Chicago & Alton 2-6-0 "Mogul" Locomotives in the USA

Class D/F-1 (Locobase 14636)

Data from "Mogul Locomotive (Class D), Chicago & Alton Railroad," National Car and Locomotive Builder, Vol XIX (January 1888), pp. 4-6. See also Angus Sinclair , "Development of Valve and Valve Motion, Part Three", Railroad and Locomotive Engineering, Vol 19, No 5 (May 1906), pp. 198-199.

Design of this Mogul was credited to the Alton's superintendent of machinery William Wilson. "A number of the engines are in service," reported NCLB, "doing very hard work on the heaviest part of a road, with steep grades, many curves and heavy traffic, and they are making an excellent record for efficiency and economy."

NCLB took especial notice of the interchangeability within the class not just of "the various parts of the motion and running gear ...but the whole or parts of boiler and tender.

The report approves of the firebox's width, which was eight inches (203 mm) greater than was common at the time. It was relatively shallow at the back (45 3/4"/1,162 mm), but had a grate whose front half sloped down to increase firebox depth to 56" (1,422 mm).

The valve gear was driven by a single eccentric and operated a single valve. The eccentric rod was "fulcrumed" in such a way as to impart an elliptical motion to the rod. According to the report, "The special merits claimed for the motion are, quick opening and closure of ports, a constant lead, a correct and equal cut off, exhaust opening and closure, and more protracted release while cutting off early than is possible with the link motion."

Alas for Wilson's inventive spirit, Angus Sinclair reported 19 years later that while the steam distribution worked as advertised, the locomotives burned more coal than did those fitted with standard link motion. "Two years later, " the writer adds,"Mr Wilson still further elaborated his valve gear, did not induce any other person besides the inventor to use it."

The lead truck was an adaptation of the Alton's standard four-wheel truck.

Virtually the entire class was scrapped between 1911 and 1913.

Class F3, F3B/K-18 (Locobase 9086)

Data from C&A 6 - 1918, C&A 12 1920, and C&A 1 - 1930 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Volume 22, p. 166-167. See also "Chicago & Alton Moguls", Railway Age, Volume 28 (1 December 1899), p. 893. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 7 September 2018 email noting the discrepancies in driver diameters between Locobase's data and Baldwin's specifications and the road number ranges.) Works numbers ran 17019-17028, 17058-17067 in September 1899, 17125-17130, 17137-17138, 17163-17169 in October.

Baldwin supplied 35 of the simple-expansion F3 and 15 of the four-cylinder Vauclain compound F3A (for the latter, see Locobase 9087) . The compounds were soon rebuilt as simple engines to the same design. Some trailed tenders carrying 7,000 US gallons (26,495 litres) of water.

In the late 19'teens, virtually all of the class (except 302, 304-306, 314, 316) rolled on 62" drivers like those on the F4 (Locobase 9088), which reduced tractive effort to 30,710 lb (13,930 kg or 136.60 kN). The Alton redesignated these engines F3b. They had all reclaimed their 57" wheels by 1930. (Chris Hohl's comment reminded me that this account suggested that 57" was more representative of this class's

Beginning in 1921, the Alton converted eleven of the class to Class B10 0-6-0 switchers, road numbered 46-56. The Moguls so converted were, in 0-6-0 road number order, 324, 309, 323, 320, 315, 311, 317, 303, 305, 322, and 310. Except for the removal of the front truck ,the addition of 1/2" (13 mm) to the cylinder diameter, and 16 sq ft (1.49 sq m) in arch tubes.

Soon after the Baltimore & Ohio took over the Alton, it scrapped or sold off most of the class.

2402, 2410, 2414, and 2419 all went to the Rutland, Toluca & Northern,, a small railroad in Illinois that was incorporated in 1909 and included the earlier Toluca & Eastern, which had become the Toluca, Marquette & Northern, which then rolled into the RT&N. The RT & N was leased to the C & A, but entered receivership and was proposed for abandonment in 1925. Local businessmen rallied and bought the railroad. Alas, it failed to attract enough business and was abandoned in 1937.

2403 went to Prairie State Coal. The Chicago, Springfield & St Louis (a Springfield-to-Alton, Ill railroad) took 2417-2418 and 2420.

