Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Steam Roster (Post 1900)

Published: October 21, 2026

The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton’s modern steam was a freight fleet on a railroad that ran from Detroit to the Ohio River, and the engines that mattered in the end were Lima’s. George H. Drury’s table of locomotives built after 1900 prints a quantity column of 141. The second 88–91 are four Consolidations already in that count. Counted once, the locomotives are 137. Last steam was Mikado 805, to Flat Rock on December 24, 1955.

Detroit, Toledo and Ironton 0-8-0 253 and Consolidation 414 at the Flat Rock roundhouse, with new GP7s in the background

0-8-0 253 and Consolidation 414 at the Flat Rock roundhouse. The new GP7s in the background put the scene in the early 1950s. Philip R. Hastings did not date the negative. Author’s collection.

On this page: At a glance · Consolidations · Berkshires and Mikados · Passenger locomotives · Switchers · Roster

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Detroit, Toledo & Ironton. Mark DTI. Company history
This table	Steam locomotives built after 1900, in Drury’s table order. A second use of the same frame is listed again
Consolidations	The quantity column lists 84. Four of those are the 1905 engines repurchased in 1910
Mikados	14. Lima 800–811, and two Pennsylvania class L1 engines, 315 and 317, purchased in 1948
Berkshires	6. Lima 700–705, delivered in December 1935 and December 1939
Decapods	15. Russian Decapods 300–314, Brooks, 1918
Passenger	One 4-4-0, five 4-4-2s, and eight 4-6-0s
Switchers	Six Lima 0-8-0s, 250–255, built in 1924
Quantity column	141
Frames, each once	137
Last steam	Mikado 805, December 24, 1955, to Flat Rock

Consolidations

In 1905 the railroad took delivery of 30 Brooks Consolidations with 57-inch drivers, numbered 88–117. In April 1909, after a default, they were repossessed and sold to the Wabash, the Chicago, Milwaukee & Gary, the New Iberia & Northern, and the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic. Four came back in 1910. Numbers 103, 106, 108, and 109 were renumbered second 89, 88, 90, and 91. Second 89 became second 92 about 1921. All four were sold between 1929 and 1936. The table’s row 88–91 (2) is those four frames. The table’s 1905 rows in the 88–117 band are 88–91 (1), four engines, and 100–117 (1), eighteen engines. The 92–99 row is dated 1915 and noted as ex-Toledo-Detroit.

The railroad was able to keep the next Consolidations. In 1909 and 1910 Alco’s Schenectady and Richmond works delivered engines numbered 100–119, with 57-inch drivers and a weight of 227,000 pounds, 54,000 pounds more than the 1905 engines. The chapter text counts 20. The table accounts for 18: 100–107, eight Schenectady engines of 1909, and 108–117, ten Richmond engines of 1910. The Richmond row is marked as a second use of those numbers. The 1905 Brooks engines had carried them first.

Fifteen Russian Decapods, 300–314, came from Brooks in 1918. They were light, and the railroad could get them. After the Pennroad Corporation took control, former Pennsylvania class H10 Consolidations replaced the older power, and mostly replaced the Decapods. Five Decapods went to the Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern in 1933. Ten went to the Seaboard Air Line in 1935. Between 1929 and 1935 the DT&I received 18 class H10 2-8-0s, numbers 400–417, built by the Pennsylvania, Baldwin, Pittsburgh, Lima, and Brooks from 1907 to 1916. The table retires them across 1944–1956. Consolidation 414 is one of them, in the roundhouse photograph at the top of this page.

Berkshires and Mikados

Traffic shifted from coal at the south end of the line to the automobile plants at the north end, and the railroad asked Lima for a fast freight engine. The answer was a 2-8-4 with 63-inch drivers and a total weight of 411,500 pounds. In principal dimensions the design came closest to the Missouri Pacific’s. Lima delivered four in December 1935 and two in December 1939, numbers 700–705. Vestibule cabs and 12-wheel tenders put them decades ahead of anything else on the property. They looked like a condensed Nickel Plate Berkshire. The railroad was pleased with them, and they also bordered on too much engine for the line. They were among the lightest of the type. The table retires them across 1953–1956.

The road went back to Lima for 2-8-2s. The United States Railroad Administration heavy Mikado weighed 320,000 pounds. These engines were among the largest of the Mikados, at 369,500 pounds. The first four arrived in 1940, four more in 1941, and the final four in 1944, numbers 800–811. The last four had 12-wheel tenders, like the Berkshires. The first eight had 8-wheel tenders, and some of those tenders later went to the 2-8-4s, depending on the run. The table retires the class across 1954–1956. Mikado 805 made the last steam run, to Flat Rock, on December 24, 1955.

In 1948 the railroad bought two Pennsylvania class L1 2-8-2s, numbers 315 and 317, built in 1916. It also leased several 2-8-2s from the Chesapeake & Ohio and three 4-8-2s from the Wabash. The leased engines are not in this table.

