Chicago Great Western 2-10-4 "Texas" Locomotives in the USA

Class T1/T2/T3 (Locobase 1187)

Data from tables and diagrams in 1930 Locomotive Cyclopedia and from CGW 1 -- 1938, 1943, - 1946, and - 1948 locomotive diagram books supplied in March 2004 and August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Volume 82, pp. 186+. See also "Chicago Great Western Freight Power Improved", Baldwin Locomotive Magazine, Volume 19, No. 4 (November 1941), pp. 11-14. (Many thanks to Chris Hohl for his 28 April 2019 email and attached builder's cards accompanying comments on the class's boosters.) Baldwin's works numbers for road numbers 865-879 were 61573-61587 in December 1931. Lima works numbers were 7501-7515 in April 1930, 7569-7571 in December.

The most massive of all of the Corn Belt Route's (aka the Maple Leaf Route) motive power. (Artwork outlining the tri-lobal route pattern superimposed a maple leaf to illustrate the claim.) Drury (1993) claims that these were duplicates of the Texas & Pacific 600-series locomotives -- and in terms of basic power, they were. He notes the few differences: "coal instead of oil fuel, a second sand dome behind the steam dome, and Coffin or Worthington [Type S] feedwater heaters."

The 1943 diagram book suggests a very different origin. Alone among the American and Canadian 2-10-4s, these locomotives retained the 5 1/2" flues for the superheater. The areas are considerably smaller than those of the T&P engines. All of the engines were delivered with a connection to an auxiliary water tank car available. (Locobase suspected as much when he considered the relative sizes of water and coal fuel in the tenders.)

Firebox heating surface included 91 sq ft (8.45 sq m) from the combustion chamber and 21 sq ft (1.95 sq m) of arch tubes. Baldwin's engines were delivered with 98 sq ft in two thermic syphons (9.1 sq m), while Lima's locomotives's three thermic syphons (two firebox, one combustion chamber) totalled 106 sq ft (9.85 sq m)--the specs show the latter data as Baldwins were later brought up to that level. All had 14" (356 mm) piston valves.

Batch summaries:

T-1 850-864 Lima 1930, Franklin C-23 trailing-truck 13,300 lb (6,033 kg or 59.16 kN) boosters. In January 1938, engine #855 was refitted with Walschaert valve gear and two thermic syphons in the combustion chamber.

T-2 865-873 Baldwin 1930 - Worthington feedwater heaters

T-3 874-879 Baldwin 1931, 880-882 Lima 1931 (Baldwin works numbers came in a batch 61573-61587 in December 1930) - Coffin feedwater heaters, Bethlehem tender booster engines in 874-879 providing 18,000 lb (8,165 kg or 80.07 kN) of additional tractive effort.

883-885 Lima 1931. Also with Bethlehem tender boosters.

An interesting vignette on the impact of these "Big Hogs" comes from Rail Data Exchange of stories about the CGW put up on [] by Jim L. Rueber (visited 11 August 2004):

"To help pay for these huge engines" Rueber says, "a lot of employees lost their jobs. The shop force at Oelwein, Iowa was reduced. The Terminals at East Stockton, Illinois and Conception, Missouri were closed. These bigger engines resulted in fewer trains so the trainmen and enginemen took a hit. Even the operators at the various coal chutes were reduced to just one man."

Rueber adds that when a superintendent asked engineer Frank Anderson whether he liked the new engines, Anderson replied, "I don't". When Foster, the super, followed with "Why not?", Anderson said, "They pull too many cars."

Baldwin's 1941 article noted that when they were delivered "[t]he wheels were statically balanced, and approximately 50% of the reciprocating weight was balanced in accordance with the accepted practice of the time." But all of the reciprocating balance was placed on the wheels in axles 1, 2, 4, and 5. Because the main drivers (the third set) took all of the load and whirling weight of the main rod, but were not balanced, increased speeds induced vibrations that "resulted in rough riding and proved hard on the track."

So in 1937 the CGW began replacing the original spoke wheels with Baldwin disc centers that had "triangular sections in the rim and adjacent to the hub.". In addition to strengthening the drivers, the change reduced the size of axle and crank pin hubs. This reduced the amount of weight to be counterbalanced even as it provided more space to add what was needed. The new discs and counterbalance also reduced dynamic augment to a striking degree, especially at higher speeds.

In 1939, Baldwin supplied lighter-weight main rods and tandem connecting rods. When installed, the weights on the main pin dropped from 1,385 lb to 1,076 lb, a reduction of 22%.

By 1943, the CGW had removed all the Bethlehem

All left service in 1948-1950.