Chicago and North Western class E-4

The Chicago and North Western Railway's Class E-4 comprised nine coal-burning streamlined 4-6-4 "Hudson" steam locomotives built in 1937 by Alco.

CNW class E-4
An E-4 at Chicago in 1942.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderAmerican Locomotive Company
Serial number68982–68989, 69028[1]
Build date1937
Total produced9
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-4
 • UIC2′C2′ h2
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.84 in (2,134 mm)
Length101 ft 9 3⁄4 in (31.03 m)
Adhesive weight216,000 lb (98,000 kilograms; 98 metric tons)
Loco weight412,000 lb (187,000 kilograms; 187 metric tons)
Total weight791,500 lb (359,000 kilograms; 359.0 metric tons)
Fuel typeCoal, later converted to burn Oil in 1946-1947
Fuel capacity50,000 lb (23 metric tons), later 6,000 US gal (23,000 l; 5,000 imp gal)
Water cap20,000 US gal (76,000 l; 17,000 imp gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		90.7 sq ft (8.43 m2)
Boiler pressure300 lbf/in2 (2.07 MPa)
Heating surface3,958 sq ft (367.7 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area1,884 sq ft (175.0 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size25 in × 29 in (635 mm × 737 mm)
Performance figures
Maximum speed112 mph (180 kp/h)
Tractive effort55,022 lbf (244.75 kN)
Career
OperatorsChicago and North Western Railway
Numbers4001–4009
Retired1953–1956
Scrapped1953–1961
DispositionAll scrapped

They were built to haul the road's famous "400" express passenger trains, but before they were even delivered the railroad's management decided that streamlined steam was the wrong direction and instead placed orders with General Motors Electro-Motive Division for new diesel locomotives. The displaced E-4s instead worked other trains until they were withdrawn from service in 1953 and scrapped. The nine E-4s were almost identical in specification and purpose to the Milwaukee Road's six class F7 locomotives, and they were built by the same builder at the same time, yet they were different in almost every detail of design.

In fiction
  • Speedy from the animated children's television series Chuggington is based on the CNW Class E-4 minus the tender.
  • In Madagascar 3, the circus train is based on a CNW E-4.

Other CNW steam locomotives
  • Chicago and North Western class D 4-4-2 – A major workhorse of the C&NW, some were used on the Minnesota 400.
  • Chicago and North Western class E 4-6-2 – Some converted to "ES" class with similar shrouding to the E-4. The ES engines succeeded Class D locomotives on the Minnesota 400.
  • Chicago and North Western class E-2 4-6-2 – Twelve locomotives, four of which were converted to "E-2-a" class and were the original locomotives for the Twin Cities to Chicago 400 before being replaced by EMD E3 diesel units. The remaining eight were converted to "E-2-b" locomotives.[2]
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References
  1. Cole (1938), p. 62.
  2. Scribbins, Jim (2008) [1982]. The 400 Story. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-5449-9.
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