There was a conversation thread among members of this group some time ago about steam locomotives in the early days of the Burlington, and a photo currently offered for sale on eBay rekindled that subject matter. The photo (copy attached) depicts CB&Q No. 108, one of six identical 4-4-0s (106-111) turned out by the Rogers Locomotive Works of Paterson, New Jersey, during June, July and August 1865, just after the end of the Civil War. All had 15x24" cylinders and 54" drivers. The subject locomotive, Rogers serial number 1284, was completed on July 19, 1865, and this photograph is said to have been taken 10 years later. Seen is a fairly standard Rogers engine of that period, having a high wagon-top boiler with two steam domes (the whistle mounted atop the larger forward one, the single pop valve on the smaller rear one ahead of the cab) and the trademark Rogers fluted top sand dome in between. The arched cab windows and rounded front corner of the cab, complete with curved glass in the corner window, were Burlington standards at the time the 108 was constructed. The mismatched pilot truck wheels -- one spoked, one solid -- indicate that one of them is not an original, though the ornate brass bell hanger and headlight bracket both certainly are Rogers originals, as, of course, is the very ornate builder's plate and accompanying brass scrollwork between the drivers. All in all a beautiful locomotive and a fine example of the builder's art 150 years ago. The 108 is still a wood-burner here and is posed (with "Uncle James Kennedy" one of the two men visible) at a 20-stall roundhouse (the stall numbers 18 and 19 plainly visible above two of the doors), probably meaning Galesburg, as both of Aurora's roundhouses were bigger. The coach in the background sports an early example of the clerestory roof, while the freight car just visible through the open roundhouse doors beyond the 108's tender has a radial roof. Gone from the Burlington roster by 1898 when an H-2 Mogul of the same number filled its place on the roster, the first 108 probably had enjoyed a service life of around 30 years.
Researching the 108 led me to another early locomotive view that may or may not be a Burlington engine. The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad was chartered in 1856 to extend the Burlington across Iowa, from Burlington to the Missouri River at East Plattsmouth, and after a slow start succeeded in completing the task in 1869. It was operated in conjunction with the CB&Q and was merged into the parent company in 1875. At the time of the consolidation the B&MR had a fleet of 68 locomotives, one of them a 4-4-0 named "Gen. Grant." In the post-Civil War era, this was a very popular name for locomotives, and in fact the B&MR itself owned two, the other being a small 0-4-0T named "Lt. Gen. Grant." But the photo I ran across (copy also attached) depicts what may be the other "Gen. Grant," a 4-4-0 completed by the Manchester Locomotive Works of Manchester, New Hampshire. Manchester had acquired the business of the Amoskeag Locomotive Works in 1855 and continued business under the new name. Amoskeag (pronounced am-uh-SKAY-uhg) had built locomotives since 1853, and under the Manchester name the CB&Q was its first customer, the Q and its predecessors having already purchased a number of Amoskeag locomotives. At any rate, the B&MR's "Gen. Grant" was one of five identical 4-4-0s turned out for the road during 1868, the others being named "Abraham Lincoln," "Gen. Sheridan," "Gen. Sherman" and "Gen. McPherson." As I said, the Civil War was fresh on everyone's mind, and the martyred president and Union generals were extremely popular names. The Manchester builder's photo of "Gen. Grant" seen here bears no railroad name nor initials, so we cannot be certain it is the B&MR locomotive, because, as noted, the name was an extremely popular one. But if it is the B&MR's "Gen. Grant" it became CB&Q 248 in the 1875 consolidation and, unlike the 108, survived the 1898 renumbering to become the 1248, six years later being again renumbered, this time to CB&Q 201, the second A-2 class 4-4-0 on the roster (the former B&MR "Abraham Lincoln" being the first). The former "Gen. Grant" was retired by the Burlington in June 1905 and most likely scrapped, as it was then 37 years old and would have required complete rebuilding to be worth retaining. The locomotive in the photo (which was distributed as a stereopticon or stereo view) is another wood-burner, with a tender heaped high with the fuel, and has enough ornate painted scrollwork on the tender and cab to satisfy the fussiest taste. Typical of Manchester, though, neither the bell hanger nor the headlight bracket are ornamental, but the builder's plate and its surrounding brass scrollwork are every bit a match for that of the Rogers engine. The "Gen. Grant" has a lower wagon-top boiler than the 108, but with the more common single steam dome positioned on the wagon-top above the firebox and the sand dome positioned to serve the front driver. The big smokestack, filled with baffles and wire mesh netting, was then considered a necessity to catch the great volume of sparks and embers generated by the burning wood. The photo is an interesting one, and unless someone comes along with evidence that the locomotive portrayed is that of another railroad, we will assume it's a Burlington locomotive.
Hol
__._,_.___
View attachments on the web
Posted by: Hol Wagner <holpennywagner@msn.com>
![]()
__,_._,___
|
