reskins. It also includes a layered texture file for ease of reskinning.

The EMD SD series began with these in 1952. SD stood for "Special Duty," and these early SDs were essentially stretched GPs with extra axles. This one is in the original D&RGW road switcher scheme.

The EMD SD series began with these in 1952. SD stood for "Special Duty," and these early SDs were essentially stretched GPs with extra axles. This one is in the original CofG road switcher scheme.

The EMD SD series began with these in 1952. SD stood for "Special Duty," and these early SDs were essentially stretched GPs with extra axles. This is a fictional chop-nose rebuild inspired by the Seaboard Coast Line's GP16 capital rebuild program. While fictional, several lines did modify their early SDs in similar ways.