CBQ #3003 was donated to the City of Burlington, IA, by the Chicago Burlington & Quincy in 1961. It is on display just north of the Amtrak depot and was refurbished and rededicated in 1991.
The CB&Q was a comparatively early adopter of the Hudson type (4-6-4) locomotive, ordering a total of twelve from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA, in 1930 (#3000-#3011). Designated Class S-4, they were designed for fast passenger service and went into service pulling CB&Q "varnish" passenger services such as the Ak-Sar-Ben between Lincoln, NE, and Chicago, IL (Ak-Sar-Ben is "Nebraska" spelt backwards), the Chicago, IL-Denver, CO, Aristocrat and the Black Hawk Chicago, IL–Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN, overnight.
The Burlington's S-4s eliminated the need to swap one locomotive for another on long trips, and they were also fast: one is credited with hauling ten standard passenger cars between Cochrane and La Crosse, WI, at a speed of 112 mph.
The S-4 was one of the most successful steam locomotives operated by the CB&Q. #3002 was later streamlined to haul the railroad's stainless-steel Zephyrs. It was renumbered #4000, named Aeolus and earned the nickname "Big Alice the Goon" after a Popeye cartoon character. After its success, a second was built from scratch, #4001, designated Class S-4A.
#3003 weighs 391,880 lbs, 207,730 lbs on its 78" drivers. The tender weighs 326,050 lbs light and has a capacity of 24 tons of coal and 15,000 gallons of water.
With a Type B stoker and an 87.9 sq ft grate, the locomotive's 131' ⅞" long, 96" wide firebox was fitted with 43 sq ft of arch tubes and had a 70 sq ft combustion chamber. An additional 1,830 sq ft of superheating brought the total heating surface to 6,077 sq ft. With Baker long-frame valve gear,
25" x 28" cylinders, 14" diameter piston valves, and operating at a boiler pressure of 250 psi, the S-4 delivered 47,676 lbs tractive effort.
Four other S-4s have survived. You can see #3001 on display in Ottumwa, IA, on the CBQ S-4 #3001 page of this website.
#3006 at the
Galesburg Railroad Museum, Galesburg, IL, is on the CBQ S-4 #3006 page, and #3007 is on the Illinois Railway Museum Yard page.
#4000 (ex #3002) on display in La Crosse, WI, is on the CBQ S-4 #4000 page.
