Louisiana Railway & Navigation 2-8-0 "Consolidation" Locomotives in the USA

Class 90 (Locobase 6157)

Data from 1941 Louisiana & Arkansas diagram book of L&A locomotives supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004. See also DeGolyer, Volume 43, p. 136+ and Volume 59, pp. 434+. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 6 October 2017 email noting the differences in fuel and tenders between the two pairs; and to Everett Lueck, whose 22 May 2023 email included very useful additional information, which is quoted below.) The pairs came seven years apart, the first set in 1912 and the second in 1919. Work numbers were 38843-38844 in November 1912, 52234 in August 1919, 52292 in September 1919.

The first pair of Consolidations were the first Baldwins built for th LR&N that were produced with superheaters. As Chris Hohl points out, they were delivered as coal burners and trailed tenders weighing 115,000 lb when loaded with 6,000 US gallons (22,710 litres) of water and 12 tons (10.9 metric tons) of coal. The 12" (305 mm) piston valves and outside radial valve gear accompanied the high-temperature steam. The first two had a specification that noted a maximum grade of 4% and rails weighing 70 lb/yard (35 kg/metre).

The other two supplemented the 2-8-0 power and essentially repeated the 1912 design, but had to wait their turns amidst construction of hundreds of United States Railroad Administration locomotives before being put in production as oil burners. Baldwin's specs gave equal quantiities of oil and water (3,000 gallons/11,355 litres) for the tenders. The USRA book's more likely quantities were used in Locobase's specs. According to Nicholas Muff's outline on [], these locomotives were used primarily for yard duty.

The 90 was leased to subsidiary Alexandria Lumber Company for its exclusive use after its delivery; it was relettered for parent Louisiana & Arkansas took over all of the holdings in 1929. Everett Lueck supplied more details in two emails that Locobase has edited only lightly.. His role as historian for the Southern Forest Heritage Museum means he's "sort of

am very familiar with the various Crowell and Wadley companies across Texas,

Louisiana and surprisingly, California."

He explains that the 90

"...was not leased to Alexandria Lumber Co (a separate and distinct company, not an LR&N subsidiary) until after March 31, 1913 when Crowell and Spencer Lumber and Alexandria Lumber Co. jointly bought the Calcasieu Pine Timber Lands in Evangeline and Allen parishes. The Crowell Family owned 1/2 of Alexandria Lumber, with the Wadley Family owning the other 1/2. I have seen a letter in the Crowell Archives from W.T. Wadley, to William Edenborn, asking about leasing a locomotive that was sent in February, 1913, so #90 was already working for LR&N at the time.

[Lueck added a day later]: "I am guessing the W.D. Wadley had some stroke with

Edenborn to get him to lease a brand new locomotive to the ALCo operation. The

90 also influenced the Crowell's Meridian Lumber operation because when they

needed a locomotive for similar service in 1923, they bought a virtually identical lcomotive from Baldwin as Meridian Lumber #206."

"The locomotive stayed leased to ALCo until November, 1922, when the ALCo mill at Pineville shut down, and ALCo moved its operations to the new town of ALCo in the middle of its newest timber holdings and the #90 was no longer needed."

After World War II, the L&A sold the 90 to the Crossett Lumber Company in February 1947 as the latter's 15. The 91 served the LR&N and its successor, the L&A for almost 40 years before being sold to the Nacogdoches & Southeastern in March 1948. 98 went to the Ashley, Drew & Northern in February 1947 as their 135.

99's history included a relatively early (February 1944) sale to the West Feliciana of Saint Francisville, La. Five years later the WF passed the engine on to the South Shore of Jackson. La, which sent the 99 on to Monroe Sand & Gravel. Ultimately, the 99 was donated in March 1968 to the Illinois Railway Museum, which put it on display in Union, Ill.