Class 397 (Locobase 11774)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 10, p. 256 . See also "How Large Can Grate Areas Be Made Advantageously?", Locomotive Engineering, Volume 11, No 3 (March 1898), pp. 139-140. Works numbers were 5759 and 5762 in September 1881.

These Wootten wonders were based on the D class Consolidations then entering service on the Burlington in relatively large numbers (Locobase 5478). They burned bituminous soft coal instead of the anthracite culm for which the firebox was designed. 28 sq ft (2.6 sq m) of the firebox heating surface could be found in the combustion chamber. According to a January 1889 report in the Railroading and Engineering Journal (p. 3), the combination of wide grate and soft coal was said "...to give excellent results."

Still, they were somewhat odd ducks. An earlier report in the Locomotive Engineers Journal, Volume 22, No 1 (January 1888), pp. 43-44 includes a discussion by the Burlington G W Rhodes that outlined in detail their shortcomings in CB & Q service: "You will ask, probably, why, if these Wootten engines do the work so thoroughly, we do not have more of them? The reason is partly that our experiments are not thoroughly completed. In the first place we find the fire-box, constructed as these engines are, to be very expensive to maintain. The fire-box doesn't last any length of time; we have to renew it constantly.

"Further than that, with the ordinary fuel, such as we get in Iowa, the ordinary lump fuel, these engines won't steam well. If you use that lump fuel in such a large grate surface you cannot stop up the air passages; there are too large openings among the large lumps of coal, so that the engines won't steam; but when you take this same fuel and crush it the engines steam remarkably well, and without sparks and hardly any smoke. But it is almost impracticable to use the engines in this way, for we cannot get a sufficient quantity of this pea coal, or screenings, to supply the demand for freight engines on a road like the C. B. & Q. I think, then, that in taking up this matter of extension fronts it is going to be Vital with us to consider what kind of fuel we use."

LE's 1898 analysis of grate area size included an extended discussion of Western railroad experience with theWotten firebox. The UP and other Western railroads found that their Wootten boilers were maintenance hogs, "excessively expensive to maintain" , in need of frequent repairs, and thus often not available when needed. This struck at the heart of the steam engine's worth, its simplicity and reliability.

A principle reason for the shortcomings was the boiler seemed to be particularly susceptible to damage from bad feed water. The knock-on effect was frequent tube leakage, which was "certain to waste coal, lead to annoying delays, and to cause irritation to everyone interested in having the engine do its work satisfactorily." Moreover, LE noted the thin layer of coal required on a Wootten grate and the "refrigeration" effect of too much atmospheric air penetrating the blanket. It lowered "gases of combustion below the temperature of ignition ...[at that point] the air is wasted cooling the fire and heating surface."

By the time Rhodes spoke, 397 had been transferred to the Hannibal & St Joseph as their 51; 398 would join its sibling in 1891 as 52 and both would be classified D-1. According to Gene Connelly's Baldwin production list, both were renumbered in 1898 as 612-613, but only 612 was rebuilt at that time as a conventional-firebox locomotive with 20" x 25" [sic] cylinders and 50" drivers.

According to Bernard Corbin & William Kerka's compilation in their Steam Locomotives of the Burlington Route, the 612 was taken in by the St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern, which in turn merged with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1901. The 613 went to the Kansas City, St Joseph & Council Bluffs as their 613. The KCStJ&CB also merged with the CB&Q in 1901.

Both ended their days as G-4A class 0-6-0s 1625-1626.

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Class 6 (Locobase 12420)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Volume 23 p. 44. See also George Woodman Hilton, American Narrow-Gauge Railroads (Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1990), p 514+. Works number was 17795 in May 1900.

The DC connected Galena Junction and Two Bit in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In 1902, the railway came under the Burlington & Missouri River. The B&MR was absorbed by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1904 and this 3-ft gauge line operated the now-renumbered 538 operated for years before going to the scrap pile in December 1930.

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Class B-4-A - Cooke (Locobase 7684)

Data from C & S 7 -1939 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 1478-1483 in June 1883, 1484-1487 in July, 1494-1499 in August, 1500-1503 in September.

The Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf took delivery of these little Cooke Consolidations and numbered 198-216. The C&S took over the UPD&G in 1899 and renumbered them 37-56. John Crandall's roster -- [], accessed 13 July 2006 -- credits 37-40 to Baldwin.

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Class B-4-C (Locobase 6752)

Data from C & S 7 -1939 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Very light-rail Consolidation freight engines that served the branch lines of the Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf as numbers 261-268. The C&S took over the UPD&G in 1899 and renumbered them as shown in the specs

Compared to the Moguls of two years earlier (Locobase 6751), these were smaller and lighter locomotives. A look at the photograph from Ted Kiercey'sRail Data Exchange shown on [], accessed 13 July 2006, shows a variety of "field modifications": A tall pipe led from the rhomboid spark-arresting cap on the stack itself down to the trackbed. It turns out that the stack is a patented apparatus is called the Ridgway Stack. [], also accessed 13 July 1913, gives full details of the design. The purpose was to keep any stray cinders from setting fire to the highly combustible right of way.

John R Crandall, editor of the nginfo site, comments on why he thinks the extra pipe was added: "The most novel aspect of this cinder catcher is the pipe running down the side which deposits the hot cinders along the side of the track, where in theory, they would do the least amount of harm. It seems, however, that if these new cinder catchers had been all that they seemed to be cracked up to be, they would have been adapted to more railroads than the C&S. The top did fold over and can be seen this way in many photos of engines in yards or in snow covered areas, where the threat of fire was greatly reduced. Perhaps there were problems with the screens becoming clogged and reducing the draft."

Between the two old-style steam domes are two cylindrical tanks laid side-by-side across the boiler.

All but one had been scrapped by the end of the 1920s; for some reason, 58 avoided the torch until April 1939.

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Class B-4-F - pv (Locobase 2636)

Data from Catalogue Descriptive of Simple and Compound Locomotives built by Brooks Locomotive Works, Dunkirk, NY (Buffalo, NY: Matthew-Northrup Company, 1899). See also Mike Trent, Rio Grande Southern Railroad Technical Information Page (Vol 3, # 2 - July 1999) on #74 by Mike Trent, published on

[] (visited 1 Feb 2004-[].) Works numbers were 2969-2970 in June 1898.

Same data as the Colorado & NorthWestern's #30 (Locobase 2635), but with a different "Code Word" (for use in telegraphy). #30 was Quidam, #32's is Quiddit. The only discernible difference is a change in the shape of the valve chest from a simple slide valve to perhaps a patent version of a piston valve.

Locobase's hunch -- suggested in 2002 -- was borne out by Mike Trent's comments in 2004. He notes that the problems of the outboard-canted slide valves on the first engine of the trio led to the adoption of the inboard piston valves. Trent comments that piston valves tended to "wear out" rather than wearing in (as slide valves did because of the constant pressure on only one side) they needed replacement more often. Even so, the piston valve was better suited for higher-pressure applications.

Both of these locomotives had long careers. The Denver, Boulder & Western sold them to Morse Brothers Machinery & Supply Co, which in turn sold them to the Colorado & Southern as road #75-76. Eventually the pair ended up on Cerro de Pasco Copper Co of Lima, Peru in 1948 and served that producer until the mid-1960s.

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Class B-4-F - sv (Locobase 2635)

Data from Catalogue Descriptive of Simple and Compound Locomotives built by Brooks Locomotive Works, Dunkirk, NY (Buffalo, NY: Matthew-Northrup Company, 1899). See also Mike Trent, Rio Grande Southern Railroad Technical Information Page (Vol 3, # 2 - July 1999), published on

[] (visited 1 Feb 2004--revisted 3 August 2013 at [].)

) and Martin E Hansen, "Landslide of Emotion", Trains, September 2013, pp. 40-43. Works number was 2951 in April 1898.

See 2636 for the other two locomotives--fitted with piston valves--in this order.

