Chicago Great Western Steam Roster (Post 1900)

Published: October 20, 2026

The Chicago Great Western’s modern steam was a freight fleet, built for a railroad that sat between larger grangers and made its name on long trains. George H. Drury’s table of locomotives built or rebuilt since 1900 prints a quantity column of 376. A rebuild is the same frame, and that frame is listed on the new row as well as the old one.

Chicago Great Western 2-10-4 #854 is seen here at the railroad's Oelwein, Iowa shops in 1930. This engine was part of the railroad's T-1 Class, built by Lima that year.

On this page: At a glance · Prairies and Pacifics · Consolidations and Mikados · Texas types · Switchers · Roster

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Chicago Great Western. Mark CGW. Company history
This table	Steam locomotives built or rebuilt since 1900, in Drury’s class order. A rebuild is the same frame
Prairies	95, in six classes. Brooks built 63. Rhode Island built 32. F-1 and F-6 became Pacifics. Three F-3s became the shop-built Mallets, and all six F-3s ended as Pacifics
Consolidations	50 frames. G-1, G-2, and G-3. The 12 G-4s are G-3s rebuilt at Oelwein
Mikados	40. L-1 10, L-1a 10, L-2 10, L-3 10. The L-1b and L-2b numbers in the notes are the same frames
Santa Fe type	7. Class M-1, 800–806, Baldwin, 1916
Texas type	36. Lima 21 and Baldwin 15, classes T-1, T-2, and T-3, built in 1930 and 1931
Articulated	10 Baldwin 2-6-6-2s, class H-1, sold to the Clinchfield in 1916. The three H-2s are Prairie frames
Ten-Wheelers	27. Classes E-3 through E-7
Pacifics	The quantity column lists 37. Eight Baldwin K-5s are frames of their own. The rest are rebuilt Prairies, or the three Mallets taken apart and rebuilt again
Switchers	40 six-wheel switchers. The eight-wheel quantity column lists 14, and 12 of those are Consolidation frames. Baldwin 17 and 18 are the two additional engines
Moguls	5. Class D-3, 12–16, from the St. Paul Bridge & Terminal
Quantity column	376
Frames, each once	320
Last steam	The retirement column closes in 1950

Prairies and Pacifics

Within a year of discovering the 2-6-2, the railroad had 95 Prairies in six classes. Brooks built 63 of them and Rhode Island built 32. F-1 and F-6 were the passenger engines, with 73-inch and 68-inch drivers, and both classes were rebuilt as Pacifics. F-2 through F-5 were freight engines with 63-inch drivers. F-2 and F-4 were built as compounds and later simpled. Most of the F-4s and F-5s received superheaters, piston valves, and Walschaerts valve gear and were reclassed F-7a and F-7b. Those rebuilds stay on the F-4 and F-5 rows. Eleven F-4s became F-7a. Ten F-5s became F-7b. The F-7s still in service after 1932 lasted until 1950.

F-1 numbers 180–182, Brooks engines of 1902, were rebuilt as 4-6-2s 921–923, class K-4, in 1911 and 1912. F-6 numbers 901–920 became classes K-1, K-2, and K-3 between 1910 and 1917 and kept their numbers. The differences among those Pacifics were mainly cylinder size and boiler pressure. They kept the 68-inch drivers they had carried as Prairies. Superheaters came on after the conversion and brought further reclassification. At least one member of each class was later a K-2a. Most were scrapped between 1929 and 1932. The six that lasted through the Second World War were all K-2a engines.

Light Pacific 905 shows the sequence in one engine. Brooks built it in 1903 as a 2-6-2. Oelwein rebuilt it as a Pacific in 1911 and gave it a British look in 1923: a capped stack, curved running boards, a single step, and no outside plumbing. Several of the road’s Pacifics were painted red and lined in gold for the Twin Cities–Rochester Red Bird of 1925. Disk main drivers appeared on Pacifics, and on Ten-Wheelers and Prairies as well.

