Class B/E (Locobase 8776)

Data from Soo 9 - 1943 Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Unusual Soo-Line engines of the time in that they had such tall drivers. Less unusually, they arrived as Vauclain compounds with two 20" HP cylinders and two 32" LP cylinders (Locobase 16333).

Not too long after they arrived, the railroad simpled the system as shown in this entry's specifications. Other than the high-drivered Pacifics (75") and Atlantics (79") shown in Locobase, this class rolled on the tallest drivers on the line.

Class B/E (Locobase 16333)

Data from SOO 3 - 1908 Classification of Locomotives supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 4735-4739 in April 1898.

The Soo's 1908 table credits these cross-compounds with 19,000 lb (8,618 kg or 84.52 kN) of tractive effort.

The class was later simpled; see Locobase 8776.

Class E-1 (Locobase 8777)

Data from Soo 9 - 1943 Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange; and DeGolyer, Volume 24, p. 220. Works numbers 20339-20340, 20374 in April 1902 and 21651, 21701, 22195, 22247 in May.

As Drury (1993) notes, these passenger Ten-wheelers were among the only 4-6-0s used by the Soo in that service. The firebox held four 2" (50.8 mm) "combustion tubes" on each side below the running boards.

"Hereafter" notes in the specs often show the need to tweak or complain once the locomotives were delivered. One note in this spec stated "Company says pistons of these engines were too tight and had to be reduced 1/16" scant."

Others in the list read:

Screens in dampers too fine.

Back curtains should reach deck.

etc., etc.,etc.

After thirty years of service, the entire class was retired by 1934.

Class E-2 (Locobase 8778)

Data from Soo 9 - 1943 Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 54371in December 1913 and 55427 in November 1915.

Rolling on freight-sized drivers, this pair of Ten-wheelers started on the W&N, but came to the Soo when the latter bought the former in 1921. Locobase doesn't know for sure, but believes that these engines were superheated when they got to the Soo if not when they were originally delivered to the W&N.

Class E-20 (Locobase 8779)

Data from "Ten-wheel Locomotive - Brooks Locomotive Works--Built for the Wisconsin Central", Railway Master Mechanice, Volume 14, No 1 (January 1891), p.4, and Soo 9 - 1943 Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 1658-1664 in April 1890 and 1667-1669 in May.

Brooks typically pressed its locomotive boilers to a higher setting than most of its contemporaries. Here was a set of ten Ten-wheelers that retained the small cylinder volume and deep, narrow fireboxes of the time, but flaunted a 180-psi (12.4 bar) boiler. RMM reported that the class handled both 540-ton (491 metric tonne) loads in 27 freight cars and trains of seven passenger coaches weighing a total of 227 tons (206 metric tons). "They seem", said RMM, "to climb grades and take curves easily." RMM included a table showing a favorable comparison of coal consumption between this class and other WC Ten-wheel locomotives.

In 1903, the WC converted the 207 to a passenger 4-4-0 with 73" drivers; see Locobase 8771.

Wisconsin Lime & Cement bought the 2604 in November 1921. The remaining eight engines were retired between November 1925 (2607) and June 1930 (2600).

Class E-21 (Locobase 8780)

Data from Soo 9 - 1943 Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 1887-1891 in May 1891 and 1905-1909 in June.

Brooks delivered these Ten-wheelers to the WC just one year after the E-20s (Locobase 8779), but they were bigger. They had larger boilers and grates, substantially larger fireboxes, greater cylinder volume thanks to a longer stroke, and they weighed a good deal more. The firebox sat higher in the frame, allowing the rear two driving axles to be spaced more closely together.

The first engine to be scrapped (2611) was cut up in October 1927. November 1932 saw the last four (2610, 2613, 2615-2616) sent off to the ferro-knacker.

Class E-22 (Locobase 3297)

Data from Simple and Compound Locomotives, Brooks Locomotive Works (Dunkirk, NY: 1899), pp. 134-135; and "Simple Ten-Wheel Locomotives with Piston Valves-Wisconsin Central Lines," American Engineer, Car Builder and Railroad Journal, Volume 72, No 6 (June 1898), pp. 190-193 Works numbers were 2923-2928 in March 1898, 3154-3160 in February 1899, and 3433-3436 in February 1900.

Builder info from B.Rumary, 25 Kingscombe, Gurney Slade, Radstock, BA3 4TH, ENGLAND and Jeremy Lambert as supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004.

Piston-valved passenger engine with Improved Belpaire boiler and firebox containing 24 sq ft (2.23 sq m) of arch tubes. Piston valves measured 9" (229 mm) in diameter.

Railroad Gazette of 3 June 1898 notes that the ten-locomotive order was broken into six freight, shown in this entry, and four passenger, shown in Locobase 2977. The boilers and grates were the same, but these freight engines had cylinders 1" (25.4 mm) larger in diameter and, of course, smaller drivers. They were later taken into the Soo Line as 2619-2624.

