Class 104 (Locobase 16495)

Data from KO&G 8 - 1923 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange collection.

Locobase hasn't seen many examples of freight engines being transformed into passenger engines, but the Gulf Route must have encountered an urgent need for such power. The pair of local passenger Eight-wheelers began their careers in 1909-1910 as 101-class 52" drivered Ten-wheelers (Locobase 13230).

Keeping most of the Ten-wheelers' characteristics, the shops mounted drivers a full 11" (279 mm) taller, increased boiler pressure by 15 psi (1.03 bar), and put additional weight on the drivers. Trailing the engines were bigger tenders as well.

Neither Gene Connelly's nor William Edson's nor Al Weber's compilations of KO&G rosters could determine how long these engines remained on the road.

Class 32 (Locobase 12724)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 27, p. 148. Works numbers were 24790, 24819 in November 1904 and 31126, 31161 in June 1907.

A 1928 photograph from Mike Condren's website -- [] -- shows that the 33 at least had been refitted with Southern valve gear. The tender also shows that the Kansas, Oklahoma & Gulf later operated the MV.

A sixth locomotive was sold to the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic; see Locobase 13255.

Class 61 (Locobase 13941)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 43, p. 104. See also KO&G 8 -1918 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 15 March 2015 email noting the larger tender capacity and inspiring a longer note on the subject in this entry.) A summary of the Muskogee Company empire appears in the Muskogee Company records, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, [], last accessed 26 April 2015. Works numbers were 33558-33559 in July 1909, 33821 in September.

Using the same boiler as the earlier Midland Valley engines (Locobase 12724), the nearby MO&G specified greater cylinder stroke, but lower boiler pressure. The Baldwin spec calls for a "long and low" tender with "trucks well spaced." The tender's water capacity shown is as specified in 1909; the spec doesn't give the fuel capacity.

Hohl called Locobase's attention to the 1918 diagram, which reflects a likely conclusion by the KO&G that they needed to trail more water and fuel capacity. The diagrams show that each of the three Eight-wheelers had a different tender. In the 61 and 63, water capacity rose by only 11% to 5,000 gallons (18,925 litres) while 65's tender increased water capacity by a third to 6,000 gallons (22,710 litres) . All three tenders held 7 tons (6.35 metric tons) of coal, which Locobase supposes was the original capacity.

Each tender had a different wheel base and overall length:

Engine number wheelbase overall length

61 14' 11" (4.55 m) 25' 1 1/2" (7.66 m)

63 16' 5" (5.00 m) 26' 7" (8.10 m)

65 14' 7" (4.44 m) 24' 8" (7.52 m)