Five K-18s lasted into the late 1940s. These were 2406 (ex-316), scrapped in December 1946, 2400 and 2408 (ex-300 and ex-326) in April 1947, 2407 (ex-319) in June, and, over a year later, the last in the class 2422 (ex-349) in August 1948.

Class F3A (Locobase 9087)

Data from C&A 6 - 1918, C&A 12 1920, and C&A 1 - 1930 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Volume 22, p. 167. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 5 July 2017 email catching errors in the LP cylinder diameter, driver diameter, tender water capacity, and tender weight.)Works numbers were 17828-17829, 17849-17850, 17874, 17894, 17896-17897 in June 1900; 17946-17947 in July; and 18123-18124, 18197-18199 in September.

As noted in Locobase 9086, Baldwin supplied 50 Moguls to the Alton in 1899-1900. 35 were completed to a simple-expansion, 20' x 28" cylinder design.

The fifteen produced in 1900 came on the road as the Vauclain compounds shown here. Chris Hohl spotted Locobase's error in cylinder diameter and also realized that, unlike most other Baldwin compound orders based on a simple-expansion design, the tender's capacity actually grew. Locobase uncovered other tweaks as well. The firebox heating surface area included an additional 21 sq ft (1.95 sq m) of firebrick tubes. A 12" (305 mm) diameter piston valve supplied each set of one HP and one LP cylinder.

The Alton supplied a sample of the coal they would use in this class for Baldwin to analyze and suggest the best kind of grate on which to burn it.

The compound setup did not endure and the entire batch was converted to simple expansion and had the same specfications as those of the F3s shown in Locobase 9086.

Class F4/K-19 (Locobase 9088)

Data from C&A 6 - 1918, C&A 12 1920, and C&A 1 - 1930 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Volume 24, p. 233.

These were enlargements of the F3s (Locobase 9086-9087) that fell into the top 10% of the hundreds of Mogul classes owned by US railroads in terms of boiler size, grate area (discounting the large cohort of Camelback Moguls) and adhesion weight. The first two shown here had a deeper firebox than the six described in Locobase 16146, measuring 70 1/2" (1,791 mm) at the front sheet, 56" (1.422 mm) at the back..

The whole class was taken into the Baltimore & Ohio except for 362 and all were scrapped in August-September 1933.

Class F4/K-19 (Locobase 16146)

Data from C&A 6 - 1918, C&A 12 1920, and C&A 1 - 1930 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Volume 25, p. 199. Works numbers were 22452-22453, 22529-22558 in July 1902, 22714 in August, 22972 in October.

For the most part, these engines were repeats of the pair delivered in April 1902. But the design had a shallower firebox that measured 68 1/2" (1,740 mm) deep at the front sheet (2"/50.8 mm less than the 360-361) and 49 1/2" (1,257 mm) at the back (6 1/2"/165 mm difference).

The whole class was taken into the Baltimore & Ohio except for 362 and all were scrapped in August-September 1933.

Class F7/K-20 (Locobase 9089)

Data from C&A 6 - 1918, C&A 12 1920, and C&A 1 - 1930 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Volume 41, pp. 146+. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 1 February 2025 email pointing out the class's original tender capacity.) Works numbers were 35664-35667, 35711-35714 , 35767-35768 in December 1910.

These small Moguls had a short wheelbase and small drivers, a design that seems optimized for tight curving alignments where pulling power was a key value. The Baldwin specs stated that the Alco drawing 139-S-4990 could be "modified in dimensions to suit specifications", but was to be followed with regard to the fire door, position of the 610 Tate flexible stay bolts, mud ring section, pocket flues (one in front flue sheet, two in the back flue sheet), check [valve] position, and any "changes in red".

In his email, Chris Hohl noted the class's original water capacity came to 6,000 US gallons (22,710 litres). Adding a third more capacity as shown in the Locobase specs. most likely extended the class's transfer service range.

Drury (1993) suggests they were used for transfer and switching work. They had relatively large 14"(356 mm) piston valves.

The whole class was taken into the Baltimore & Ohio except for 362 and all were scrapped in 1936.