Kansas City Southern 2-10-4 "Texas" Locomotives in the USA

Class J (Locobase 97)

Data from tables in 1930 Locomotive Cyclopedia, supplemented by KCS 1942 - 2 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley. See also Albert F Stuebing, "The Advantages of Large Freight Locomotives, Particularly the 2-10-2 Type", Paper 1795 presented at the Spring Meeting, Chicago, Ill (23-26 May 1921), pp. 325 et seq, especially the comments of John E Muhfeld reporting the KCS's experience with Mallets beginning on p. 335; and Don G Campbell, "Modern Steam Locomotives of the KCS", National Railway Historical Bulletin, Volume 29, #2 (1964). (Many thanks to Chris Hohl for his 22 September 2017 email reporting unlikely boiler pressure values for 177 entries. A Locobase macro caused the error . Hohl also supplied the builder's card for an oil-burner that showed a slightly higher tender water capacity.) Lima works numbers 7660-7669 in August 1937.

The railway's John E Muhlfeld expressed in 1921 a strong preference for Mallets over the 2-10-2, claiming the following list of disadvantages burdening the Santa Fe layout:

"[e]normous concentrated stresses" on much of the running gear's components and their consequent liability of breakage and crushing,

"excessive bridge and rail loads",

"extraordinary" tire tread and flange wear,

difficulty in counterbalancing, and

complicating engine house maintenance because various component were of ' "extreme weight".

Although many railroads had already adopted the 2-10-2 arrangement and others would do so, the KCS waited until the much larger and more powerful 2-10-4 designs were available.

Five engines (900-904) burned oil, 5 (905-909) burned coal. (Don G. Campbell (NRHS Bulletin, 1964) speculates that splitting the fuel may have been done "to satisfy both the coal and petroleum industries along the line."). Oil-burner tenders carried 21,700 gal (82,135 litres) of water and 4,500 gallons (17,033 litres) of oil; these weighed 348,000 lb (157,850 kg) loaded. The engine's boiler began work with 46,000 lb (20,865 kg) or approximately 5,400 US gallons (20,439 litres) of water.

The firebox layout was relatively plain, using only 56 sq ft (5.2 sq m) of arch tubes to supplement the heating surface area provided by the basic furnace and combustion chamber.

Although originally intended for the Shreveport-KC run, World War II delayed upgrading the rail south of De Queen, Ark. to the 127-lb/yard (63.5 kg/metre) standard, so these engines worked on the Northern Division only. During World War II, these engines stepped in to pull troop trains and were able to meet passenger train schedules. Although not quite attaining the tonnage ratings of the road's "Big Mallies," these engines represented superpower in its most striking form.