At one time the second largest steel producer in the USA, TCI was listed on the first Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896. However, in 1907, the company was merged with its principal rival, the United States Steel Corporation. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company operated as a subsidiary of U. S. Steel for 45 years until it became a division of its parent company in 1952.
The Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company bought four "Santa Fe" type locomotives from the American Locomotive Company which, were delivered in 1917. They were designated as Class 400 and carried road numbers 400 through 403. These locomotives had 57" diameter drivers, 28" x 32" cylinders, a 190 psi boiler pressure, they exerted 71,083 pounds of tractive effort and each weighed 353,400 pounds.
There are no surviving TCI&R 2-10-2 "Santa Fe" type locomotives.
| Class | Qty. | Road Numbers | Year Built | Builder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | 4 | 400-403 | 1917 | ALCO | Numbers 400-403 were scrapped by the end of steam. |
Data from TCI&RR 1938 Locomotive Diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange; and builder's card "2-10-2 S 345 Built for the Birmingham Southern Road Number 300" as American Locomotive Company Order S-1219. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 29 January 2026 email noting several discrepancies between the entry and the Alco data card he supplied to support his observations.) Works numbers were 5752, 5717-57519 in 1917 and 64980 in 1923.
Locobase 5391 shows the New York, Ontario & Western X class Santa Fes, which seem to have been the direct ancestors of this set of TCI&RR engines. The Xs were produced in 1915, the 400s in 1917. In addition to identical values in many of the dimensions, areas, and weights, both classes used a Gaines wall (here described as a "Gaines arch") in the firebox.
In his original 2011 effort to create this quartet's BS entry, Locobase hazarded guesses as to why the engines seemed to be identical, but had such different heating surface areas. Turned out he hazarded incorrectly by failing to study the TCI&R diagram closely enough.
Although the two classes offered many of the same specifications, one can hope that the BS/TCI&R engines provided a better ride than the NYO&W Xs. Locobase 5391 uses several paragraphs to quote deprecatory remarks about the rough going X crews endured.
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
|---|---|
| Class | 300/400 |
| Locobase ID | 9197 |
| Railroad | Birmingham Southern (TCI&R) |
| Country | USA |
| Whyte | 2-10-2 |
| Number in Class | 4 |
| Road Numbers | 300-303/400-403 |
| Gauge | Std |
| Number Built | 4 |
| Builder | Alco-Schenectady |
| Year | 1917 |
| Valve Gear | Baker |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | |
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 20 / 6.10 |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 37.67 / 11.48 |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.53 |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 67.92 / 20.70 |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | 61,400 / 27,851 |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 295,400 / 133,991 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 353,400 / 160,300 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 170,000 / 77,111 |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 523,400 / 237,411 |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 9000 / 34.09 |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 7 / 6.40 |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 98 / 49 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 57 / 1448 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 190 / 1290 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 28" x 32" / 711x813 |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 71,083 / 32242.74 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.16 |
| Heating Ability | |
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 337 - 2" / 51 |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | 50 - 5.375" / 137 |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 17 / 5.18 |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 325 / 30.19 |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 80.20 / 7.45 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 4498 / 417.87 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1007 / 93.55 |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 5505 / 511.42 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 197.19 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 15,238 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 17,981 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 72,865 |
| Power L1 | 12,017 |
| Power MT | 448.42 |
