Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway #3455 - "Heavy Metal Symphony"

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  • Regular price $45.00


This locomotive was part of the Santa Fe Railway's Class 3450 Hudsons. They were built in 1927 as coal burning locomotives but were later converted to burn oil in the 1930s. At the same time, their original 73" drivers were replaced with 79" drivers and the operating boiler pressure was raised to 230 PSI. These changes had the effect of increasing top speed and operating efficiency for high-speed passenger train operations. Starting tractive effort was 43,300 lbft.
I thought a great way to showcase this locomotive portrait is to include a scene with a rusty, plate girder bridge. I really find painting weathered and rusty metal surfaces to be fun. There are all kinds of metal surfaces for the artistic pallet in this piece. That is why I am calling it "Heavy Metal Symphony".