| Burlington & Missouri River 2-6-2 Class R-2 368 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sometime in 1901, photo by H. Tryon, Chuck Zeiler collection. Built by Baldwin in 1901 for the B&MR as R2 Comp. (Compound) 368 (c/n 18956), this Prairie type was equipped with a rigid trailing truck. This locomotive became CB&Q 1757 after the Burlington's systemwide renumbering during 1904. Sometime between 1918 and 1925, the R-2's were rebuilt into class G-8 0-6-0 switchers, retaining their R-2 road numbers. This particular locomotive was rebuilt during 1920 and retired in December 1935. During rebuilding, the Belpaire firebox was replaced with a conventional radial-stay design, the drivers were replaced with 52" diameter wheels, the boiler tubes were shortened and the front tube sheet was replaced, the pilot and trailing trucks were removed and the engine frame was rebuilt, the spring rigging was reworked, the driver brake rigging was replaced, another sand dome was added, a cast front pilot beam was added, and the cab deck was rebuilt. The driving wheel base was not changed, but the tender was altered for switching service. The following is from the book, "Steam Locomotives of the Burlington Route", by Bernard G. Corbin and Richard F. Kerka: With the satisfying operation of the Class R-1 Prairies, it was only natural that a larger engine of the same type, to handle heavier train loads, should be developed. The Class R-2 locomotive was the result. Fifty engines of this class were built by Baldwin in 1901, and an additional ten were completed at the West Burlington shops during the same year. Six of the Baldwin-built locomotives were Vauclain compounds, having cylinders of 16" and 27"X24". The remaining R-2 engines were single-expansion types, and had cylinder dimensions of 20"X24". As on the R-1 class, piston valves placed above the cylinders and actuated by Stephenson link motion controlled steam flow. Straight boilers with Belpaire fireboxes were used on both the compounds and the single-expansion engines. A longer tube length and a greater number of tubes increased the heating surface to 2,888 square feet, compared to 2,076 square feet for the R-1 engines. The design of the main frame, running gear, spring rigging, trailing truck suspension, and driving wheel diameter, 64", was the same as the R-1 engines. With a total engine weight of 170,000 pounds and a boiler pressure of 200 psi, the R-2 types developed a tractive force of 25,500 pounds. |