2-6-2 "Prairie" Steam Locomotives in the USA

Class 3 (Locobase 11536)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines, 1903, as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 25, p. 288. Works number was 22483 in November 1903.

Identical to the Prairies used by Lousiana LongLeaf Lumber on its Victoria, Fisher & Western logging road, this little 2-6-2 served the Louisiana Central's railroad nearby.

The O&N in 1903 consisted of 14 miles of track running south-easterly from Clarks, La. According to the TapLines Cases heard before the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1911-1912, the O & N was never a common carrier and behaved rather rudely. Once the adjacent timber was cut and harvested, the LCL simply pulled up the tracks, leaving other users of the line in the lurch.

Class 4 (Locobase 12943)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines, 1903, as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 28, p. 273. Works number was 27998 in April 1906.

Compared to the O&N's #3 shown in Locobase 11536, this engine, also Baldwin-built, the 4's power came from more cylinder volume as both diameter and stroke increased by an amount that more than compensated for a slight drop in pressure and a 3" (76.2 mm) growth in driver diameter to match the usual 44" wheels used for these locomotives. Also, the boiler and grate offered more areas and weights and wheelbases grew as well.

As a result, the 4 was a standard-gauge logging Prairies went, this engine sat in the middle of the pack in terms of weight, heating surfaces, and power. The railroad was operated by the Louisiana Central Lumber Company.

Class 8 (Locobase 13883)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Volume 40, p. 34. Works number was 37580 in March 1912.

The O & N was owned by the Louisiana Central Lumber Company, which Locobase 11536 tells us was not really a common carrier. So when the timber holdings in which the #8 worked were cut over, the locomotive simply moved to other stands. A logging Prairie of a common type, the 8