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Chicago and Eastern Illinois Steam Locomotives

The classifications given by railroads to their steam locomotive fleets were as varied as the machines themselves with several different designations within a particular class! The Chicago and Eastern Illinois steam locomotives were likewise characterized by a wide range of classes ranging from B to O. In any event, the information here is most certainly not a complete, all-time listing of C&EI's steam fleet and also is merely meant to list the general types of steam locomotives operated by the railroad.

The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Midwest Class I system that operated almost entirely in Illinois connecting St. Louis and southern Missouri/Illinois with Chicago to the north. A well-managed property throughout much of its history (although it did slip into bankruptcy a few times) the C&EI�s traffic was heavily made up of coal (in southern Illinois) and interchange with the many other Class I systems it connected with (i.e., bridge traffic). While the railroad floated in and out of control by other larger systems, like the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (the Frisco), it was finally purchased by the Missouri Pacific in the early 1960s with the Louisville & Nashville Railway also acquiring ownership of its Evansville route. Today, virtually all of the C&EI�s former routes are still intact, most of which are operated by MoPac successor Union Pacific and L&N successor CSX Transportation.

Interestingly, for its rather small size the C&EI rostered some large steam locomotives including 2-10-2 Santa Fes and 2-8-2 Santa Fes. Today, unfortunately none of these locomotives, or any steamers operated by the C&EI survive preserved.

Class B

The C&EI's Class B included its fleet of 0-6-0 switchers.

Class C

The C&EI's Class C included its fleet of 0-8-0 switchers.

Class D

The C&EI's Class D included its fleet of 4-4-0 Americans.

Class E

The C&EI's Class E included its fleet of 4-4-2 Atlantics.

Class F

The C&EI's Class F included its fleet of 2-6-0 Moguls.

Class G

The C&EI's Class G included its fleet of 4-6-0 Ten-Wheelers.

Class H

The C&EI's Class H included its fleet of 2-8-0 Consolidations.

Class K

The C&EI's Class K included its fleet of 4-6-2 Pacifics.

Class M

The C&EI's Class M included its fleet of 4-8-0 Twelve-Wheelers.

Class N

The C&EI's Class N included its fleet of 2-8-2 Mikados.

Class O

The C&EI's Class O included its fleet of 2-10-2 Santa Fes.

For complete roster information regarding Chicago and Eastern Illinois steam locomotives please click here.

For more reading on the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad you might want to consider the book Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad In Color from author Ed DeRouin. The book gives a colorful pictorial history of the C&EI dating from the 1940s through the 1970s and its purchase by the L&N and Missouri Pacific. If you have any interest in the Midwestern system or would simply like to learn more about it Mr. DeRouin�s book is an excellent resource. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".

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