Wheeling & Lake Erie 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler" Locomotives in the USA

Class G-1 (Locobase 14137)

Data from W&LE 8 - 1923 Locomotive Diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 1104-1106 in January 1890.

All of these low-drivered Ten-wheelers remained on the W&LE roster throughout their careers, but the W&LE leased the 105 to the Pittsburgh, Lisbon & Western in 1904. Returned to the Wheeling as road 573 in 1907, it went out on loan for a year to the Akron, Canton & Youngstown.

I. Gerson bought all three engines in January 1917 to scrap them.

Class G-2 - 583 (Locobase 7890)

Data from W&LE 8 - 1923 & 10 1924 Locomotive Diagram books supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

The builder's numbers for this batch of freight Ten-wheelers ran from 2091-2092. Compared to the Cooke engines of the same year (Locobase 7889), these were larger Ten-wheelers with much smaller drivers. The firebox rode over the rear axle and the steam dome was set further forward. Notice, too, the short wheelbase.

Class G-2 - 589 (Locobase 7889)

Data from W&LE 8 - 1923 & 10 1924 Locomotive Diagram books supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

The builder's numbers for this batch of freight Ten-wheelers ran from 2091-2092. This pair of Ten-wheelers (which Locobase suspects originally formed part of a larger class) had a classic early '90s design. The steam dome sat over the firebox crown. Uneven driver spacing showed the firebox set between the rear two axles, which were 3 ft 4" further apart than the front two driving axles. A sharply tapered boiler led forward to a slender first course, which had the sand dome over the front two axles.

Class G-4 (Locobase 7885)

Data from "Wheeling & Lake Erie Ten-Wheelers", Locomotive Engineering, Volume 9, No 6 (June 1896), p. 456. See also W&LE 8 - 1923 & 10 1924 Locomotive Diagram books supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 2327-2331 in March 1896, 2332-2336 in April.

Contrary to Locobase's original assessment years before, later comparisons show that these freight Ten-wheelers were relatively large for their day and had boilers, fireboxes, and grates well-matched to their considerable cylinder volume. Wheeling's later diagrams show firebox heating surface area at 163 sq ft (15.14 sq m).

633 was sold in 1917 and 636 was scrapped in December of that year. The rest were renumbered 2110-2107 in 1920. 2111-2113 were scrapped in June 1923, 2114-2115 in April and September 1926, and 2110, 2116-2117 closed the book with their dismantlings in May 1928.

Class G-5 (Locobase 7886)

Data from W&LE 8 - 1923 & 10 1924 Locomotive Diagram books supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works number was 3140 in 1899.

This engine was the sole G-5 class Ten-wheeler on the W&LE and one of the few locomotives using the cylinders. The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern bought 15 H class in 1897 (Locobase 2976) with the same cylinder dimensions and very similar heating surface data (e.g., grate, firebox, and tube heating surfaces areas). Locobase suspects Brooks had built an extra LS&MS engine for stock that it then sold to the W&LE two years later.

Whatever its heritage, the lone G-5 remained in service until August 1931. It then went to the scrapper in December.