Three F-3s, 247, 248, and 250, were rebuilt at Oelwein in 1910 into 2-6-6-2s 650–652, class H-2. The front section of the boiler on those homemade Mallets was a feedwater heater. The railroad soon took them apart and, in 1916–1918, rebuilt them as Pacifics 950–952. The other three F-3s, 249, 251, and 252, became Pacifics 953–955 in the same years. Both K-6 rows are those six Prairie frames.

Baldwin delivered five Pacifics in 1913, numbers 925–929, and three more, 930–932, in 1916. Class K-5 is those eight engines. They were about the size of a United States Railroad Administration light Pacific. Numbers 925–927 were scrapped in 1932. The other five lasted until 1950.

Consolidations and Mikados

The ten G-1 Consolidations of 1900 were Vauclain compounds with 55-inch drivers, and they were converted to single expansion between 1905 and 1907. The G-2s, Rhode Island engines of 1901, were the same size, about 180,000 pounds, and they too were cross-compounds. In 1909 and 1910 the whole G-2 class, numbers 310–319, was simpled and rebuilt into J-2 eight-wheel switchers. G-1 numbers 303 and 308 became J-1 switchers and kept their numbers. The table dates those two rebuilds to 1909 and 1917.

The G-3s were the next size up: 63-inch drivers, 24 by 30 cylinders, and 222,450 pounds total weight. Baldwin built thirty of them in 1909 and 1910, numbers 320–359. Between 1927 and 1930 Oelwein rebuilt twelve with larger fireboxes and 26-inch cylinders, a gain of about 18,000 pounds, and reclassed them G-4, numbers 600–611. The G-4 row is those twelve frames.

Baldwin’s L-1 Mikados of 1912, numbers 700–709, had 63-inch drivers, 27 by 30 cylinders, and weighed 283,000 pounds. The ten L-2s of 1916, numbers 710–719, used the same principal dimensions and weighed about 2,900 pounds more. Between 1937 and 1939 the Oelwein Shops rebuilt six L-1s with stokers, new frames, and disk main drivers, classed them L-1b, and added 30 to the numbers: 703 and 705–709 became 733 and 735–739. The L-2 note records 710, 712, and 716 rebuilt as L-2b numbers 740–742.

In 1918 the United States Railroad Administration assigned ten light Mikados, class L-3, numbers 750–759. When the railroad went back to Baldwin in 1920 for ten more 2-8-2s, it asked for the 1912 design. Numbers 720–729 are class L-1a. The Mikados are 40.

The seven Santa Fe types, class M-1, numbers 800–806, came from Baldwin in 1916. They weighed almost as much as a United States Railroad Administration light 2-10-2. Boiler pressure was 180 pounds, and tractive effort was 43,440 pounds, less than any of the road’s Mikados. The table retires the class across 1936–1950. Five were scrapped in 1936 and a sixth in 1938. Number 800 lasted until 1950.

Texas types

The 2-10-4s were the fast freight engines, and they were unusual in the upper Midwest. In 1929 the railroad ordered fifteen from Lima. In 1930 it ordered six more from Lima and fifteen from Baldwin. The table accounts for all 36: Lima T-1s 850–864 in 1930 and 880–882 in 1931, Baldwin T-2s 865–873 in 1930, Baldwin T-3s 874–879 in 1930, and Lima T-3s 883–885 in 1931. Drivers were 63 inches.

They followed the Texas & Pacific 2-10-4 in the large things and differed in the details. They burned coal. A second sand dome sat behind the steam dome. The feedwater heater was a Coffin or a Worthington. Classes T-1 and T-2 carried Bethlehem auxiliary engines. Class T-3 carried a conventional trailing-truck booster, working two axles of the rear tender truck. The engines were assigned to the fast freights from Oelwein to Chicago, St. Paul, and Kansas City. The E-7 Ten-Wheelers could not support a Texas type on the Missouri River bridge, and older power went into storage as the 2-10-4s arrived. The table has the Texas types gone by 1948–1950.

