Steam & Excursion > Classic Lima Power at Bluford, Illinois

The Illinois Central Railroad's fleet of fifty 2-8-4 copies of the Lima A-1 of 1924 served out the end of their careers running in Kentucky and southern Illinois.  They worked from Paducah east toward Louisville and west toward Fulton, and from Fulton north to Bluford, Illinois, on the Edgewood Cutoff.

On November 7th, 1953, a pair of the locomotives were captured near the turntable at Bluford, readied for their next assignments.

These locomotives were running out of time in late 1953, as several had already been scrapped in 1949.  The rest would follow in 1954 and 1955, displaced by 4-8-2 Mountains and 2-10-2 Centrals that had been displaced by diesels on the railroad's divisions farthest from the Kentucky and Illinois coal fields.

When first dilvered by Lima in 1926, these locomotives were virtually identical to the Lima A-1 with most of them equipped with Elesco feedwater heaters mounted atop the smokebox front and an off-centered bell below.  On rebuilding between 1939 and 1943, the class took on the traditional look of the late-era Illinois Central steam fleet.

It has been suggested that the squared sand domes of these locomotives, known as Limas and Big Mikes on the I.C., was the inspiration for the square sand boxes most Paducah rebuilt steam power would receive.

The photo was scanned from an uncredited negative in my collection.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/23 12:54 by MaryMcPherson.

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There are few shots of these 2-8-4s operating around the Central City, Ky area in our video "Mid-American Glory ICRR". They were shot on 8mm film by E G Baker but we didn't have the date. I suspect it was in the early 1950's.

Jim Herron

Mary, any chance that you might have a photo that you can post of one of these locomotives with an Elesco feedwater heaters mounted atop the smokebox front? 

Here is the class engine herself, #7000, at Nonconnah Yard in Memphis, date unknown.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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I'll have to say, she looks better, or at least more bruitish with the Elesco heater mounted on the front.  I'm read that the Elescos caused more troboule than the worthington feadwater heaters, but I don't know what the specific problem was.  Maybe someone else on here has the details.  Was it maintenance cost issue?

steam290 Wrote:
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> I'll have to say, she looks better, or at least
> more bruitish with the Elesco heater mounted on
> the front.  I'm read that the Elescos caused more
> troboule than the worthington feadwater heaters,
> but I don't know what the specific problem was. 
> Maybe someone else on here has the details.  Was
> it maintenance cost issue?

The Elesco system needed a periodic washout to get rid of scale buildup. I am guessing that is what you had heard about.