Monongahela Railway Steam Locomotives: History & Roster
Published: September 22, 2026
By: Adam Burns
Monongahela steam was a coal railroad’s fleet: low-drivered Consolidations for the branches, ten USRA light Mikados for the road freights, six Baldwin Mikados in 1927, and then secondhand Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 2-8-2s when the first generation wore out. Passenger power was a handful of Americans and three Pennsylvania Atlantics. George Drury’s Guide to North American Steam Locomotives has no chapter on this railroad. The class list below is David Gratz and Terry Arbogast’s all-time roster, with builder’s numbers filled in where the Alco and Baldwin records are public.
The last steam locomotive ran on May 26, 1954. The first Baldwin S-12 had gone to work on November 25, 1952, and twenty-seven of them finished the job.
Monongahela Railway 2-8-2 #184 lays over at the shops in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, circa 1950. Photographer unknown.
On this page: At a glance · Consolidations · Mikados · Passenger engines · All-time roster
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Railroad | Monongahela Railway. Mark MGA |
| This page | All-time steam classes. No Drury chapter |
| Shops | South Brownsville roundhouse, ten stalls, 1910 |
| New road power | H-5 and H-5sa Consolidations. USRA light Mikados 170–179. Baldwin L-2s 180–185 |
| Secondhand | Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Consolidations, Ten-Wheelers, and L-3 Mikados. Pennsylvania H-3a Consolidations and E-class Atlantics |
| Last steam | May 26, 1954 |
| Diesel roster | All-time diesel roster |
Consolidations
The opening fleet was inherited. Class H-1, 103–114, were Alco-Pittsburgh 2-8-0s built for the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie and taken over in 1903–1906. Class H-3a, 201–206, were Pennsylvania Consolidations, Juniata and Baldwin, acquired in 1903. Class H-4, 207–212, were new Pennsylvania-built engines of 1907.
The railroad’s own design was the H-5. Alco’s Pittsburgh works built 115–140 between 1909 and 1913, twenty-six saturated Consolidations with Baker valve gear, the low-drivered mineral engine of the western Pennsylvania coal roads. Works numbers were 46769–46774 and 47028–47029 in November 1909, 47983–47988 in July 1910, 51591–51596 in July 1912, and 54292–54297 in December 1913. Number 125 went to Birmingham Rail & Locomotive in 1936 and then to the Oneida & Western as 26. Numbers 116 and 131, and a third H-5, went to the Morristown & Erie in 1944–1945 as that road’s 10–12.
Class H-5sa, 141–152, followed in 1915–1917, the same engine with a superheater. Number 142 was sold in 1944 to the Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny as 16. Number 153, also classed H-5sa, was a single H. K. Porter Consolidation of 1923.
Mikados
The United States Railroad Administration assigned the Monongahela ten light Mikados. They were class L-1, numbers 170–179, Alco-Schenectady, February 1919, works numbers 60923–60932. The railroad’s own diagram calls them the standard USRA light 2-8-2. By the late 1940s the boilers had been changed: thermic syphons were in, and the combustion chamber was out. A published USRA allocation list has the class scrapped between 1941 and 1949, which fits a railroad that then relied on newer and secondhand Mikados for the last years of steam.
Those newer engines were the L-2s. Baldwin built 180–185 in 1927, works numbers 60087–60089 in June and 60094–60096 in July, with piston valves and an exhaust-steam injector. They were the last new steam locomotives the Monongahela ordered.
Everything after that was Pittsburgh & Lake Erie. Class L-3, 186–188, came in 1940, Alco-Schenectady Mikados. Class L-3a was five more: 189 and 190 from Schenectady, 191–193 from Alco’s Dunkirk works, all built in 1916 and bought between 1941 and 1944. Class L-3b, 194–200, were Brooks engines of the same P&LE family, bought between 1947 and 1949. The live roster table once printed 186–188 as doodlebugs. They are 2-8-2s. The only railcar in the story is M-70, below.
Passenger engines
Passenger trains never justified a Pacific. Two Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Ten-Wheelers, 101 and 102, class G-1, came with the 1903 fleet. In 1926 the railroad bought two wrecked Scotts Run Ten-Wheelers, that road’s 34 and 35, and rebuilt one of them as Monongahela 99.
Americans covered the early varnish: Pennsylvania 4-4-0s 301 (first) and 302 in 1904–1905, the first 301 never assembled and used as parts for 302; Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Americans 300 and 301 (second) in 1909; and more P&LE Americans, 303–307, in 1911 and 1915–1916. Three Pennsylvania Atlantics, 308–310, class E-2a, arrived in 1917–1918. One more, 311, class E-3sd, came from the Pennsylvania in 1937, late for an Atlantic and late for this passenger business. The Fairmont–Brownsville train ended on October 21, 1950.
