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Chicago & Northwestern Class E Pacific

By Tom Farin

I come from a railroad family.  Both my grandfather and great-grandfather worked as engineers for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad out of Green Bay.   One of my father's most vivid memories was of his father and an engineer buddy playing with his new Lionel set.  The two great engineers managed to do a cornfield meet breaking the headlight of one of his two shiny new engines.  Both men passed on before I appeared on the scene.

But grandma believed in keeping things in the family.  When she decided to remarry, the man was Thomas Mac Allister, a conductor on the C&NW.  He was as nice a grandpa as any young boy could have.  He'd take us down the the C&NW yards to check out the steam.  Occasionally, we'd hop a passenger train to Milwaukee or Chicago and visit the zoo or museums.

The odds are very high that on one of those trips we were pulled by one or more of the Pacifics in the C&NW Pacific prototype page.  It is also likely that my grandfather served as engineer on one of these engines.  Numbers 2901 to 2912 were assigned to the area and regularly pulled trains on the Milwaukee to Madison and Milwaukee to Green Bay routes.  This is a picture of No 2910, with its original spoke drivers

Later in life, these engines were upgraded to Scullion drivers, 79 inches in diameter.  Here is a photo of 2908, lettered as one of the first C&NW 400 series engines.

My involvement with railroading is of the model variety.  I started with a Lionel set as a kid then got into HO about 10 years ago.  This year, I switched to G.  The combination of a more train-like feel, the ability to scratch build structures in wood, and the lure of the garden in the summer make this transition very appealing.

Given my family history, the transition to G, and the Aristo Pacific, it's only natural that my first kitbash project will convert a Santa Fe Pacific into a C&NW Pacific.

Prototype Research

A good starting point for any kitbash project is research into the prototype.  In the following pages, you will find:

In addition to my research on the subject, you may also be interested other Pacific research performed by friends that have allowed me to post their research at this site.

The Specific Prototype

C&NW Pacifics came in both light and heavy forms.  Class E and E1 contained the USRA Light Pacifics.  Class E2 and E3 contained the USRA Heavy Pacifics.  Both appear on the C&NW Prototype page Davy Cormack and I put together.  A detailed look at prototype photos caused me to narrow down my choices to the USRA Heavy Class E2.  While they carried Scullion drivers later in life, as the above photo shows, at least 2910 started out with spoked drivers like the Aristo model.  So I scaled out the Aristo Pacific against the C&NE E2 class.  Here's what I found.

In summary, the Aristo Pacific is very close to the prototype in all major dimensions.  Differences are too small to be obvious with the exception of the tender and cab. The Aristo tender claims a scale capacity of 20 tons of coal and 9,000 gallons of water.  The Class E2 C&NW claims a capacity of 16 tons of coal and 10,000 gallons of water.  Appearance of all tenders is similar to the Aristo Tender with the exception of length and capacity. 

The cab on the prototype is has about 4 1/2 inches less side width and about 4 1/2 inches less bow in the roof.  The shorter side width accounts for the majority of the difference in length between the model and prototype.  A portion of the difference in overall height between model and prototype is because of the difference in the size of the drivers.  The cab sits higher on the prototype than the model primarily because of less bow in the roof as the cab side heights are the same in the model and the prototype.  

My conclusion from the data is that the Aristo Pacific locomotive is a good starting point for a bash to a C&NW E2 Heavy Pacific.  I'll live with the tender length problem for now.  Possibly, I can later locate a tender more appropriate for this specific prototype class of engine.  I'll model the 2910 as I have two photos currently on hand.  Many more photos of this number series (2901 through 2912) are on the C&NW Pacific E2 Prototype page.  

Aside from the dimension issues, the other major differences between the prototype and the Aristocraft model include:

1. Differences exist in running board and handrail detail between the prototype and the model.
2. Marker lights were mounted higher on the prototype than on the model.
3. Steam dome, sand dome, bell and whistle placement were different on the model than on the prototype.
4. Window arrangement was slightly different on the prototype cab.
5. Piping on the model is in different locations and shows less detail than in the prototype.
6. There were differences in air tank sizes and locations.
7. The obvious differences in colors and lettering exist between the model and the prototype.

The Project

This kitbash project will have the following objectives.

1. Convert the Aristo Pacific to remote control battery power.  This will include installation of a Train Engineer Onboard receiver.  It will also include installing batteries in the tender with possible provision for dragging a higher capacity battery box car.
2. Accept the shortcomings of the tender given #1.  Postpone replacing it with a shorter tender should one become available and a use found for the Aristo tender.
3. Rebuild the cab so it gives the look of the prototype.
4. Make as many kitbash modifications as possible to deal with the differences between the model and prototype outlined in the previous section.
5. Decide whether to stay with spoke drivers or upgrade to Scullions.  the problem with the Scullions is 79 inches is well off the Aristo driver size in 1:29 and the Scullions represent a $150 outlay.

This project is documented on the pages listed at the top in the left hand margin.  Pages will be added as the project progresses so check back periodically to see how I'm doing.

(c) 2007 Iron Horse 1:29