Kevin’s Komments
The Cincinnati Northern Locomotive Roster: Ten-wheelers, Moguls, & Consolidations
On the first study of the CNor roster, we identified 11 Americans (4-4-0s) that worked on CNor track. Ten of the Americans were acquired when the CNor was founded from the acquisition of the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw track south of Jackson. The eleventh was the mystery locomotive that appeared on the roster as NYC #7088 after the Big Four took control of the railroad. We know #7088 was used for passenger service when the passenger trains were often being reduced to single cars. I suspect #7088 came from one of the other Big Four branches as it neared retirement to finish its service on the diminishing passenger traffic of the CNor.
One other mystery was hinted upon on the American study: We saw CN #108 in the pic of the blown out Van Wert roundhouse after a locomotive boiler explosion. The roundhouse disaster had to occur between 1897 and 1905 based on the numbering of CN #108. I would suspect that a blown boiler would usually result in a locomotive being scrapped, but records don’t show a CN locomotive being scrapped or retired in that time frame. Even the railroad annual reports that we have access to, don’t reveal any retired locos during this period. We know CN #108 was returned to service after the explosion. Records also show that #108 was rebuilt in 1903 (possibly a clue). The Van Wert roundhouse was in the middle of the line, and the only crossing line near it was the Pennsylvania. The PRR had their own facilities, so I doubt the blown locomotive could have been from another RR.
Check out the pic of the roundhouse again – It doesn’t show any evidence of a second locomotive in the stalls captured. Though I doubt it, maybe #108 was the one that blew (and it was rebuilt and restored to service). Or maybe I’m missing a loco. (?)
Since we’re on the subject of the Van Wert facilities, I had to throw in this pic. I’ve used it before, but had to put it out there again – it shows some of the individuals that worked on the railroad. These guys were referred to as the “Car Whackers” – the guys who built and maintained the rolling stock. This photo was taken in 1896, so it’s likely the first crew of car whackers on the railroad.
One more photo of the workers of the CNor – This pic was taken at Van Wert engine facilities in the ‘50s. So these guys were officially NYC employees. Going left to right, George J Gunn was the roundhouse foreman. Then, John Roby, Orley W. Putnam, and Robert A. Thomas. That’s probably either NYC #1890 or 6390 behind them. Both were Class H-6a Mikados that worked the line through to the mid ‘50s when diesel took over.
Getting back to the roster, NYC Class E were Moguls (2-6-0s). I found a total of 9 moguls that ran on CNor track. Similar to the Americans, all the Moguls were acquired at the acquisition of the Southern part of the CJ&M.
The earliest of these Moguls were four built by Brooks in 1884, builder numbers 996, 995, 998, & 1000. The Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee acquired 996, 995, & 1000 and renumbered them DT&M #25, 24, & 1. I’m not sure who the first owner of #998 was. The Michigan & Ohio acquired all four of these in 1886 and numbered them M&O #25, 24, 27, & 26. Then with the CJ&M acquiring the M&O in 1887, all four of these went to CJ&M ownership along with the 10 Americans covered previously. CJ&M left them as #25, 24, 27, & 26. When the CNor acquired part of the CJ&M in 1897, these became CN #19, 20, 21, & 22. Later when the CCC&StL renumbered the loco roster in 1905, these Moguls were classified as NYC E-60’s, and became NYC #6300, 6301, 6302, & 6303. NYC #6303 was unique in that when it came out of the Brooks Locomotive Works, it was their 1,000th locomotive.
Here’s a builders photo taken to commemorate the event. All four of these Moguls would have looked the same coming off the line, but they all would have received upgrades like the air brake systems of the 1890s. CJ&M # 21 was rebuilt in 1893. The first two were retired in 1911, and the second two in 1916.
The remaining 5 Moguls were classified as NYC E-68’s. They were built by Baldwin in 1890 as numbers 10774, 10671, 10672, 10678, & 10688. The CJ&M acquired them in 1897 right as the CNor was acquiring part of the CJ&M. And interestingly, the CJ&M numbered them CJ&M #26, 27, 28, 29, & 30. On transfer to the CNor they remained the same numbers. The reason why the numbering by the CJ&M was interesting is that CJ&M #26 was used twice – once by one of these Baldwins, and once by one of the Brooks Moguls above! I suspect that because the railroad was being transitioned to the CNor, they were numbered per the CNor’s request (duplicating #26). Then the CNor renumbered the Brooks Moguls at acquisition. The CCC&StL renumbered these Baldwin Moguls in 1905 to NYC #6372, 6373, 6374, 6375, & 6376. These were all rebuilt between 1895 and 1901, and were all scrapped between 1919 and 1923.
This is a builders photo of the last of these five – CJ&M #30. Note that as a builder photo, #30 is numbered and lettered for the CJ&M, even though it was built in 1890. Either it sat at Baldwin for 7 years, or it was sold back to Baldwin who then sold it to CJ&M.