Ten low-drivered 2-6-6-2s, class H-1, numbers 600–609, came from Baldwin in 1910. They proved unsuitable. By the time they were sold to the Clinchfield in 1916, twenty Mikados had joined the roster. The three H-2s, described with the Prairies above, were taken apart and rebuilt as Pacifics.

The Ten-Wheelers in this table are 27. The E-3s, Rhode Island engines of 1900, numbers 235–244, were dual-service locomotives with 63-inch drivers and were sold in 1917. The six E-4s of 1901 were passenger engines with 68-inch drivers. The single E-5, Baldwin 1902, was sold in 1916. The E-6s and E-7s, Baldwin engines of 1909 and 1910, had 73-inch drivers. The E-6s were scrapped in 1930 and 1931. The E-7s were given stokers and lasted until the end of steam.

Switchers

The largest group of six-wheel switchers was class B-5, fifteen Baldwin engines of 1915 and 1916, numbers 465–479. They had 51-inch drivers, piston valves, and an engine weight of 156,620 pounds. The five B-6s, 480–484, were the United States Railroad Administration 0-6-0s, built at Pittsburgh in 1919. The three B-7s, 485–487, came from Baldwin in 1921. They were about 5,000 pounds lighter than the Administration engines, with boiler pressure ten pounds lower, cylinder diameter an inch greater, and piston stroke two inches less. Tractive force worked out about the same.

When the Chicago Great Western leased the St. Paul Bridge & Terminal in 1924 it acquired B-8 switchers 10 and 11, Alco engines of 1907, and the five D-3 Moguls, 12–16, Alco engines of 1914–1917. Two large Baldwin eight-wheel switchers came with the same lease. Number 17, class J-3, was built in 1925, and number 18, class J-4, was built in 1926. They were chunky machines, with large air reservoirs on the pilot beam and Elesco feedwater heaters hung out ahead of the smokebox. Both lasted until 1950. The footnote on Drury’s table expands StPB&T as the St. Paul Bridge & Terminal.

Roster

The quantity column sums to 376. Counted once, the frames are 320. A blank cell is empty. Pittsburgh is the builder name on the B-6 row. Rhode Island is printed in full.

