Minneapolis, St Paul & Sault Ste Marie 2-10-0 "Decapod" Type Locomotives

Class G (Locobase 3949)

Certainly Mr. EA Williams, Mechanical Superintendent of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste Marie, must have believed that this Vauclain compound Decapod would help him over the 165-mile Minneapolis-Pennington Division. It was to attack the ruling grade of 0.8% with a 2,000-short ton train.

Although unveiled with reserved rapture in the 22 June 1900 Railroad Gazette, this engine clearly did not meet the need as it remained the only 2-10-0 the Soo ever bought. On the other hand, the lone G endured long enough to be simpled and superheated.

Class G - simpled and superheated (Locobase 6767)

Data from Soo 9 -1943 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Note that the superheater area in the specs is estimated. It is a calculation based on taking the diagram value of 690 sq ft of "superheater equivalent" and deducting a third from it. See the logic presented in Locobase 1364.

As noted in the original G-class entry, this Decapod was the only one of its wheel arrangement to run on the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste Marie. Perhaps because of its light axle loading, 950 survived and even endured. Along the way, the railroad simplified the power and superheated it, gracing it with 14" piston valves that had a 10" travel. After a long career, the Soo donated the G to the city of Ashland, Wisconsin (on the Lake Superior shore) on 16 October 1956.

Specifications
Class	G	G - simpled and superheated
Locobase ID	3949	6767
Railroad	Minneapolis, St Paul & Sault Ste Marie (Soo)	Minneapolis, St Paul & Sault Ste Marie (Soo)
Whyte	2-10-0	2-10-0
Road Numbers	950	950
Gauge	Std	Std
Builder	Burnham, Williams & Co	shops
Year	1900	1924
Valve Gear	Stephenson	Walschaert
	Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase	19.33'	19.33'
Engine Wheelbase	28.50'	28.50'
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheebase	0.68	0.68
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender)	57.33'	57.33'
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle)		39500 lbs
Weight on Drivers	185100 lbs	190250 lbs
Engine Weight	210000 lbs	212250 lbs
Tender Light Weight	120000 lbs	131550 lbs
Total Engine and Tender Weight	330000 lbs	343800 lbs
Tender Water Capacity	7000 gals	6000 gals
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal)	9 tons	10 tons
Minimum weight per yard of rail on which locomotive could run	62 lb rail	63 lb rail
	Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter	55"	55"
Boiler Pressure	215 psi	180 psi
Cylinders (dia x stroke)	17" x 32"	23" x 32"
Low Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke)	28" x 32"	" x "
Tractive Effort	44904 lbs	47091 lbs
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort)	4.12	4.04
	Heating Ability
Firebox Area	191.96 sq. ft	274 sq. ft
Grate Area	37.50 sq. ft	37.58 sq. ft
Evaporative Heating Surface	3000	2381
Superheating Surface		460
Combined Heating Surface	3000	2841
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume	356.86	154.73
	Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation	8063	6764
Same as above plus superheater percentage	8063	8117
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area	41271	59184
Power L1	3422	8461
Power MT	203.79	490.23