The next Class of CNor locomotives were the NYC Class F Ten-Wheelers (4-6-0s). The first of these were 5 steamers built by Brooks in 1896 for the CJ&M. Numbered CJ&M #31, 32, 33, 34, & 35, when they transferred to the CNor, they kept the same numbers. CCC&StL renumbered them in 1905 to NYC #6110, 6111, 6112, 1613, & 6114, and they were classified as NYC Class F-60s. NYC #6114 was sold in 1917 to the SI&E. (I’ve tried to look up SI&E several times – I think it may be a misprint.) The other 4 survived two renumbering exercises in 1919 to first NYC #6310, 6311, 6312, & 6313, and then 6 months later to NYC #6377, 6378, 6379, & 6380. (And those around me wonder why I complain about the NYC renumbering schemes!) NYC #6380 was sold in 1920 to the Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Company. It was then sold to Chesapeake Beach and became #8. It was eventually sold to the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Here’s a builder’s photo of CJ&M #35. Note the air pump – built in 1896 meant that the new air brake standards were going into affect.
The next 5 Ten-Wheelers (NYC Class F-64) were built previous to the first five, but didn’t see CNor track until after the 1905 renumbering by the CCC&StL. All locomotives previous to this point with the exception of the 11th American, were brought onto the CNor at its founding. I suspect these 5 were elsewhere in the CCC&StL system and were transferred to the CNor to finish up their service. They were all built by Brooks in 1891 – builder #1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, & 1948. They came to the CNor on separate dates between Dec 1906 and Mar 1907, as NYC #6147, 6148, 6149, 6151, & 6154. #6147, 6151, & 6154 were rebuilt in 1918. These 5 locos avoided the two renumberings of 1919, but were renumbered in 1920 as NYC #6381, 6382, 6383, 6384, & 6385. The rebuilt ones remained in service until the mid ‘30s and were probably replaced by Mikados.
Here’s a pic of NYC #6384.
You can see quite a difference in size compared to the F-60s. These were 60% heavier and had a much larger heating surface. The drivers were 63” diameter rather than the 56” diameter of the F-60s. Even the tender looks more modern. Here’s a pic of NYC #6385.
The final group of locos we’ll cover in this study are the NYC Class G Consolidations (2-8-0’s). Most of the Consolidations arrived at CNor tracks between 1912 and 1917, long after the CCC&StL took over control of the railroad. The first Class were G-46g’s, built in 1911 by Alco-Brooks. (Brooks Locomotive Works merged with Alco in 1901.) I found 12 of these steamers which ended up on the CNor. I believe they were all built for the CCC&StL and later transferred to the CNor tracks. These were larger Consolidations with 214,500 lbs over the drivers. The 12 Class G-46g’s remained active until the ‘30s being retired between 1932 and 1936. They were numbered NYC #5561 – 5575 (missing 5567, 5570, & 5571 which worked elsewhere on the CCC&StL.) All of these would have had an almost identical look.
Here’s NYC #5564. Check out the expanded coal bin. These relatively small tenders could carry 13 tons of coal with the raised bin sides.
Here’s a locomotive diagram for the Class G-46g Consolidations built to run on the CNor.
There were a couple of Class G-46c’s that made it to the CNor, NYC #5887 & 5891. These were built by Alco-Brooks in 1907, a few years prior to the G-46g’s. I don’t have any pics of them, but I have this diagram of the NYC Class G-46c. I don’t know whether they ran with these tenders, or the tenders shown with the G-46g. These two locos found their way to CNor track in 1917 and were scrapped in 1932. We have a club owned, framed photo of a CNor Consolidation with arched cab windows – it could be of one of these two.
In 1910, the CCC&StL brought five older Consolidations to the CNor line. NYC had them classified: NYC #6539 as G-66 (built by Rhode Island Locomotive Works), NYC #6549, 6553, & 6554 as G-67’s (built by Brooks Locomotive Works), and NYC #6558 as G-68 (built by Schenecdaty Locomotive Works). Being older, they were smaller locomotives with some features like the stack and tender that cross between 19th Century and 20th Century steamers. Again, I haven’t found photos of any of these locos, but here are the diagrams. The first of these was retired in 1915, but the others remained in service until 1924 & 1925.
Another set of early Consolidations that were brought later to the CNor were the class G-70’s. These were six locomotives built by Alco-Brooks in 1902. NYC #6568, 6573, 6574, 6580, & 6582 arrived in 1912, while #6576 arrived in 1915. They were all retired in the late ‘20s. Here’s a pic of #6582 in Van Wert. The crew was Billie McMannis (I assume a brakeman); Lee Craig, Engineer; and Cliff Long, Fireman.
Finally, there were three Class G-71 Consolidations brought to the line in 1926 and 1927. Again, these were early Consolidations built by Alco-Brooks in 1903. They were numbered NYC #6600, 6606, & 6614. They were obviously pushed to the CNor in the last days of their NYC service to fill in before the Mikados replaced the earlier locos. All three were sold in 1928 and 1929. I don’t have retirement dates on these three, but they continued service on other lines. And unfortunately, I have no pictures nor diagrams of these three.
All these early steamers were replaced by Mikados (2-8-2’s). The Mikados ran the CNor from the late ‘20s and ‘30s, until steam was replaced by diesel in the 1950’s. I’m not sure when I’ll get to the Mikado era of the CNor – I’ve found pics of Mikados working the line, but information is a little tougher to come by.
Again, this has been a really fun project. The photo’s aren’t quite as numerous as the typical studies, and my descriptions have been a bit wordy trying to give a little info on the locomotives. But, I hope you enjoyed these two studies as much as the typical ones.
Thx,
Kevin