Type	Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder	Built	Retired	Notes
0-6-0	B-3	450–454	5	Brooks	1902	1936, 1948
0-6-0	B-4	455–464	10	Baldwin	1911	1935, 1948
0-6-0	B-5	465–479	15	Baldwin	1915, 1916	1949–1950
0-6-0	B-6	480–484	5	Pittsburgh	1919	1949–1950	USRA
0-6-0	B-7	485–487	3	Baldwin	1921	1936, 1950
0-6-0	B-8	10, 11	2	Alco	1907	1948	Ex-St. Paul Bridge & Terminal
0-8-0	J-1	303, 308	2	CGW	1909, 1917	1932, 1930	Rebuilt from G-1 2-8-0s
0-8-0	J-2	310–319	10	CGW	1910	1930–1932
0-8-0	J-3	17	1	Baldwin	1925	1950	Ex-St. Paul Bridge & Terminal
0-8-0	J-4	18	1	Baldwin	1926	1950	Ex-St. Paul Bridge & Terminal
2-6-0	D-3	12–16	5	Alco	1914–1917	1948, 1950	Ex-St. Paul Bridge & Terminal
2-6-2	F-1	180–182	3	Brooks	1902	1929–1930	Rebuilt to 4-6-2s 921–923
2-6-2	F-2	221–246	26	Rhode Island	1902
2-6-2	F-3	247–252	6	Rhode Island	1902		247, 248, and 250 rebuilt to 2-6-6-2s 650–652 in 1910. 249, 251, and 252 rebuilt to 4-6-2s 953–955 in 1916–1918
2-6-2	F-4	253–272	20	Brooks	1902	1929–1932, 1950	11 rebuilt to F-7a
2-6-2	F-5	273–292	20	Brooks	1903	1929–1932, 1950	10 rebuilt to F-7b
2-6-2	F-6	901–920	20	Brooks	1903		Rebuilt to K-1, K-2, and K-3 4-6-2s
2-8-0	G-1	300–309	10	Baldwin	1900	1930–1933	2 rebuilt to J-1 0-8-0s
2-8-0	G-2	310–319	10	Rhode Island	1901		All rebuilt to J-2
2-8-0	G-3	320–359	30	Baldwin	1909–1910	1930–1950	12 rebuilt to G-4
2-8-0	G-4	600–611	12	CGW	1927–1930	1949–1950	Rebuilt from G-3
2-8-2	L-1	700–709	10	Baldwin	1912	1949–1950	703, 705–709 rebuilt to L-1b 733, 735–739
2-8-2	L-1a	720–729	10	Baldwin	1920	1942–1950
2-8-2	L-2	710–719	10	Baldwin	1916	1950	710, 712, 716 rebuilt to L-2b 740–742
2-8-2	L-3	750–759	10	Baldwin	1918	1939–1950	USRA
2-10-2	M-1	800–806	7	Baldwin	1916	1936–1950
2-10-4	T-1	850–864	15	Lima	1930	1948–1950
2-10-4	T-1	880–882	3	Lima	1931	1948–1950
2-10-4	T-2	865–873	9	Baldwin	1930	1948–1950
2-10-4	T-3	874–879	6	Baldwin	1930	1948–1949
2-10-4	T-3	883–885	3	Lima	1931	1948–1949
2-6-6-2	H-1	600–609	10	Baldwin	1910		Sold to the Clinchfield in 1916
2-6-6-2	H-2	650–652	3	CGW	1910		Rebuilt to 4-6-2s 950–952 in 1916–1918
4-6-0	E-3	235–244	10	Rhode Island	1900	Sold 1917
4-6-0	E-4	170–175	6	Richmond	1901	1914–1921
4-6-0	E-5	220	1	Baldwin	1902	Sold 1916
4-6-0	E-6	500–503	4	Baldwin	1909	1930–1931
4-6-0	E-7	504–509	6	Baldwin	1910	1950
4-6-2	K-1, K-2, K-3	901–920	20	CGW	1910–1917	1932–1950
4-6-2	K-4	921–923	3	CGW	1911–1912	1932	Rebuilt from 2-6-2s 180–182
4-6-2	K-5	925–932	8	Baldwin	1913, 1916	1932, 1950	925–929 in 1913. 930–932 in 1916. 925–927 scrapped in 1932
4-6-2	K-6	950–952	3	CGW	1915	1932	Rebuilt from 2-6-6-2s 650–652
4-6-2	K-6	953–955	3	CGW	1916–1918	1932	Rebuilt from 2-6-2s 249, 251, and 252

Sources

George H. Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, the Chicago Great Western chapter, pp. 128–129, and the table of steam locomotives built since 1900. The class grid above, including builders, dates, quantities, and notes. The 95 Prairies, 63 by Brooks and 32 by Rhode Island. Driver diameters and the compound and superheater history of the Prairies. Pacific 905, the British styling of 1923, and the red-and-gold Red Bird Pacifics of 1925. G-3 weight, 222,450 pounds, and the G-4 rebuild. L-1 dimensions, 63-inch drivers, 27 by 30 cylinders, 283,000 pounds, and the six L-1b rebuilds of 1937–1939. M-1 pressure, 180 pounds, and tractive effort, 43,440 pounds. The Texas-type order, the coal fuel, the second sand dome, the Coffin and Worthington heaters, and the boosters. Ten Baldwin 2-6-6-2s sold to the Clinchfield in 1916, and three shop-built H-2s. B-5 weight, 156,620 pounds, and the B-6 and B-7 comparison. The St. Paul Bridge & Terminal engines acquired with the 1924 lease. Drury’s source note names the Chicago & North Western Historical Society, www.cnwhs.org; Railroad History No. 154, page 86; and Railroad Magazine, July 1929, page 121.
The company page holds the corporate history, the mileage, and the merger at 12:01 a.m. on July 1, 1968.

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