Western Maryland 2-8-8-2

The page linked below has many photos of WM 2-8-8-2's from Lima.  You can judge for yourself how close an existing 3-rail model comes to the real ones.

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/wm_steam.html

Most of the lionel 2-8-8-2 class locos are made as simple articulated vs the WM compound articulateds with very large front cylinders.  Additionally the older WM units had D type valves ( also known as square valves) on the front cylinders.  To further complicate things, Lionel usually modeled big locos that were road units with the requisite large tenders.  WM often used their machines in helper and even yard service so short tenders were all that was required.  A WM L-1a or L-2 would be neat to see in O gauge but would likely be a fairly large undertaking.

Let everyone know if you decide to tackle this project.

Good Luck

JZ

I looked at a couple of the photos in the link and I see piston valves on the front cylinders. Depending on how neurotic about accuracy you are, I'd start with a USRA 2-8-8-2 and go from there. Find a USRA tender to replace the large tender on the existing USRA models and you might have an acceptable caricature.

Those cylinders with the squared off valve chambers are slide valves.

There's also a couple of pictures of WM 2-8-8-2's with piston valves.

Rusty

Which means that those front cylinders are low pressure, i.e. NOT receiving superheated steam.

Piston valves worked better with superheated steam, but the transition from slide valves took a while. Lima defended using slide valves on Shays with superheaters until the Willamette Iron & Steel Works built Shay-style locomotives (after the patent dates expired) with piston valves and other improvements. Lima responded with Pacific Coast Shays, all with piston valves.

Slide valves on large low-pressure cylinders on articulateds may signify "wet" (non-superheated) steam, but there are exceptions.

Just my nitpicking two cents

The thing about those WM 2-8-8-2s is that were built early in the articulated steam era. Lima built the first 15 in 1915. They were designed for maximum tractive effort at low speeds. And with 52 inch drivers, they didn't go very fast. The Wild Mary had just completed the Connellsville Extension, between Cumberland and Connellsville and needed help getting trains up the grade through Frostburg to Deal. They ordered a second batch of 10 locomotives in 1918. The second batch of 2-8-8-2s looked much like the first batch, but they had big, low pressure cylinders on the lead driver set that looked similar to the ones on the N&W Y class 2-8-8-2s. So you don't have to have the slide valve cylinders on the lead engine to approximate the look of the WM engines.

I've only seen one photo of a M2 Challenger with a 2-8-8-2 pushing on the back of a westbound freight. Those engines were quickly supplemented with the I2 class of 2-10-0 Decapods, the most powerful of that wheel arrangement ever built.