A year after the Colorado & NorthWestern's first engine -- a Brooks-built 2-6-0 -- we see this burlier Consolidation with even smaller drivers. The driving wheel base gains only four inches to permit this more powerful locomotive to work on light, curvy track.

See the full account of engine #74 as it passed through several transformation on Trent says that 30 represented an odd, short-lived choice of valve-chest layout: "In order to set the steam chests containing the engine's flat, or slide, valves under the large 60" diameter smokebox, the chests were canted outboard. This peculiar Brooks design had been applied to some of Brook's recently built standard gauge engines. Unfortunately, increased steam pressure made possible by new boiler technology and size caused an unbalanced load on the old-fashioned slide valves. This in turn caused damage and excessive wear to the traditional Stephenson valve gear, which was "standard" at that time. Also, the sloping nature of the steam chests caused major lubrication problems"

The outboard cant was abandoned in the other two locomotives in favor of inboard piston valves, but 30 kept her difficult-to-operate slide gear for some time.

Hansen's article concerns the fatal landslide that engulfed #30 on 18 April 1901 as it worked with another engine to clear snow from tracks near Ward, Colo. 30's engineer was Hansen's great-grandfather Joseph William Hannum. When the call came to clear the snow, says Hansen, the experienced engineer called for the 30, his "favorite engine" and her sister, #31 as the helper locomotive. Just as the pair of engines was about to break through the last bit of snow blocking the track, an avalanche that began well above them roared down and swept both engines and all four crewmen away. Remarkably, James Marks, the engineer on 31, survived with relatively minor injuries but the other three men were gone.

Both locomotives were recovered, repaired, and returned to service. (The rest of the story of intertwined lives is well worth seeking out and reading.) Trent quotes famed illustrator Howard Fogg, who said in 1981: "In my opinion, the 30, 31, and 32 when delivered from Brooks, were the best proportioned, aesthetically beautiful narrow gauge engines ever built. I love to draw them."

In 1909, the now-bankrupt C&NW was succeeded by the Denver, Boulder & Western. As the DB&W ran into increasing difficulties, it began to sell off its equipment. On 20 January 1921, the Colorado & Southern bought both locomotives. In 1926, says Trent, the Colorado & Southern's George Lundberg of the mechanical department "designed a distinctive, customized Walschaerts valve gear for No.74" that worked to free up the Johnson bar and greatly ease the engineer's job.

Clinton Eshe, long-time C&S engineer, was quoted by Trent as saying in 1983:"Those DB&W engines were real popular with the engineers, because they always had steam and pulled their tonnage and had plenty of 'snap' on the throttle. They was great engines."

See Trent's full account at the link shown above. Later 74 operated in tourist service from 1948 to 1952 when the Rio Grande Southern closed. Although surveyed for a possible operational rebuild, the 74 was too far gone. But it was salvageable for cosmetic restoration and display. And, after years of effort, the 74's restoration was completed in May 2012. See the Narrow Gauge Railroad Discussion Forum thread that began on 30 April 2012 at [],215763,215763#msg-215763.

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Class B-4-M (Locobase 8322)

Data from the C&S 6 - 1941 Locomotive Diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. (NB: Page 95, Volume 21 is missing from the DeGolyer Library collection available online.) Works numbers were 15608-15612 in December 1897 and 17178 in December 1899; 17653 in April 1900.

This class was ordered by a C&S predecessor., which was absorbed in 1898. The last two were delivered with C&S road numbers.

The class was dismantled in the late 1920s.

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Class B-4-R (Locobase 1337)

Data from C&S 7 -1939 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange

Juiced-up versions of the B-4Ps (Locobase 1335) ordered a year earlier, these were considerably bigger. Rhode Island built the first 10 (works numbers were 3301-3304 in June 1901, 3305-3310 in July);

Alco's Richmond Works followed a year later with 15 (works numbers were 25853-25867 in March 1902);

and Brooks supplied the last 19 (works numbers were 40252-40270 in July 1906).

Baldwin's six B-4R1 engines, which had slide valves instead of piston valves and sported other changes in the smokebox and cab, appear in Locobase 13036.

