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Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 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, Burlington and Quincy steam locomotives were likewise characterized by a wide range of classes ranging from A to T. In any event, the information here is most certainly not a complete, all-time listing of CB&Q's steam fleet and also is merely meant to list the general types of steam locomotives operated by the railroad.

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, better remembered as The Burlington Route, is best remembered for its Zephyr lightweight streamlined trainsets which were revolutionary and very successful when they debuted in 1934. Perhaps less recognized is the company itself, which because of sound business practices throughout its history was never in financial distress. The Burlington was also quite close with the communities it served making it beloved like few other railroads. Its legend continues to live on today in its passenger trains and Chicago main line which sees hundreds of successor, BNSF Railway, freight trains daily.

Because the Burlington stretched from Chicago in the east, to Galveston in south, and Denver in the west it's not surprisingly that the railroad rostered a fleet of steam locomotives that included everything from massive 2-8-8-2 heavy articulateds to speedy 4-4-2 Atlantics. It's also probably not surprising then to know that several CB&Q steamers are preserved today including an operational 4-8-4 Northern (#3000) and a 2-8-2 Mikado (#4960). To learn more about all of the surviving Burlington steam locomotives please click here.

Class A

The CB&Q's Class A included its fleet of 4-4-0 Americans ranging from Class A-1 to A-6.

Class B-1

The CB&Q's Class B-1 included its fleet of 4-8-2 Mountains.

Class D

The CB&Q's Class D included its fleet of 2-8-0 Consolidations ranging from Class D-1 to D-7.

Class E-1

The CB&Q's Class E-1 included its lone roster of 0-4-0 switchers.

Class F

The CB&Q's Class F included its fleet of 0-8-0 switchres.

Class G

The CB&Q's Class G included its fleet of 0-6-0 switchers ranging from Class G-1 to G-10.

Class H

The CB&Q's Class H included its fleet of 2-6-0 Moguls ranging from Class H-1 to H-4.

Class I-1

The CB&Q's Class I-1 included its roster of unique 0-6-2Ts.

Class K

The CB&Q's Class K included its fleet of 4-6-0 Ten-Wheelers ranging from Class K-1 to K-10.

Class L-1

The CB&Q's Class L-1 included its roster of large 0-10-0 switchers.

Class M

The CB&Q's Class M included its fleet of 2-10-2 Santa Fes and 2-10-4 Texas Types.

Class N

The CB&Q's Class N included its roster of unique 2-4-2 Columbians.

Class O

The CB&Q's Class O included its fleet of 2-8-2 Mikados ranging from Class O-1 to O-5.

Class P

The CB&Q's Class P included its fleet of 4-4-2 Atlantics ranging from Class P-1 to P-6.

Class R

The CB&Q's Class R included its fleet of 2-6-2 Prairies ranging from Class R-1 to R-5 (the railroad was the first to own and operate this design).

Class S

The CB&Q's Class S included its fleet of 4-6-2 Pacifics ranging from Class S-1 to S-4.

Class T

The CB&Q's Class T included its roster of massive 2-6-6-2 and 2-8-8-2 heavy articulateds.

For complete roster information regarding Chicago, Burlington and Quincy steam locomotives please click here.

Also, for more reading about Chicago, Burlington and Quincy steam locomotives you may be interested in the gallery of photos featured in the book Burlington Route Steam Locomotive Photos from the Roy Campbell Collection by author Thomas Burg. Since the book is mostly a pictorial it does not cover CB&Q steam in detail. However, it does offer a general overview of the railroad's steam fleet and a superb collection of photographs taken by Roy Campbell (spanning 146 pages) that feature CB&Q steam at its finest. If you have any interested in the Burlington's steam locomotives you very likely will enjoy Mr. Campbell's collection of photos covering such. 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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