When we visited, #905 was in the throes of a cosmetic restoration.
The engine was built at Alco's Schenectady, NY, works for
the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway as #905 in 1909, and was one of thirty-three Class P-31 Pacific type (4-6-2) locomotives delivered that year. They were based on the
1905 built P-32 Class but with taller drivers, outside Walschaert radial valve gear in place of Stephenson valve gear, greater cylinder volume and 14" longer flues. Superheating started a few years after delivery and
continued through to 1917. A few retained their 26 sq ft of arch tubes but others replaced these with 58 sq ft of thermic syphons at the cost of two small tubes. Although 12 sq ft of heating surface was added, the direct heating surface increased by 32 sq ft.
Increasing the drivers from 73" to 74" increased the driver wheelbase from 12'4" to 13' and the engine wheelbase from 32' to 34' 8". Engine weight dropped from 227,000 lbs to 226,950 lbs and weight on the drivers from 148,000 lbs to 147,750 lbs. The cylinders were unchanged at 23" x 28" and boiler pressure remained at 185 psi.
The grate grew from 44.8 sq ft to 45 sq ft, the firebox from 179.41 sq ft to 238 sq ft.
The heating surface rose from 3,555 sq ft to 3,671 sq ft, including 676 sq ft of superheating, although tractive effort dropped from 31,907 lbs to 31,476 lbs.
A slightly larger tender weighing 150,640 lbs instead of 150,000 was mated to the rebuilt P-31s, carrying 7,900 gallons of water, an increase of 400 gallons, although the coal capacity remained at 13 tons.
Retirements of the P-31s began in 1936 and the last of the class was withdrawn in 1953. #905 was donated to the City of Duncan, OK, in 1955 and is on display in Fuqua Park. You can see another Rock Island Pacific type locomotive, Class P-33 #938, on the Illinois Railway Museum Train Shed page of this website.
Above, there is a small museum with a range of exhibits and gift shop in a replica of the Rock Island depot building at Duncan. The museum and grounds are open Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00am until 5.00pm.
Right, also in the yard is Missouri Pacific Short
Bay Window Caboose #13925. It is one of one hundred and fifty of the CA-35 Class built in 1980
at the Missouri Pacific's shops in DeSoto, MO,
and finished in Sedalia, MO. The caboose was retired in 1991. The caboose has a light weight of 51,900 lbs.
