Chicago Burlington and Quincy O-5 class
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 5633 in Douglas, WY, USA. Built 1940 until 1956 in service, moved to Douglas in 1962
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works, CB&Q Serial number 61443-61444, 61496-61499, 61522-61523, Build date August-October 1930, 1936-1940 Total produced 36
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-8-4  • UIC 2′D2′ h2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Leading dia. 37 in (940 mm) Driver dia. 74 in (1,880 mm) Trailing dia. 43 in (1,092 mm) Wheelbase Loco & tender: 90.69 ft (27.64 m) Length 103 ft 3+1⁄8 in (31.47 m) (O-5) 107 ft 3⁄8 in (32.62 m) (O-5A/B) Width 10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) Height 16 ft 2 in (4.93 m) Axle load 69,340 lb (31,450 kg; 31.45 t) (O-5) 69,757.5 lb (31,641.5 kg; 31.6415 t) (O-5A/B) Adhesive weight 272,000 lb (123,000 kg; 123 t) (O-5) 281,410 lb (127,650 kg; 127.65 t) (O-5A/B) Loco weight 454,600 lb (206,200 kg; 206.2 t) (O-5) 476,050 lb (215,930 kg; 215.93 t) (O-5A/B) Tender weight 337,000 lb (153,000 kg; 153 t) (O-5) 362,000 lb (164,000 kg; 164 t) (O-5A/B) Total weight 791,600 lb (359,100 kg; 359.1 t) (O-5) 838,050 lb (380,130 kg; 380.13 t) (O-5A/B) Fuel type Coal Fuel oil (O-5B) Fuel capacity 24 t (24 long tons; 26 short tons) (O-5) 27 t (27 long tons; 30 short tons) (O-5A) 7,300 US gal (28,000 L; 6,100 imp gal) (O-5B) Water cap. 18,000 US gal (68,000 L; 15,000 imp gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 106.50 sq ft (9.894 m2) Boiler pressure 250 lbf/in2 (1.72 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 439 sq ft (40.8 m2) (O-5) 433 sq ft (40.2 m2) (O-5A/B) Superheater: ​  • Type Type E  • Heating area 2,403 sq ft (223.2 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 28 in × 30 in (711 mm × 762 mm) Valve gear Baker Valve type Piston valves
Performance figures Maximum speed Over 75 mph (121 km/h) Power output 4,100 hp (3,100 kW) Tractive effort 67,541 lbf (300.44 kN) 80,741 lbf (359.15 kN) with booster Factor of adh. 4.03 (O-5) 4.13 (O-5A/B)
Career Operators Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Class O-5 O-5A O-5B Numbers 5600–5635 Retired Mid to late 1950s Preserved Four preserved (Nos. 5614, 5629, 5631 and 5633) Disposition Nos. 5614, 5629, 5631 and 5633 on display, remainder scrapped

The Chicago Burlington and Quincy O-5 was a class of 36 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1930 and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) between 1936 and 1940 and operated by the CB&Q until the late 1950s.

The locomotives saw service pulling both freight and passenger trains and four have been preserved, all of which are on display.

History

Locomotive 5614 on static display in St. Joseph, Missouri, 2001

With an increase of traffic on the CB&Q, they needed more powerful locomotives to pull the heavier loads and increased number of cars hauled.^[1] In 1930, the CB&Q ordered eight 4-8-4 locomotives (Nos. 5600-5607) from the Baldwin Locomotive Works and classified them as O-5.^[2] Of the first six O-5s had fireboxes burning lignite coal while the last two took bituminous coal. No. 5607 had a booster that added 13,200 lbs (5,987 kg) tractive effort. One of the locomotives was reported to have pulled an 82-car mail train on October 17, 1944.^[3] Nos. 5600, 5602, 5604, 5605 and 5606 were fitted with Security circulators and reclassified as O-5A.

Between 1936 and 1940, the CB&Q built their own versions of the O-5, following the success of the class, and they were classified as O-5A.^[2] Nos. 5609, 5618, 5619, 5620 were fitted with Security circulators and 5610 received thermic syphons. The last 15 O-5s (Nos. 5621-5635) were fitted with roller bearings on every axle, lightweight rods, all-weather vestibule cabs and a solid pilot. Although, the O-5A locomotives were also built with abnormal design features; the seatboxes inside the cabs were positioned too low, and the boilers were humpbacked beyond the sandboxes.^[4] Nos. 5614, 5620, 5626, 5627, 5629, and 5632 were converted to burn oil later in their service lives and were reclassified as O-5B. The O-5 class locomotives were capable at traveling at speeds as high as forty-five miles per hour while hauling 125 loaded cars.^[4]

By 1954, as the CB&Q invested in adding diesel locomotives to their roster, the O-5's were reassigned to pull freight trains in certain divisions; some O-5's were reassigned to run between Galesburg and Clyde, Illinois, North La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Pacific Junction, Iowa; other O-5's were reassigned to operate in the Lincoln-Omaha divisions in Nebraska and Iowa.^[5] As the railroad invested in adding EMD SD9 roadswitchers throughout the mid and late 1950s, the usefulness in the O-5's diminished, and most of them were put into storage, while those that remained in service were solely relegated to operate east of Lincoln, Nebraska.^[6][7] For two weeks in January 1957, eight O-5A locomotives were loaned to the Grand Trunk Western (GTW), in response to the GTW leasing some of its 4-8-4's to its parent company, the Canadian National, during a locomotive fireman strike on the Canadian Pacific.^[8] In July that same year, all six of the O-5B locomotives were removed from storage to operate in the Lincoln-Omaha divisions, in response to several diesel locomotives being transferred, in favor of that month's Nebraska wheat harvest.^[8] After the Lincoln-Omaha divisions were dieselized in November 1957, all of the remaining O-5 locomotives were removed from revenue service.^[8]

Between 1955 and 1959, five of the O-5 class locomotives (numbers 5600, 5618, 5626, 5631, and 5632) were used to pull occasional excursion trains for the CB&Q, prior to their retirement.^[6][8][9] Beginning in 1960, No. 5632 was being used to pull additional excursion trains for the CB&Q's steam program, and this lasted until November 1, 1964, when the locomotive hauled its last train before its flue time expired.^[10][11] No. 5632 was subsequently disassembled for repairs, but by 1966, the railroad got a new president, Louis W. Menk, who ended the program, and the repairs on 5632 were halted.^[12] The locomotive was sold to steam engine caretaker Richard Jensen, who moved it to the Chicago and Western Indiana Roundhouse for storage.^[12] In 1969, No. 5632 was moved to a scrapyard, but was derailed on a switch and was subsequently scrapped in November 1972.^[13][12]

Preservation

Four of the Burlington Route's "Northerns" have been preserved, all of which are of the O-5A/B batch.

• #5614 is on display at Patee Park in St. Joseph, Missouri.^[14]
• #5629 is on display at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado.^[1]
• #5631 is on display at a depot in Sheridan, Wyoming.^[15]
• #5633 is on display at the Douglas Railroad Interpretive Center in Douglas, Wyoming.^[16]

Locomotive 5631 on static display at Sheridan, Wyoming without a headlight

Roster

References

Bibliography

• Corbin, Bernard G.; Kerka, William F. (1960). Steam Locomotives of The Burlington Route (1st ed.). Bonanza Books. ISBN 0-517-26195-2.
• Stowe, J. A. (1966). The Northern and the Mike: A Tale of Two Locomotives. Illinois Railroad Club.
• Stagner, Lloyd (1997). Burlington Route Steam Finale. David City, Nebraska: South Platte Press. ISBN 0-942035-38-0.