Many of the class were later superheated. The class operated until 1960, although retirements began as soon as the later 1920s. 638 and 641 were donated for displays to the cities of Trinidad and Leadville, Colo in October 1962.

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Class B-4-R -superheated Alcos (Locobase 16324)

Data from C & S 7 -1941 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Beginning in the late teens, several of the Alco-built B-4-Rs (Locobase 1337) received superheaters and 11" (279 mm) piston valves to handle the hotter steam. Three of the ten Ocean Staters from Rhode Island (602, 605, 608), just under half of the Richmonds (610-612, 616,618-620, 629), and a surprisingly small selection of Brooks engines (629, 631-634, 638, 640-641) were so treated. Their larger boilers were matched with the same size superheater as the slightly smaller Baldwins (Locobase 13036).

629 was converted to oil burning and trailed a tender carrying the same amount of water and 4,114 gallons (15,571 litres) of oil fuel.

NB: The evaporative heating surface area is estimated based on the Baldwins, which had the same superheater installation, but 30 fewer tubes after the conversion.)

The class left service over a long period, the first in 1934, the last in 1960.

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Class B-4-R1 (Locobase 13036)

Data from DeGolyer, Volume 29, p. 255. Works numbers were 30996, 31017-31018, and 31066-31068 in June 1907.

Locobase 1337 shows us the lion's share of the original B-4-R Consolidations, which were built by Rhode Island 1901-1902 just before its consolidation with several of the builders as the American Locomotive Company and and Alco's Richmond (1902) and Brooks (1906 ) after their absorbtion by Alco.

This septet differed from the Alcos in having slide valves. and of the six in this class were superheated in the mid-1920s; see Locobase 6760.

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Class B-4-R1-superheated Baldwin (Locobase 6760)

Data from C & S 7 -1939 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Beginning in 1924, all of the B-4-Rs first delivered as saturated engines (Locobase 13036) but 649 were superheated and fitted with 11" (279 mm) piston valves.

The class left service over a long period, the first in 1934, the last in 1960.

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Class B-4-S - compound (Locobase 6759)

Data from C&S 6 - 1941 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also George H Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Revised Edition (Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Books, 2015), p. 15. Works numbers were 27302-27313 in March 1903.

Firebox heating surface included 12.3 sq ft of arch tubes.

These tandem compounds were among the most successful compounds in US service, Drury wrote, and weren't converted to a simple-expansion configuration shown in Locobase 8323 until 1924-1926. Indeed, they were superheated first and retrofitted with 12" (305 mm) piston valves.

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Class B-4-S - simpled (Locobase 8323)

Data from C&S 7 -1939 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Firebox heating surface included 12.3 sq ft (1.14 sq m) of arch tubes.

As noted in Locobase 6759, the tandem compounds purchased by the C & S in 1903 proved so satisfactory that they were superheated first. Only in 1924-1926 were they converted to the simple-expansion layout shown in the specs and given outside Walschaert radial valve gear to supply the new cylinders. After their conversions, the former compounds retired over a long period of time, the first leaving in 1939, the last in 1956.

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Class B-4P (Locobase 1335)

Data from C & S 7 -1939 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

The result of a trial of three builders' locomotives in which Rhode Island outdid Baldwin (B-4M #428, the last of a 7-engine run) and Cooke (B-4N; works #2510). Drury (1993) describes the winner as having a higher boiler and taller drivers. These left service between 1937 and 1946.

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Class B-4Q1 (Locobase 11364)

Data from "Equipment and Supplies: Locomotive Building, Railway Age Gazette, Vol 43 (27 September 1907), p. 369. See also Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Volume 29, pp.270+ and 290+. Works numbers were 31097-31098, 31149-31150, 3164, 31172 in June 1907; 31197-31198, 31417 in July; 31474 in August; and 31834-31836 in September.

Produced at the same time as the nine unsuccessful C&S B-4Q1s (Locobase 16325), these engines remained on the T&BV during their relatively short lifetimes as well. Most were retired and dismantled in the 1930s with only 38 surviving until 1940 and 32 until 1944.

