In 1951, the Chicago & Illinois Midland purchased nine 2-10-2s from the dieselizing Atlantic Coast Line. On the C&IM they were classed H-2. No. 757, shown here, had been ACL's No. 2005, in class Q-1. The late Bruce Meyer, well-known Illinois rail photographer, took this photo at the Peoria & Pekin Union roundhouse in Peoria. Bruce gave it to me shortly after it was taken in the summer of 1954. (To view another locomotive of this class in its ACL appearance, visit George Elwood's Fallen Flags site.)

These locomotives had 63-inch drivers, a boiler pressure of 210 p.s.i., and cylinder dimensions of 30x32 inches. With these specifications they would have exerted 81,600 pounds of tractive effort, suitable for C&IM's heavy coal haulage. (Tractive effort is the effort expended in turning the driving wheels one revolution when starting.) They had a locomotive weight of 178 tons, a grate area of 88 square feet, and an evaporative heating surface of 4973 square feet. When the photo was taken No. 757 still had its ex-ACL Vanderbilt tender, but the C&IM later replaced it with an ex-New York Central straight-sided tender taken from another C&IM 2-10-2 that was retired.