Class 33/C10 (Locobase 4158)

Data from CGW 1904 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

These five members of the large Cooke class of Eight-wheelers delivered in 1885 were rebuilt by the CGW in 1904 and 1908. Most of the engines gained another decade or so of additional service.

Class A/C8 (Locobase 4154)

See [] for the original 1917 railroad diagrams and CGW 7 - 1902 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in August 2016 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 1652-1654 in December 1885 and 1655-1659 in April 1886, 1660-1664 in May, 1665-1672 in June, 1673-1674 in July, 1809-1816 in July 1887, 1817-1824 in January 1888, 1825-1826 in February, 1827-1828 in March, 1829-1832 in April.

These Eight-wheelers were small and numerous, a very large class for the time.

Jerry L. Huddleston explains, on [] (visited 11 August 2004), that the M&NW was the 110-mile predecessor of the Chicago Great Western that opened in 1885 by the "imaginative and energetic Minnesotan, A.B. Stickney". Stickney soon extended the M&NW to Kansas City and Chicago. Two years later, he merged the M&NW with the Chicago, St Paul, & Kansas City (CStPKC), which he also owned. Finally, Stickney merged the CStP&KC with the CGW in 1892, but emerged as the larger road's manager.

Class B/C11 (Locobase 4153)

Data from CGW 1917 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley. See also "Minnesota & Northwestern Locomotives," National Car and Locomotive Builder (January 1888), p. 14. Works numbers were 1833-1834 in October 1887, 1835-1838 in November.

As for this class, Locobase believes that the following breathless description refers to this class:

"There are no finer looking or better working locomotives running out of St Paul than the new passenger engines of the Minnesota & Northwestern,."

The article tells us that general master mechanic T W Heintzelman intended these engines "to run fast heavy passenger trains on time over a road having heavy grades, and accordingly they have been made large to suit the work They stand high in the frames, but they ride very steady even at the highest speeds."

Large indeed--this class had some of the largest boilers on an Eight-wheeler in the decade of the 1880s.

Unfortunately, the account doesn't include any heating surfaces, although it does supply the tube count and diameter.

There are plenty of clues, however, to point us toward what would later be called the C11s. The report says the engines were built in Paterson. It credits them with 19" cylinders, 256 tubes, and weights somewhat lower than the ones shown in the 1917 diagram.

Class C14/80 (Locobase 4159)

See [] for the original 1917 railroad diagrams. Works numbers were 1839-1844 in 1890.

When the Chicago Great Western bought up the bankrupt CStP&KC in 1893, the latter's motive power roster included this sextet of relatively powerful Eight-wheelers. In 1902, the CGW renumbered the class beginning with 81.

82 and 83 were sold for scrap in November 1910 and May 1912, respectively. 86 was sold in April 1915 to JE Chisholm. The other three ran into the late 1920s before the 81 was scrapped in 1927 and 84-85 closed out the class in December 1929.

Class C9 (Locobase 4155)

See [] for the original 1917 railroad diagrams. Very similar to C8, but boasting a larger boiler and grate with higher boiler pressure.

According to a compilation of Cooke locomotives by B.Rumary (25 Kingscombe, Gurney Slade, Radstock, BA3 4TH, ENGLAND) and supplied to Locobase by Allen Stanley in March 2004, works numbers were 1939-1943 (November 1888). Four years later the CStP&KC would be merged with the Chicago Great Western.