Class H-1 (Locobase 8304)

Data from CI&L 1 - 1940 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 3823-3825 in September 1887, 3831, 3834 in October; and 4426-4439 in October 1890.

This small Consolidations had the large steam dome over the crown sheet typical of the mid-1880s as well as a long gap between the first two driven axles. Like the other Monons, the engine had a capped stack.

In 1897, this Indiana railway had come out of receivership (again) and reorganized as the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville. Nine of the ten H-1s had been retired from 1914 to 1920. 200, for some reason, didn't leave until 1927.

Class H-2 (Locobase 8305)

Data from CI&L 1 - 1940 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Volume 17, p. 254. Works numbers were 12615-12617 in April 1892 and 12736-737 in June 1892.

Unusually for a Monon engine, the stack on the H-2 was not capped. A year later, the Baldwin specs for Ten-wheeler #36 shown in Locobase 8299 revealed that the railroad hadn't been entirely happy with this set of Consolidations: "Last consol engines [Locobase 8306] gave trouble with leaky mud rings."

The original boiler tube count was 258, by 1940, the tube count had been reduced by 18 to 240.

The LNA&C Railway was formed in 1859 and represented a reconstituted New Albany & Salem. In 1897, the LNA&C was reorganized as the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville, the road best known as the "Monon" for the junction at which the two main lines crossed to make an X.

Class H-3 (Locobase 8306)

Data from CI&L 1 - 1940 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 49106-49110 September 1910.

It seems rather late in the game (1910) for a railroad to have ordered five saturated-steam Consolidations, but so the Monon did. The profile shows a burly freighter on the taller drivers favored in the 20th century, a size that was not pursued on the C I & L, however; see Locobase 8312. This class also was delivered with Walschaert outside constant-lead radial valve gear.

Not long after, the railroad superheated some of the H-3s; see Locobase 8307.

Class H-3 - superheated (Locobase 8307)

Data from CI&L 8 - 1941 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Superheating the H-3, which came to the C I & L as a saturated-steam design, took advantage of the relatively capacious boiler barrel by balancing the evaporative heating surface area sacrificed in removing 141 small tubes in favor of 30 flues with the area gained in superheater area. Also the firebox heating surface area increased by 27 sq ft, probably in the form of arch tubes. Inevitably, the locomotive also gained weight, adding almost 3 tons to its adhesion weight.

In this reconditioned form, the class operated for two more decades with the first H-3 retiring in 1936 and the last in 1946.

Class H-4 (Locobase 8308)

Data from CI&L 1 - 1940 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 29726-29729 in April 1904 and 30705-30706 in February 1905.

Of the Monon's 20th-century Consolidations, this class came first in 1904-1905. They still rode on 57" drivers, as did the immediately following H-5s, which had inch-larger cylinders (see Locobase 8309).

Like the rest, the H-4 class was superheated in the 1920s; see Locobase 8310.

Class H-4 - superheated (Locobase 8310)

Data from CI&L 8 - 1941 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Unlike the H-3's superheating, the H-4 lost some heating surface area in the exchange of 158 small tubes for 30 flues and the class retained its inside Stephenson valve gear. As the oldest of the conversions, this class was the first to have all of its members retired (in 1940).

Class H-5 (Locobase 8309)

Data from CI&L 1 - 1940 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 39597 in April 1906, 40108-40109 in May.

There must have been several reasons why this follow-on trio to the H-4s of 1904-1905 (Locobase 8308) put four more tons on the drivers. Certainly increasing the cylinder diameter by an inch can't account for all of the growth. The weight gain did offset the effect of increased tractive effort on adhesion (and thus may have been the reason) - the H-5's factor of adhesion remained satisfactory. Unlike the H-4s, the H-5s were delivered with outside Walschaert radial valve gear.

H-5s were superheated in the 1920s; see Locobase 8311.

Class H-5 - superheated (Locobase 8311)

Data from CI&L 8 - 1941 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

When the H-5s (Locobase 8309) were superheated, their boilers were modfied exactly as had been those of the H-4s (Locobase 8308/8310). And like the H-4s, the H-5s began retiring in 1940 with the last leaving a year later in 1941.

Class H-6 (Locobase 8312)

Data from CI&L 1 - 1940 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Following the lone Baldwin Consolidations to make it onto the Monon, this class reverted to the 57" driver diameter of the other classes. And like all of the others, the H-6s were superheated in the 1920s; see Locobase 8313.

Class H-6 - superheated (Locobase 8313)

Data from CI&L 8 - 1941 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

When the H-6s were superheated, they were given the same makeover as all of the other Monon Consolidations. The firebox gained 25 sq ft of heating surface (probably in arch tubes), the boiler lost 152 small tubes in favor of 32 flues, boiler pressure dropped by 10 lb, and weight grew.

This was the longest-lived class on the C I & L with the last engine retiring in 1948.