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Class B-4Q1 (Locobase 16325)

Data from "Equipment and Supplies: Locomotive Building, Railway Age Gazette, Vol 43 (27 September 1907), p. 369. See also Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Volume 29, p. 270. Works numbers were 31097-31098, 31149-31150, 3164, 31172 in June 1907; 31197-31198, 31417 in July; 31474 in August; and 31834-31836 in September.

According to Drury (1993), p. 134-135, these had the same power dimensions as several other C&S batches, "but a much smaller boiler." The result: "They were extremely poor steamers and quickly placed in local freight and switching service."

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Class D (Locobase 5478)

Data from the locomotive diagram published on Vernon Beck's website -- [] (accessed 22 March 2003) and DeGolyer, Vol 9, p. 113 and Vol 10a, p. 203 . Works numbers were

1879

June 4682-4683

1880

June 5146, 5150, 5179, 5181; August 5202-5203

1881

June 5692, 5696; July 5717, 5719, 5729, 5734; August 5749, 5752

1882

July 6296, 6298, 6301, 6308, 6313; August 6327-6328

1884

May 7327-7328; June 7331, 7337, 7342-7343, 7351-7352, 7359, 7361.

A numerous class of Consolidations that operated on the Burlington & Missouri River; Kansas City, St Joseph & Council Bluffs, and the Hannibal & St Joseph. Most were converted to 0-6-0 switchers and redesignated G-4.

See Locobase 11774 for the Wootten-firebox camelback pair that arrived on the road in 1881.

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Class D-1 (Locobase 5481)

Data from the locomotive diagram published on Vernon Beck's website -- [] (accessed 22 March 2003). See also DeGolyer, Vol 12, p. 59. Corbin & Kerka's (1960) description of all the early Consolidations covers several batches, but overall, this seems to be the best fit between the diagram marked "D old" and their information. See also "Notes on Prairie Type Locomotives", Railroad Gazette, Volume XXXII [32], No 42 (19 October 1900), p. 691. Works numbers were 7327-7328 in May 1884, 7331, 7337, 7342-7343, 7351-7352, 7359, 7361 in June.

These were converted to G-4A 0-6-0 switchers, in what RG described as "an interesting way." The shops removed the pilot, the leading truck, rear drivers and their rods. The flanged rear drivers replaced the blind main drivers, a plate covered the rear pedestals and the equalizers were reset. "The result", commented RG," is a very good six-wheels switcher, weighing about 98,000 lb [44,452 kg] and the value of the scrap material is just about equal to the cost of making the alterations."

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Class D-2 (Locobase 5479)

Data from the locomotive diagram published on Vernon Beck's website -- [] (accessed 22 March 2003). See also DeGolyer, Volume 14, p. 68Baldwin works numbers were 8939, 8942-8943, 8951 in December 1887; 8990-8993, 8995-8996, 8998, 9001 in January 1888; 9063-9064, 9066-9067, 9069, 9074-9075, 9084 in February; 9633-9634, 9636, 9639-9640

These larger Consolidations had fireboxes that rode above the axles, thus gaining 10" (254 mm) of grate width .The first 25 were built by Baldwin in 1887-1888 with the Burlington shops at Aurora and West Burlington adding five more. Almost all were converted to G-4 class 0-8-0 switchers, many before 1910. Three served out their days as 2-8-0s and were retired in 1922.

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Class D-4A (Locobase 5485)

Data from CB&Q Asstd Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Delivered to CB&Q subsidiaries (most likely Hannibal & St Joseph and Burlington & Missouri River). This entry represents the Alco order. See Locobase 11468 for the Baldwins that came in the same year. Both the Alcos and the Baldwins had 12"(305 mm) piston valves.

Drury (1993) comments that these engines proved less well-suited to requirements than the lighter Prairies or the 2-8-2s that followed shortly afterward. See Locobase 425 for the result when the Burlington equipped these engines with Emerson superheaters.

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Class D-4A superheated (Locobase 425)

Originally delivered to CB&Q subsidiaries by Alco-Schenectady in 1903 (Locobase 5485), these locomotives were superheated by the CB&Q not long after they entered service.

