Wabash 2-6-2 "Prairie" Type Locomotives

Class G-1 - 64"" (Locobase 6933)

Railroad Age Gazette (17 July 1908) reported that these locomotives were fast freight Prairies virtually identical to those in service on the CB&Q. Unlike the first 60 (Locobase 6932), these had 64" drivers, which meant they weren't intended for some of the higher-end freight traffic served by the 70" engines. Like those locomotives, this batch was superheated later on.

See also data from WAB 1 - 1907 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Class G-1 - 70"" (Locobase 4202)

Railroad Age Gazette (17 July 1908) reported that these locomotives were fast freight Prairies virtually identical to those in service on the CB&Q; the latter had 69" drivers. (Drury - 1993 - says the whole class had 64" drivers, but the first 60, which included the batch described by RAG had 70" wheels.) Earlier engines in the class had gone into service in 1907.

They were reported to have a train load capacity of 1,750-2,100 tons on lines with grades between 0.5-0.85%. RAG noted several features about the design, in particular the trend toward the use of flexible staybolts in great numbers and the provision of leading truck wheels 37 1/2" in diameter.

Of the 90 G-1s, 23 became J-2 Pacifics beginning in 1916. Retirements of the Prairies began in 1934 and ended in 1950.

See also data from WAB 1 - 1907 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Class G-1s - 64"" (Locobase 6934)

Data from WAB 1 - 1907 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

This batch was identical to the earlier G-1s, but had smaller drivers. Like the others, these were superheated beginning in the teens, 3 having been ministered to by January 1917. By the end of the 1920s, all had been superheated. The result is a nicely balanced design in Locobase's opinion. The heat generator wasn't overworked and if the max axle loading was a bit high -- well, these were mainline engines.

Class G-1s - 70"" (Locobase 6932)

Data from WAB 1 - 1907 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

The Wabash's lone Prairie ...(Locobase is unapologetic). Not long after the G-1s went into service, railroads became convinced of the value of superheating. In the Wabash's case, they leaped at the chance to apply it to their 2-6-2s. By January 1917 three had already been made over. By the late 1920s 37 of the original 60 had been redone.

The last batch of 30 supplied by Alco in 1907, which had 64" drivers, were also superheated; see Locobase 6933.

Specifications
Class	G-1 - 64""	G-1 - 70""	G-1s - 64""	G-1s - 70""
Locobase ID	6933	4202	6934	6932
Railroad	Wabash	Wabash	Wabash	Wabash
Whyte	2-6-2	2-6-2	2-6-2	2-6-2
Road Numbers	2061-2090	2001-2060	2001	2001
Gauge	Std	Std	Std	Std
Builder	Alco-Rogers	several	Wabash	Wabash
Year	1907	1906	1917	1917
Valve Gear	Walschaert	Walschaert	Stephenson	Stephenson
	Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase	13.37'	13.37'	13.37'	13.37'
Engine Wheelbase	30.71'	30.71'	30.71'	30.71'
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheebase	0.44	0.44	0.44	0.44
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender)	63.35'	63.35'	61.35'	61.35'
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle)			62650 lbs	62650 lbs
Weight on Drivers	143100 lbs	143100 lbs	167900 lbs	167900 lbs
Engine Weight	203100 lbs	203100 lbs	230100 lbs	230100 lbs
Tender Light Weight	155317 lbs	155317 lbs	153000 lbs	153000 lbs
Total Engine and Tender Weight	358417 lbs	358417 lbs	383100 lbs	383100 lbs
Tender Water Capacity	7700 gals	7700 gals	6000 gals	6000 gals
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal)	15 tons	15 tons	10 tons	10 tons
Minimum weight per yard of rail on which locomotive could run	79.50 lb rail	79.50 lb rail	93.28 lb rail	93.28 lb rail
	Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter	64"	70"	64"	70"
Boiler Pressure	200 psi	200 psi	210 psi	210 psi
Cylinders (dia x stroke)	22" x 28"	22" x 28"	23" x 28"	23" x 28"
Tractive Effort	35998 lbs	32912 lbs	41312 lbs	37771 lbs
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort)	3.98	4.35	4.06	4.45
	Heating Ability
Firebox Area	190.50 sq. ft	190.50 sq. ft	218 sq. ft	218 sq. ft
Grate Area	54.25 sq. ft	54.25 sq. ft	54.25 sq. ft	54.25 sq. ft
Evaporative Heating Surface	3559	3559	2805	2805
Superheating Surface			613	613
Combined Heating Surface	3559	3559	3418	3418
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume	288.90	288.90	208.33	208.33
	Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation	10850	10850	11392.50	11392.50
Same as above plus superheater percentage	10850	10850	13435.68	13435.68
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area	38100	38100	53990.40	53990.40
Power L1	7812.68	8545.12	15658.14	17126.09
Power MT	361.09	394.94	616.80	674.63