This batch was followed up with two more batches, which came onto the WC as 231-237, and #238-241. On the Soo, they were classed E-22s as well and numbered 2629-2639.

Class E-23 (Locobase 2977)

Data from Simple and Compound Locomotives, Brooks Locomotive Works (Dunkirk, NY: 1899), pp. 134-135 and "Simple Ten-Wheel Locomotives with Piston Valves-Wisconsin Central Lines," American Engineer, Car Builder and Railroad Journal, Volume 72, No 6 (June 1898), pp. 190-193. Works numbers were 2925-2928 in March 1898.

Brooks delivered ten locomotives, six as freight locomotives and described in Locobase 3297 and the four passenger engines shown here.

All ten used 9" (229 mm) piston valves to supply their cylinders and had Improved Player-Belpaire boilers with fireboxes containing 24 sq ft (2.23 sq m) of arch tubes. But these were clearly passenger power. Their cylinders were slightly smaller in diameter, probably to increase the boiler/cylinder volume ratio and taking advantage of the smaller trailing loads of a rake of passenger coaches.

Springing was equalized by a 42" (1,067 mm) spring linking the last two driving axles and a 46" (1,168 mm) equalizing spring spanning the two axle boxes of the leading driving axle. "We are informed," reported the AE editor,"that the engines ride remarkably well." The springs' long hangers would "tend to reduce the amount of wear on the ends of the springs to a minimum." He underscored this detail's significance:"This is important and is not always well provided for."

Later taken into the Soo Line as 2625-2628. Each ended its career at different times. 2628 went first in July 1930 with 2625 being "dismissed" in November 1932. 2627 lasted until November 1936. Somehow, 2626 remained active until the early 1950s, when it was sold to scrap dealer Purdy Company in June 1952.

Class E-23-S (Locobase 8781)

Data from Soo 9 - 1943 Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

At some point after their introduction, the E-23s (Locobase 2977) of the Wisconsin Central received superheaters. The tradeoff of small tubes for larger flues achieved the usual ratio. Also, the Belpaire firebox remained intact, although the firebox heating surface shown is lower.

Class E-24 (Locobase 16670)

Data from Simple and Compound Locomotives, Brooks Locomotive Works (Dunkirk, NY: 1899), pp. 134-135; and Soo 1930 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange collection. Works numbers were 3437-3441 in February 1900.

Two years after Brooks delivered passenger (Locobase 3297) and mixed-traffic (Locobase 2977) Ten-Wheelers to the WC, they filled an identical order for five freighters rolling on 57" drivers. Like the earlier engines, the E-24s used 9" (229 mm) piston valves to supply their cylinders and had Improved Player-Belpaire boilers with fireboxes containing 24 sq ft (2.23 sq m) of arch tubes.

Springing was equalized by a 42" (1,067 mm) spring linking the last two driving axles and a 46" (1,168 mm) equalizing spring spanning the two axle boxes of the leading driving axle. "We are informed," reported the AE editor,"that the engines ride remarkably well." The springs' long hangers would "tend to reduce the amount of wear on the ends of the springs to a minimum." He underscored this detail's significance:"This is important and is not always well provided for."

They were taken into the Soo Line in 1909 along with the others. See Locobase 8675 for the superheated modifications undertaken beginning in 1919.

Class E-24-S (Locobase 8765)

Data from Soo Miscellaneous Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Delivered to the Wisconsin Central from Brooks as a batch in 1900 (Locobase 16670) as low-drivered, saturated-steam freight locomotives, this class was later superheated after the Soo took over the WC in 1909.

Class E-25 (Locobase 4140)

Profiled in the Railroad Gazette 10 May 1901, this batch of ten freight locomotives were slightly larger than the 1898 freight ten-wheelers found elsewhere at Locobase 3297. Works numbers were 23687-3689 in November 1900, 3704-3706, 3708-3711 in December 1900.

Builder info from B.Rumary, 25 Kingscombe, Gurney Slade, Radstock, BA3 4TH, ENGLAND and Jeremy Lambert as supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004.

Like the earlier engines, these were piston-valved freight engines with Improved Belpaire boiler. The chief difference was a much larger grate that sat over the low drivers rather than between them. They also had even smaller drivers. Later taken into the Soo Line as 2645-2654 and superheated; see Locobase

Works numbers 3437-3441 (February 1900) - road #242-246 -- had the same basic dimensions, but were lighter. The Soo put them in a separate class E-24 (Locobase 8765).

Class E-25-S (Locobase 8782)

Data from Soo 9 - 1943 Steam Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Surely it must have been a rare event in North American superheating to trim the grate's width by 11 inches during the remodeling. The saturated-steam E-25 (Locobase 4140) had a grate measuring 73 1/4", but the remodeled hotrod had its grate cut to 62 1/4" wide. The answer lies in the substitution of an extended wagon top boiler for the original Belpaire design.

Otherwise, the makeover involved the typical substitution of a few flues for dozens of small tubes.