They retained the power dimensions of the original locomotives, although Locobase is not sure if the 12"(305 mm) piston valves were supplied in 1903. The superheaters were the relatively inefficient Emerson design, which may have suited the slow freights they hauled during their years of service.

Over the course of almost two decades, the Burlington withdrew all of the locomotives in this class, the last leaving in 1946.

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Class D-4B (Locobase 11468)

Data from CB&Q Asstd Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange; and DeGolyer, Volume 25, p.80. Works numbers were

B&MR 21675-21676, 21690, 21695 in February 1903; 21743-21744, 21762, 21765, 21802, 21806, 21821, 21849, 21858, 21869, 21892 in March (Road numbers 3310-3316, 3326-3333)

H&St J 21899, 21915, 21943, 21953, 21960, 21977, 21985, 22075-22076 in April 1903; 22214 in May (Road numbers 693-700, 860-861)

Baldwin delivered these Consolidations to CB&Q subsidiaries Burlington & Missouri River and the Hannibal & St Joseph. This entry represents the Baldwin order delivered with a little less firebox heating surface, but 29 more tubes and more total evaporative heating surface They also rode a little lighter than the Alcos.

The original Baldwin spec shows that they were delivered with 12" (305 mm) piston valves. The specs also show the slight differences between the two railroads' batches. The H&St J engines had smaller, shorter tenders that carried only 6,000 US gallons (22,710 litres) of water instead of the 7,000-gallon (26,495 litres) tenders delivered with the B&MR locomotives. For some reason the first seven locomotives of the order used Eckerson ash pans vs the Galesburg ash pans of the later B&MR and all H&StJ locomotives.

These were soon superheated; see Locobase 11469.

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Class D-4B superheated (Locobase 11469)

Data from CB&Q Asstd Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

When the Burlington added an Emerson superheater to the Baldwin boilers of the D-4B Consolidations, they managed to retain more of the small tubes than when they performed the same surgery on their Alco-built D-4As (Locobase 425). The Emerson was relatively inefficient and the installation didn't contribute a substantial percentage of area to the boiler in any case. Locobase does not know for sure that the 12" piston valves were added at the same time, but suspects as much.

The D-4Bs were withdrawn in the late 1920s-early 1930s, except the 3188 for some reason, which endured until November 1940.

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Class D-7 (Locobase 7691)

Data from CB&Q 3 - 1953 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange and from the locomotive diagram published on Vernon Beck's website -- [] (accessed 22 March 2003). See also DeGolyer, Volume 25, p. 196. Works numbers were 22390, 22408 in June 1903.

Delivered to the I&StL shortly before its takeover by the Burlington & Missouri River subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, this pair of light and low-drivered Consolidations were quite modest in their design and performance. The Burlington apparently augmented the original firebox heating surface area by installing 13.1 sq ft (1.22 sq m) of arch tubes.

Like the parent road's 2-8-0s, they were not really well suited to the Burlington's freight requirements and both were out of service in November 1928.

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Class Q/D3 (Locobase 3278)

Data from "Pittsburgh Consolidation Locomotives for the Burlington & Missouri River", Railroad Gazette, Volume 30, No. 34 (26 August 1898), p. 607. See also CB&Q Assorted Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange collection. Works numbers were 1845-1848 in August 1898.

The RG reported that these engines were headed for the Black Hills and for their time, the class had boilers in the top 10% among 2-8-0 classes for capacity and plenty of weight on the drivers. Their firebox area was in the top third, but grate area about halfway. The B&MR was part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the latter's Superintendent of Motive Power was credited with the "direction" of this design. Its capacity was to be 50% greater than the engines then in use, making it capable of pulling 15 loads where the others could only manage 10.

Drury (1993) comments that the Consolidation didn't get much use on the CB&Q, the railroad preferring their Prairies for light freight service.

But this quartet was paid for, so all four remained in service until 1928. 3003 retired in February, 3001 in August, 3000, and 3002 in November.