Frisco #1632 - Belton, MO - Locomotives on Waymarking.com

Steam locomotives with a 2-10-0 wheel arrangement were much more popular in Europe than in North America. During World War I, the Russian Empire ordered over 1000 of these locomotives from American manufacturers to handle the increased tonnage caused by the conflict. Over 850 were actually delivered before the Bolshevik Revolution caused cancellation of the remaining units. These were acquired by the U.S. Railroad Administration which managed all rail operations in the U.S. from the beginning of U.S. involvement in WWI to 1920. The USRA sold this particular engine to the Southern Railway in 1918 who sold it to the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco) a couple of years later where it became #1632.

In all, Frisco acquired 20 of these ‘Russian Decapods,’ five of which are still in existence. The ten drive wheels provided plenty of traction to pull just about anything, but these locomotives had difficulty on tight curves and all those connecting rods tended to vibrate at higher speeds causing excessive wear and maintenance, not to mention a rougher ride for the engineer. They were usually used in slower freight service especially in mountainous terrain, but the Frisco appears to have used them in passenger service as well.

Around 1951, Frisco sold #1632 along with four other coal-burning 2-10-0s to Eagle-Picher Industries where they hauled lead and zinc ore until that operation ceased in 1957. #1632 was on display in Ottawa, Kansas for many years until it was moved to its current location in Belton, Missouri in 1995.

And check out those wide tires on the drive wheels. That was a necessary modification in order to adapt a locomotive built for the 5-foot gauge of the Russian railway system to the slightly narrower 4’-8½” gauge of North American lines.

Locomotive Type: (required): Steam Do you need to pay an entrance fee to view this locomotive? (required): No How accessible is this locomotive display? (Required): Only touching is allowed. If "other" what is the engine type? (optional): Not listed If a fee is required what is the approximate cost for admittance? (optional): Not listed

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