The EJ&E began to serve industries in the Hammond-East Chicago-Whiting industrial district after acquiring trackage rights in 1894. Construction of the present line to Gary, Whiting and South Chicago was initiated in 1899 by the Griffith and Northern Railway. Connections with the Chicago, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway and the Western Indiana Railway further penetrated the district. The EJ&E subsequently acquired both lines.
In 1901, United States Steel Corporation purchased the railroad and the Chicago based railway performed switching and transfer service until the line became Canadian National property.
This busy railway would buy eighty "Mikado" type locomotives, the first arrived in 1913 when the American Locomotive Company delivered twenty of them. They were assigned road numbers 700 through 719. .ALCO built twenty-six more between 1916 and 1919 which were given road numbers 720 through 745. All of these locomotives had 63" diameter drivers, 28" x 30" cylinders, a 185 psi boiler pressure, they exerted 58,706 pounds of tractive effort and each weighed 307,028 pounds. The firebox was 307 square feet including 20 square feet of arch tubes, the evaporative heating surface was 4,402 square feet and with the superheater the combined heating surface was 5,355 square feet.
In 1923, ALCO delivered ten, in 1924 the Lima Locomotive Works delivered five and in 1929-1930 the Baldwin Locomotive Works delivered fourteen more "Mikados". These locomotives were assigned road numbers 746 through 774. They had 63" diameter drivers, 28" x 30" cylinders, a 185 psi boiler pressure, exerted 58,706 pounds of tractive effort and each weighed 333,000 pounds. The firebox was 290 square feet including 20 square feet of arch tubes, the evaporative heating surface was 4,143 square feet and with the superheater the combined heating surface was 5,234 square feet.
There is one surviving EJ&E 2-8-2 "Mikado" type locomotives. It is number 765, which was sold to the DM&IR in 1948. It was renumbered to EJ&E 765 after it was retired on the DMIR and is now on display in Gateway Park in Gary, IN.
| Qty. | Road Numbers | Year Built | Builder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 700-719 | 1913 | ALCO | 1 |
| 18 | 720-737 | 1916 | ALCO | 2 |
| 5 | 738-742 | 1918 | ALCO | 3 |
| 3 | 743-745 | 1919 | ALCO | 4 |
| 5 | 802-806 | 1919 | ALCO | 5 |
| 10 | 746-755 | 1923 | ALCO | 6 |
| 5 | 756-760 | 1923 | Lima | 7 |
| 6 | 761-766 | 1929 | Baldwin | 8 |
| 8 | 767-774 | 1930 | Baldwin | 9 |
See data from EJ&E 1924 Locomotive data and 11 - 1938 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Brooks works numbers were 52964-52983 in March 1913. Schenectady's numbers ran 55729-55746 in March 1916 and 58213-58220 in March 1918.
This design had one of the largest boilers for a Mikado of the just-superheated era of the early teens. It was mated with a relatively small firebox that had three arch tubes contributing only 20 sq ft (1.85 sq m) to direct heating surface area. The later locomotives (718, 720-745) were delivered in 1916 and 1918. They had Elesco feedwater heaters. The diagram in the 1938 book shows the fully updated boiler variant that eventually rode on all but niine of the class. By that time, the firebox heating surface included 14 sq ft (1.30 sq m) of arch tubes (a drop from 20 sq ft in the original firebox) and 69 sq ft (6.41 sq m) of thermic syphons; the total DHS rose to 307 sq ft (28.52 sq m).See data from EJ&E 11 - 1938 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Vol 81, pp. 306+. Alco's Brooks works built 746-755 (builder's #64742-64751) in 1923, Lima supplied 756-760 (6695-6699) in 1924, and Baldwin added 761-766 (61076-61081) in September 1929 in 1929 and 767-774 (61372-61379) in May 1930.
These Mikes built on the pre-World War I design (Locobase 7298), adding a few tubes to the boiler and weight to the driving axles and some more superheater elements. In their most modified form, the firebox heating surface included 14 sq ft of arch tubes and 67 sq ft of thermic syphons. They also used Worthington No. 3 Type BL feedwater heaters rated to deliver 200 degree F (93 degree C) water to the boiler. Cylinders were fed through 14" (356 mm) piston valves. When the EJ&E dieselized in 1948, all but three were sold to the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range as their class N6 and numbered 1312-1337. They were all retired in 1961.
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media | ||
|---|---|---|
| Class | AB | AB |
| Locobase ID | 7298 | 7299 |
| Railroad | Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) | Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) |
| Country | USA | USA |
| Whyte | 2-8-2 | 2-8-2 |
| Number in Class | 46 | 29 |
| Road Numbers | 700-745 | 746-774 |
| Gauge | Std | Std |
| Number Built | 46 | 29 |
| Builder | Alco - multiple works | several |
| Year | 1913 | 1923 |
| Valve Gear | Walschaert | Walschaert |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | ||
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 16.50 / 5.03 | 16.50 / 5.03 |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 34.92 / 10.64 | 36.17 / 11.02 |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.47 | 0.46 |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 67.33 / 20.52 | 68.06 / 20.74 |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | 63,100 / 28,622 | 63,900 / 28,985 |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 239,940 / 108,835 | 246,500 / 111,811 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 313,960 / 142,410 | 333,000 / 151,046 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 165,600 / 75,115 | 172,600 / 78,290 |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 479,560 / 217,525 | 505,600 / 229,336 |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 8500 / 32.20 | 8500 / 32.20 |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 16.50 / 15 | 15 / 14 |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 100 / 50 | 103 / 51.50 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | ||
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 63 / 1600 | 63 / 1600 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 185 / 12.80 | 185 / 12.80 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 28" x 30" / 711x762 | 28" x 30" / 711x762 |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 58,707 / 26629.08 | 58,707 / 26629.08 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.09 | 4.20 |
| Heating Ability | ||
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 272 - 2" / 51 | 245 - 2" / 51 |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | 38 - 5.375" / 137 | 43 - 5.375" / 137 |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 21 / 6.40 | 20.60 / 6.28 |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 244 / 22.67 | 290 / 26.95 |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 57 / 5.30 | 57 / 5.30 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 4339 / 403.10 | 4143 / 385.04 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 953 / 88.54 | 1091 / 101.39 |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 5292 / 491.64 | 5234 / 486.43 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 202.95 | 193.78 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | ||
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 10,545 | 10,545 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 12,443 | 12,759 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 53,265 | 64,917 |
| Power L1 | 12,843 | 14,003 |
| Power MT | 472.02 | 500.95 |
