Classic Trains – September 2019

30 CLASSIC TRAINS FALL 2019

IN THE NATIONAL MEDIA, the Mil-

waukee Road was known for its flashy

Hiawatha passenger engines, notably its

streamlined 4-4-2s and 4-6-4s. More nu-

merous if less celebrated were its 40 S2

4-8-4 freight engines, built by Baldwin

during 1937–40. The emphasis was on

horsepower to get tonnage over the road

quickly from MILW’s main Chicago yard

at Bensenville to distant terminals like

Heav y freight and Hiawathas

At Suger Loaf, N.Y., Lehigh & Hudson River 4-8-2 No. 11

is 13 miles into a run with a freight from Maybrook,

N.Y., to Allentown, Pa., in August 1945. Donald W. Furler

Council Bluffs and St. Paul. During the

war, the Milwaukee found itself in need

of a heavy passenger engine. The S2 was

too big for such duty because of some

tight station clearances, so a smaller de-

sign was needed. The road turned to Alco

in 1944 for 10 4-8-4s based on Delaware

& Hudson’s K-62. Since the WPB would

not approve new passenger-only power,

they were considered dual-service en-

gines, and they proved to be capable

freight haulers. With their all-weather

cabs, bulky pilots, and rounded tenders,

the S3 couldn’t be called elegant. But

matching ample boiler horsepower with

74-inch drivers gave the Milwaukee a

top-notch engine, something today’s 261

demonstrates every time it ventures out

in excursion service for its operators,

Friends of the 261 [see page 86].

Milwaukee Road S3 4-8-4