Steam & Excursion > LP Blattner Photos

Here are three photos from the same photographer taken over a century ago.  With the photos taken at different locations and featuring crew posing in the shots, it's a safe assumption that photographer L.P. Blattner was an Illinois Central company photographer in 1922.

1.  2-8-0 #767 was 18 years old when she was photographed with her crew at Clinton, Illinois, on February 9th, 1922.  The 1904 Rogers product would be around for nearly another quarter-century, being scrapped shortly after World War II.  While some of these locomotives were stricken from the roster fairly early, others lasted late into the steam era.  Sister engine #764 survives today at the Museum of Transportation in suburban St. Louis.

2.  This March 29th, 1922, photo finds passenger 4-6-0 #2036 with her engineer at Memphis, Tennessee.  Rogers built this locomotive in 1900, a member of the class best remembered for a certain J.L. Jones wrecking one at Vaughan, Mississippi.  This one originally carried the number 236 and would be renumbered for the final time to 5036 later in 1922.  She would be scrapped in June, 1935.  That large and slightly elevated headlight gives her and oddly proportioned front end, doesn't it?

3.  Mr. Blattner was at Rantoul, Illinois, in May, 1922, and got another photo of an engineer with his steed.  In this case, the locomotive in question is a 1896 Rogers 2-6-0 that was one of a couple hundred the I.C. had built to this rough design between 1892 and 1901.  #504 would last until being sold for scrap in July, 1928.

All three photos were scanned from second-generation negatives in my collection.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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Good stuff Mary! Thanks for posting.
The 2036 is a spiffy little thing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/25 14:50 by Frisco1522.

"Rough design" on the 2-6-0? Mary, were they poor performers or did they have trouble staying on the track at high speed like Wabash moguls? (The Wabash eventually slapped a speed limit on these engines.) 

Victor Baird



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/25 16:51 by wabash2800.

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> "Rough design" on the 2-6-0? Mary, eere they poor
> performers or did they have trouble staying on the
> track at hight speed like Wabash moguls? (The
> Wabash eventually slapped a speed limit on these
> engines.) 
>
> Victor Baird

When I say "rough design," I mean that there were a couple-hundred of them built by several builders: Rogers, Brooks, Pittsburgh and Baldwin.  There were some variations, but the overall dimensions were about the same... i.e. roughly the same design.

They were the standard heavy freight power through the 1890's, and the I.C. returned for more of them when the 600 series Consolidations (think Casey Jones' #638 that was the last of the class) proved to be underpowered.  The last of the 2-6-0's were built in 1901, and the I.C. turned to a 2-8-0 design that they found much more satisfactory in 1902.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions