BA&P Electric Locomotive - Anaconda, MT
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T0SHEA
N 46° 07.744 W 112° 56.973
12T E 349394 N 5110235
This little electric locomotive is now a part of the railway display at the Anaconda Chamber of Commerce on East Park Avenue in Anaconda. At the front is a large passenger car while at the rear are several freight and ore cars. Tally=7
Waymark Code: WMQEXZ
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 02/18/2016
Views: 1
Beginning operations in 1893, the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway (BA&P) began to electrify much of its system in 1912. Never a very large railway, at its peak it had 135 miles of track, 75 of which were electrified. Though it was a common carrier, hauling passengers and freight, its sole reason for being was to haul copper ore from the mines at Butte to the smelter at Anaconda. Built by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, the electric locomotives ran on its line until 1967, when the line became fully dieselized.
The original locomotives, of which there were eventually 18, were supplied by General Electric. Although GE was supposed to have supplied the locomotives, the motor on this one, #97, has a Westinghouse nameplate and Westinghouse stampings. The nameplate indicates that this locomotive's motor produced 105 horsepower, using 480 volt direct current and ran at 1,000 RPM. This engine has at least a pair of these motors. The line itself used 2,400 volt DC power, meaning that this locomotive must have stepped the voltage down. The patent date on the motor appears to be 1915.