Passenger locomotives

In 1915 the railroad acquired a 4-4-0, number 16, which Baldwin had built in 1914 for the Midland Pennsylvania. It was assigned to the Toledo-Detroit. A fire damaged it in 1924, and it was retired in 1929. It was displayed for a while at The Henry Ford, and in 1980 it was traded to the Illinois Railway Museum.

In 1926 the railroad bought two 4-4-2s from the Michigan Central, numbers 8077 and 8085, built by Alco in 1901, and numbered them 44 and 45. Those were a second use of 44 and 45. Number 44 stayed unused and may have been purchased for parts. Number 45 was assigned to special service and turned over to The Henry Ford in 1929.

In 1929 three elderly Pennsylvania Atlantics, numbers 600–602, took the passenger trains over from a pair of gas-electric cars. Runs north of Springfield, by then one train each way, ended in 1932. A mixed train replaced the Springfield–Ironton passenger train at the same time, and within a few years the service was a Springfield–Jackson run, which lasted until 1955. Two of the Atlantics were scrapped. The third was sold to a quarry. The table retires 600–602 across 1938–1939.

The Ten-Wheelers in the table are eight Baldwin engines: 80–84, built in 1903 and 1904, and 85–87, built in 1905. Two Moguls sit with the early Consolidations, Baldwin 65 of 1901 and Dickson 69 of 1902. The table marks 65, 69, 70–74, 75–79, and 80–84 as ex-Detroit Southern.

Switchers

The only switchers were six 0-8-0s, numbers 250–255, built to a United States Railroad Administration design by Lima in 1924 as an add-on to an order from the Ford Motor Company. All six were usually assigned to Flat Rock. Number 253 is the switcher in the roundhouse photograph. The table retires the class in 1955.

Roster

The quantity column sums to 141. Counted once, the frames are 137. A blank cell is empty. The markers (1) and (2) are the table’s own, for the first and second use of a number.

Type	Numbers	Qty	Builder	Built	Retired	Notes
0-8-0	250–255	6	Lima	1924	1955	USRA design. An add-on to a Ford Motor Company order. Usually assigned to Flat Rock
2-6-0	65	1	Baldwin	1901		Ex-Detroit Southern
2-6-0	69	1	Dickson	1902		Ex-Detroit Southern
2-8-0	70–74	5	Rogers	1902		Ex-Detroit Southern
2-8-0	75–79	5	Rhode Island	1905		Ex-Detroit Southern
2-8-0	88–91 (1)	4	Brooks	1905
2-8-0	88–91 (2)	4	Brooks	1905		Repurchased in 1910. Same frames as four of the 1905 engines. Original numbers 103, 106, 108, and 109. Second 89 became second 92 about 1921. Sold 1929–1936
2-8-0	92–99	8	Brooks	1915		Ex-Toledo-Detroit
2-8-0	94, 95 (2)	2	Brooks	1909
2-8-0	100–107 (1)	8	Schenectady	1909
2-8-0	100–117 (1)	18	Brooks	1905
2-8-0	108–117 (2)	10	Richmond	1910		Second use of the numbers
2-8-0	200, 201	2	Brooks	1916
2-8-0	400–417	18	Pennsylvania, Baldwin, Pittsburgh, Lima, Brooks	1907–1916	1944–1956	Ex-Pennsylvania class H10. Acquired 1929–1935
2-8-2	315	1	Pennsylvania	1916		Pennsylvania class L1. Purchased 1948
2-8-2	317	1	Baldwin	1916		Pennsylvania class L1. Purchased 1948
2-8-2	800–811	12	Lima	1940–1944	1954–1956	805 made the last steam run, December 24, 1955
2-8-4	700–705	6	Lima	1935, 1939	1953–1956	Four in December 1935 and two in December 1939
2-10-0	300–314	15	Brooks	1918		Russian Decapods. Five to the Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern in 1933. Ten to the Seaboard Air Line in 1935
4-4-0	16	1	Baldwin	1914	1929	Built for the Midland Pennsylvania. Acquired 1915 and assigned to the Toledo-Detroit. Fire damage in 1924. Displayed at The Henry Ford, then traded in 1980 to the Illinois Railway Museum
4-4-2	44, 45	2	Alco	1901		Ex-Michigan Central 8077 and 8085. Bought 1926. Second use of the numbers. 44 stayed unused. 45 went to The Henry Ford in 1929
4-4-2	600–602	3	Pennsylvania, Alco	1901–1904	1938–1939	Ex-Pennsylvania
4-6-0	80–84	5	Baldwin	1903–1904		Ex-Detroit Southern
4-6-0	85–87	3	Baldwin	1905

Sources

George H. Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, Detroit, Toledo & Ironton chapter, pp. 167–168, including the table “Detroit, Toledo & Ironton steam locomotives built after 1900.” The historical-society box on p. 168 names the Grand Trunk Western Historical Society.
Scott D. Trostel, The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad (Cam-Tech Publishing, 1988). Drury’s recommended reading. LCC 88-071455.

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