Pacifics (4-6-2's) in Chicago commuter service.

[UP 829]

While trainwatching on the Q racetrack yesterday, I starting thinking about all the Pacifics one could have seen in commuter service around Chicago and how much more interesting that must have made trainwatching compared to today's parade of FP40s and even the E and F-units of the recent past. While I never particularly cared for the look of the CB&Q Pacifics, the Rock Island had some really good looking ones and the C&NW's weren't bad either. What others do people remember? Did IC run them before electric service? How about Pennsy K4's or NYC Class P-3's?

[Lost World]

Yeah, that must have been a sight, but it looks like nobody's old enough to remember.  Sucks, but the codgers are dying off in a hurry.

[snagletooth]

 Would of been real sweet and fitting if BN could have found one to put in the Transportation Center in Aurora, instead of that BN crummy painted in Q colors.

[wallyworld]

Not all Pacifics were ugly ducklings..

[artpeterson]

Hi - Since IC went electric in 1926, Pacifics were still very much mainline power at that time.  They used a lot of tank engines (which continued on the line to Addison until it quit in the 30s) and some 4-4-0s on mainline trains.  There were also 4-4-2s on the CNW which were really nice looking engines.

Art

[PBenham]

New York Central used older classes of Pacifics of their own, or classes from Big 4 or Michigan Central on their locals to Elkhart or Michigan City, IN.

Erie and Nickel Plate both had locals out of their respective Chicago terminals, and they rated Pacifics regularly. This was more true for the Erie, than NKP, which didn't have many Pacifics, having no need for too many of them. Buying Hudsons in 1927-9, played a hand in this, too. 

[jimrice4449]

Codger hunh!

The Milw, as mainline trains were dieselized, bumped some F-6 Hudsons down to commuter service

The usual power for PRR,s 2 Valpo locals were G-5 ten wheelers (although, being Pennsy, a K-4 wouldn,t be unheard of and as soon as you say they'd never use a T-1 somebody will produce a picture of one)

The C&WI commuter trains to Dalton (and the mid-day train w/ the RPO) rated modern looking Moguls until Alco road switchers took over

Once, out in the country S/W of town (probably wall to wall suburbia now) I caught the Wabash's contribution to the Windy City,s suburban pool behind a Mike.

 

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

As a daily rider on Metra's Southwest Service, formerly the Wabash, I can vouch for the fact that the area along the route (recently extended to Manhattan) isn't completely wall-to-wall suburbia yet but it's getting close.

By the way, the CWI suburban trains, famous in the diesel era for their RS1's and Stillwell coaches, ran to Dolton until 1964, not Dalton (which is in Georgia).