C&NW #2601, the First M-3 of the Class in Service at Chicago, IL. C. November 1952.
The Chicago and North Western Railway's Class M-3 were a group of Thirty-Five USRA 0-6-0's built in 1919 for the C&NW for Switching Services after World War I following the US National Control of U.S. Railroads under the United States Railroad Administration, eight more were Constructed for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway. (Omaha Road)
History and Design[]
As the United States of America entered World War I in April 1917, afterwards what followed was the creation of the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) that by 1918 had controlled over Ninety percent of America's Mainline railroad companies reassuring in the modern "Standard" in steam locomotive development. Twelve major designs were introduced as the first USRA locomotive was completed at the Baldwin locomotive works on July 4th, 1918. The smallest of these were the 0-6-0 design known as the USRA 0-6-0, which was a very common variant of modern Steam switchers available at the time. These locomotives were fit with very small 51" drivers driven by 21" x 28" cylinders on a singular rigid frame, powered by 190 Lbs. of Boiler pressure through small 12" piston valves bearing Baker valve gear which was an increasingly popular reverser mechanism choice. Built with 66" straight Radial-stay boilers, they were fit with Schmidt superheaters, electric lighting, and Mechanical stokers which were relatively very modern additions to any Switcher of this size back in the day. With a high Tractive effort of 39,100 Lbs. on it's three driver axles, the tenders were All-steel construction with high sides for maximum fuel capacities. Having two four-wheel trucks on the frame, the tender also had an early Coal-pusher mechanism to make accessing Coal easier for hand-firing. Being the smallest of the twelve Vulnerable Government-issued designs, the USRA 0-6-0 seen service in many railroad companies as it was proven to be very reliable and popular for its Hand-me-down smaller size. As many of these locomotives were ready for sale or under construction after the War's end in November 1918, the Chicago and NorthWestern Railway would be one of many major Railroad companies to acquire USRA-designed engines. After construction of two batches of USRA 0-6-0's between February and July 1919, Thirty-five units were assigned to the Chicago and NorthWestern as CNW Numbers #2601 to #2635, eight more units were assigned to the CNW's subsidiary line the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway as C.St.P.M.& O. Ry. Numbers #75 to #82 which were all constructed in July 1919 following the last units delivered from the C&NW batch. All locomotives were built by the American Locomotive Company's Cooke and Schenectady Works and were delivered with Duplex Mechanical Stokers assigned as the M-3 Classes. All entered service in prime Yard switching by August 1919 as the USRA control dissolved a year later by 1920.
Revenue Service and Retirement[]
(Coming Soon)
Stock List[]
| Number(s) | Builder | Serial | Build Date | Retired and Scrapped | Service Location | Lettering Scheme | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2601 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61348 | February 1919 | Green Bay, WI. and Chicago, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender. | ||
| 2602 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61349 | February 1919 | September 1945 | |||
| 2603 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61350 | February 1919 | After July 1956. | Clinton, IA. and Tama, IA. | CNW Herald on Tender, Numbering on Cab. | |
| 2604 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61351 | February 1919 | January 1955 | |||
| 2605 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61352 | March 1919 | Chicago, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2606 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61353 | March 1919 | Green Bay, WI. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2607 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61354 | March 1919 | April 1945 | |||
| 2608 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61355 | March 1919 | C. 1957 | Chicago, IL. Ended Service at Proviso, IL. | CNW Herald on Tender, Numbering on Cab. | |
| 2609 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61356 | March 1919 | Chicago, IL. | CNW Herald on Tender, Numbering on Cab. | ||
| 2610 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61357 | March 1919 | Chicago, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2611 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61358 | March 1919 | Cedar Rapids, IA. DeKalb, IL. and Chicago, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2612 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61359 | March 1919 | C. 1956 | |||
| 2613 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61360 | March 1919 | Winona, MN. and Green Bay, WI. | |||
| 2614 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61361 | March 1919 | Chicago, IL. Butler, WI. and Irondale, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2615 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61362 | March 1919 | C. 1956 | Winona, MN. | ||
| 2616 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61363 | March 1919 | May 1946 | |||
| 2617 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61364 | March 1919 | January 1955 | Near Madison, WI. | CNW Herald on Tender, Lettering on Cab. | Had numbers instead on Sand Dome and Front Plate. |
| 2618 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61365 | March 1919 | Near Madison, WI. | CNW Herald on Tender, Numbering on Cab. | ||
| 2619 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61366 | March 1919 | January 1955 | Milwaukee, WI. (Chase Yard) Ended Service at Proviso, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | |
| 2620 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61367 | March 1919 | January 1955 | First Worked at DeKalb, IL. in 1947. | ||
| 2621 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61368 | March 1919 | Chicago, IL. and Winona, MN. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2622 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61369 | March 1919 | Chicago, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2623 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61370 | April 1919 | C. 1957 | Cedar Rapids, IA. Ended Sevice at Proviso, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | |
| 2624 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61371 | April 1919 | Chicago, IL. Stored at Harvard, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | Still Active during 1955. | |
| 2625 | ALCO-Cooke Works | 61372 | April 1919 | Waukegan, IL. and Chicago, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2626 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61323 | July 1919 | ||||
| 2627 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61324 | July 1919 | Milwaukee, WI. (Chase Yard) and Butler. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2628 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61325 | July 1919 | Green Bay, WI. and Janesville. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2629 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61326 | July 1919 | C. 1957 | Winona, MN. Chicago, IL. Ended Service in Proviso, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | |
| 2630 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61327 | July 1919 | C. 1956 | Green Bay, WI. Ended Service in Proviso, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | |
| 2631 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61328 | July 1919 | Near Clinton, IA. | Logo on Tender, Numbering and Initials on Cab. | ||
| 2632 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61329 | July 1919 | May 1946 | |||
| 2633 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61330 | July 1919 | ||||
| 2634 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61331 | July 1919 | Cudahy, WI. Des Plaines, IL. and Irondale, IL. | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | ||
| 2635 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61332 | July 1919 | Lettering on Cab, Numbering on Tender | |||
| CMO #75 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61324 | July 1919 | Duluth, MN. Marshfield, WI. and Spooner, WI. | Logo on Tender, Numbering and Initials on Cab. | ||
| CMO #76 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61325 | July 1919 | Near Minneapolis, MN. and Itasca, WI. | Logo on Tender, Numbering and Initials on Cab. | ||
| CMO #77 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61326 | July 1919 | Elroy, WI. and St. Paul, MN. | Logo on Tender, Numbering and Initials on Cab. | ||
| CMO #78 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61327 | July 1919 | ||||
| CMO #79 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61328 | July 1919 | ||||
| CMO #80 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61329 | July 1919 | Marshfield, WI. and Altoona, WI. | Logo on Tender, Numbering and Initials on Cab. | ||
| CMO #81 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61330 | July 1919 | ||||
| CMO #82 | ALCO-Schenectady | 61331 | July 1919 | Sioux City, IA. | Initials on Cab, Numbering on Tender. |
Trivia[]
- The M-3's were the only USRA-designed Steam Locomotives acquired by the Chicago and NorthWestern Railway, although the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway acquired several USRA Heavy Mikado's after 1918.