Class A (Locobase 7315)

Data from A & WP-WRA 10 - 1945 locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 9 April 2018 email noting the data for the original saturated version of these two locomotives.) Works numbers were 40402-40403 in 1906.

Atlanta & West Point and the Western Railway of Alabama each bought a single A-class passenger engine from Alco's Rogers subsidiary in 1906 (road numbers 38 on A & WP and and 15 for the WRA). In 1906, the pair had 21" (533 mm) x 28" cylinders with slide valves actuated by Stephenson valve gear. Their steam came from a saturated boiler containing 335 2" tubes and pressed to 200 psi (13.8 bar). They rolled on 78" drivers. Weight on the drivers came to 149,200 lb (67,676 kg) with loaded engine weight totalling 193,200 lb (87,634 kg). The two were renumbered in 1907 (160 and 260).

In the 1920s, each was substantially rebuilt. The 21" (584 mm) diameter cylinders were bored out to 22", Baker valve gear, 12" (305 mm) piston valves, and a superheater were added, and the engines renumbered as shown.

In their rebuilt form, the two Ten-wheelers remained in service to the end of steam.

Class A (Locobase 7316)

Data from A & WP-WRA 10 - 1945 locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen tanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 5617 (WRA 12) in August 1900 and 5616 (A&WP 21) in September.

The WPR, which combined the Atlanta & West Point and the Western Railway of Alabama, began its purchases of freight Ten-wheelers with this duo from Rogers in 1900.

In the mid-1920s, they were rebuilt with superheaters, 11" (279 mm) piston valves and Baker valve gear. Rebuilt and revived, the A & WP's 275 ran until 1947, the WRA' s 175 lasted until 1952.

Class A (Locobase 7324)

Data from GA 5 - 1947 locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also DeGolyer, Volumes 28, p. 187+ ; 30, p. 151; and 44, pp. 287+. Works numbers were 24843-24844 in December 1904; 27157-27158 in December 1905; 27432-27433 in February 1906; 29706-29707, 29854-29855 in December 1906; 29950, 30021 in January 1907; 31084-31085, 31128-31130, 31165, 31177 in June; 31196, 34177-34178, 34191-34192 in January 1910; 36591-36592, 36624-36627 in May 1911; 37441-37442 in January 1912; 38313-38314, 38347-38348 in September; 38589-38590 in October. (Road numbers as delivered: 62-67, 21, 25, 28-29, 33-34, 1-2, 4, 11, 13-14, 68-69, 3, 16, 18, 24, 17, 31-32, 37, 54-55)

The Ga RR settled on this design of Ten-wheeler and purchased it exclusively for seven years. Their operating environment wasn't especially demanding as the road curved at a gentle 3 deg and ruling grade inclined at 37 ft/mile (0.7%). Simplicity in design included a flat-bottomed firebox, cab that was as "large and roomy as possible." In later batches, 26 sq ft (2.42 sq m) from arch tubes

Some were delivered with 340 tubes and thus had a total heating surface area of 2,851 sq ft (264.87 sq m). Even as late as 1947, some remained essentially as bought: D-slide valves and no flues. Possibly the only difference might have been the adoption of Walschaert radial valve gear.

34 (works 30021) was wrecked in June 1914. Most of the others were scrapped in the mid-1930s. 211-212 (works 34178, 34191) were rebuilt in 1922 with 21" cylinders. They lasted the longest, being scrapped in July 1954 along with 205. Nine others worked into the 1950s.

Class A (Locobase 9984)

Data from "New Locomotive for Atlanta & West Point RR", Railway and Locomotive Engineering, Vol XIII [13], No 5 (May 1900), pg. 203 and from A&WP-WRA locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 5473 and 5479 in December 1899.

"They are quite heavy engines, " said the anonymous author, "and are giving excellent service, having been put into passenger service at once and running perfectly cool ever since." Unfortunately, neither the article nor the locomotive diagrams supply the boiler's dimensions.

Class A (Locobase 16499)

Data from "Locomotive Building - Atlanta & West Point", Railroad Gazette, Volume XXXII [32], No 27 (6 July 1900), p. 470. (Chris Hohl's 13 August 2020 email concerning the upgrades to this pair inspired this sketchy entry describing the original configuration.) Works numbers were 5617 (WRA 12) in August 1900 and 5616 (A&WP 21) in September.

The WPR, which combined the Atlanta & West Point and the Western Railway of Alabama, began its purchases of freight Ten-wheelers with this duo from Rogers in 1900.

In the mid-1920s, they were rebuilt with superheaters; see Locobase 7316.

Class A - superheated (Locobase 7325)

Data from GA 5 - 1947 locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

As noted in Locobase 7324, this design was by far the most numerous group of Ten-wheelers on the Georgia (which was part of the West Point Route assembly of Georgia-Alabama railroads). In the 1920s, the railroad started superheating the design, which led to other changes. The cylinders grew by an inch in diameter, slide valves were replaced by 11" (279 mm) piston valves, and 152 tubes were replaced by 24 flues holding 96 superheater elements.

Locobase can't say how many survived to the mid-1950s, but can report that at least 14 survived until the 1947 diagram book was updated. Some of these were only modified in the early 1940s.

Class A-61 (Locobase 7313)

Data from A & WP-WRA 10 - 1945 locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 13 August 2020 email reflecting his research into the WRA and A&WP classes.) Works numbers from Rogers were 5898-5899 in 1903, 6246 in 1904, and 43022 (after Rogers' absorption into the American Locomotive Company) in March 1907. Richmond works numbers were 49686 in April 1911, 50959 in April 1912, and 52945 in January 1913.

Both the Atlanta & West Point (Locobase 16188) and the Western Railway of Alabama bought freight Ten-wheelers, all of them coming from Rogers (7) and Richmond (4). The WRA's 126, 129-130 and the A&WP's 231 did not receive updates.

This entry shows the combined A&WP and WRA classes once they were superheated, fitted with 11" (279 mm) piston valves, and Southern valve gear. Hohl also noted that 127-128, 131 received Baker gear. He also

Retirements began in the late 1930s and ended in the early 1950s. The WRA's 125 was sold in 1936 to the Meridian & Bigbee River. Another class member that didn't make retirement was the 129, which was destroyed in a 31 January 1945 wreck.

Class A-61 (Locobase 16188)

Data from A & WP-WRA 10 - 1945 locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also "New Freight Engine for the Atlanta & West Point", Daily Railway Age, Volume XXXV, No 25a (24 June 1903), pp. 1063-1064. Rogers works numbers were 5900-5901 in 1903, 6247 in 1904. After the builder joined the American Locomotive, its Alco-Rogers works numbers were 40404-40405 in 1906. Alco-Richmond supplied the last engine: works number 50960 in 1912 .

This was a large, burly design for a freight engine that adopted a relatively rare combination of the Ten-wheeler layout and 61" drivers. The DRA report stated that it was similar to some Canadian Pacific locomotives and offered "no great departure in design" from the norm, but that its construction was "simple and strong", all of its parts "readily accessible, and capable of "sustaining continued hard service."

Locobase 7316 shows the superheated upgrade applied to both WRA (125 series) and A&WP (225-230 series) locomotive.

Only the 231 kept its slide valves; it was retired in September 1936. And five decades of service

Four of the five engines gave to the A&WP. 230 retired in January 1953, 228-229 were withdrawn two months later, and 226 was scrapped in July 1954.

The railroad sold the 227 to the Birmingham & Southeastern in 1923. There it ran until it was wrecked and scrapped in April 1953.