In 1940 the railroad also bought Pittsburgh & Lake Erie gasoline railcar M-70, a Pullman product classed MD-MB-PA. It ran a few years and was sold. It is not in the steam table.
All-time roster
Every steam locomotive in the Gratz and Arbogast list. “Built” is the builder’s date. Secondhand engines show the year the Monongahela acquired them in the notes. The gas-electric is omitted.
| Type | Class | Numbers | Qty | Builder | Built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-6-0 | G-1 | 99 | 1 | Alco, Richmond | 1926 | Rebuilt from two wrecked Scotts Run engines, 34 and 35. One locomotive resulted |
| 4-6-0 | G-1 | 101–102 | 2 | Alco, Pittsburgh | 1903 | Ex-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, acquired 1903 |
| 2-8-0 | H-1 | 103–114 | 12 | Alco, Pittsburgh | 1903–1906 | Ex-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie |
| 2-8-0 | H-5 | 115–140 | 26 | Alco, Pittsburgh | 1909–1913 | New. Saturated. Baker valve gear. 125 to Oneida & Western 26 in 1936. 116, 131, and a third engine to Morristown & Erie 10–12 in 1944–1945 |
| 2-8-0 | H-5sa | 141–152 | 12 | Alco, Pittsburgh | 1915–1917 | New. Superheated. 142 to Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny 16 in 1944 |
| 2-8-0 | H-5sa | 153 | 1 | H. K. Porter | 1923 | New. Superheated. A one-engine follow-up to 141–152 |
| 2-8-0 | H-3a | 201–206 | 6 | Juniata, Baldwin | 1903 | Ex-Pennsylvania, acquired 1903 |
| 2-8-0 | H-4 | 207–212 | 6 | Pennsylvania | 1907 | New, built by the Pennsylvania |
| 2-8-2 | L-1 | 170–179 | 10 | Alco, Schenectady | 2/1919 | USRA light Mikado. Works 60923–60932. Later given thermic syphons |
| 2-8-2 | L-2 | 180–185 | 6 | Baldwin | 6/1927–7/1927 | Last new steam. Works 60087–60089 and 60094–60096 |
| 2-8-2 | L-3 | 186–188 | 3 | Alco, Schenectady | — | Ex-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, acquired 1940. Original builder year not in the class list |
| 2-8-2 | L-3a | 189–190 | 2 | Alco, Schenectady | 1916 | Ex-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, acquired 1941–1944. 1916 is the builder year printed with this class |
| 2-8-2 | L-3a | 191–193 | 3 | Alco, Dunkirk | 1916 | Ex-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, acquired 1941–1944 |
| 2-8-2 | L-3b | 194–200 | 7 | Alco, Brooks | — | Ex-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, acquired 1947–1949 |
| 4-4-0 | D-3 | 301 (1st), 302 | 2 | Pennsylvania | 1904–1905 | First 301 was never assembled. Used as parts for 302 |
| 4-4-0 | D-1 | 300 | 1 | Pittsburgh & Lake Erie | 1909 | Acquired 1909 |
| 4-4-0 | D-2 | 301 (2nd) | 1 | Pittsburgh & Lake Erie | 1909 | Acquired 1909. Number freed after the first 301 was stripped |
| 4-4-0 | D-4 | 303–304 | 2 | Alco, Pittsburgh | 1911 | Ex-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie |
| 4-4-0 | D-4a | 305–307 | 3 | Alco, Pittsburgh | 1915–1916 | Ex-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie |
| 4-4-2 | E-2a | 308–310 | 3 | Pennsylvania | 1917–1918 | Ex-Pennsylvania |
| 4-4-2 | E-3sd | 311 | 1 | Pennsylvania | 1937 | Ex-Pennsylvania. Last passenger steam added to the roster |
Related reading
- Monongahela Railway · Monongahela diesel roster
- Pennsylvania Railroad · New York Central · Baltimore & Ohio
- Consolidation type · Mikado type · USRA locomotives
Sources
- David E. Gratz and Terry E. Arbogast, The Monongahela Railway: Its History and Operation, 1903–1993, all-time steam classes and acquisition years. The live page prints this list; 186–188 are restored here to 2-8-2s.
- Steve Llanso, Locobase, from Monongahela locomotive diagrams supplied by Allen Stanley: H-5 works numbers, and L-1 works 60923–60932, February 1919.
- Locomotive Cyclopedia (1930) and the Baldwin order record for L-2 works numbers 60087–60089 and 60094–60096.
- USRA light-Mikado allocation: Monongahela 170–179, class L-1, Alco-Schenectady, 1919.
- Last steam May 26, 1954, and first S-12 November 25, 1952, from the company chronology.
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