Bessemer and Lake Erie 643, The only B&LE 2-10-4 in existence., Brewster, OH, USA

This page tell the story of Bessemer and Lake Erie 643, which is a 2-10-4 Texas type steam locomotive. That was fully restored in the 1980's, but with out a place to operate.

Historical Information;
The Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad ran 153 miles from Lake Erie to North Bessemer, PA near Pittsburgh, PA. From early spring until the first freeze the B&LE hauled iron ore from the lake boats to the steel mills and carried Pennsylvania coal back to the Lakefront.
The 1940s saw seventeen more "Texas" types added to the B&LE roster. They were acquired in three orders. Five, designated as Class H-1e with road numbers 631 through 635, arrived in 1941, two, designated as Class H1-f with road numbers 636 & 637, in 1942 and ten, designated as Class H-1g with road numbers 638 through 647, came in 1943 and 1944. The H-1e locomotives weighed 519,740 pounds, the H-1fs weighed 524,382 pounds and the Class H-1gs weighed 523,600 pounds.

Class Qty. Road Number Year Built Builder Notes
H-1a 1 601 1929 Baldwin 1
H-1b 9 602-610 1930 Baldwin 2
H-1c 10 611-620 1936 Baldwin 3
H-1d 10 621-630 1937 ALCO 4
H-1e 5 631-635 1941 Baldwin 5
H-1f 2 636-637 1942 Baldwin 6
H-1g 5 638-642 1943 Baldwin 7
H-1g 5 643-647 1944 Baldwin 8

Notes:
Number 601 scrapped in 1953.
Numbers 602-610 scrapped as follows: 604, 605 & 608 in 1952, 602, 606, 607 & 609 in 1953 and 603 & 610 in 1954.
Numbers 611-620 scrapped as follows: 614, 617, 618 & 619 in 1952, 612, 613, 615, 616, & 620 in 1953 and 611 in 1954.
Numbers 621-630 sold to the DM&IR in 1951.
Numbers 631 and 635 sold to the DM&IR in 1951. All the others scrapped as follows: 634 in 1952 and 632 & 633 in 1954.
Number 637 sold to the DM&IR in 1951. Number 636 scrapped in 1954.
Numbers 638 and 641 sold to the DM&IR in 1951. Numbers 639 & 640 scrapped in 1953 and 642 scrapped in 1954.
Numbers 645, 646 & 647 sold to the DM&IR in 1951. Number 644 scrapped in 1952. Number 643 is preserved in Mc Kees Rocks, PA.

Stats;
Specifications by Steve Llanso
Class H1A to H1G
Locobase ID 93
Railroad Bessemer & Lake Erie
Whyte 2-10-4
Road Numbers 601-647
Gauge Std
Builder Several
Year 1929
Valve Gear Walschaert
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase 22.30'
Engine Wheelbase 45.50'
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.49
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) 95.22'
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) 75984 lbs
Weight on Drivers 372277 lbs
Engine Weight 524440 lbs
Tender Light Weight 382550 lbs
Total Engine and Tender Weight 906990 lbs
Tender Water Capacity 23000 gals
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) 26 tons
Minimum weight per yard of rail on which locomotive could run 124 lb rail
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter 64"
Boiler Pressure 250 psi
Cylinders (dia x stroke) 31" x 32"
Tractive Effort 102106 lbs
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 3.65
Heating Ability
Firebox Area 576 sq. ft
Grate Area 106.50 sq. ft
Evaporative Heating Surface 5912 sq. ft
Superheating Surface 2487 sq. ft
Combined Heating Surface 8399 sq. ft
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume 211.49
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation 26625
Same as above plus superheater percentage 34613
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area 187200
Power L1 29739
Power MT 880.57

Preserved 2-10-4 Locomotives (In North America)
Railroad Road number Location
AT&SF 5000 Amarillo, TX
5011 Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, MO
5017 National Railroad Museum, Green Bay, WI
5021 California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento, CA
5030 Salvador Perez Park, Santa Fe, NM
B&LE 643 McKees Rocks, PA
CP 5931 Heritage Park Historical Village, Calgary, AB
5935 Canadian Railway Museum, Delson, QC
T&P 610 Texas State Railroad, Palestine, TX

The Bessemer 643 is a Texas type built by Baldwin locomotive works in 1943. This page is meant to get the facts straight on her because lots have been spread like she's being scraped or she was sold to some other group the 643 is owned by a Glenn Campbell who bought her off the B&LE Railroad in the early 80's in the late 80's a plan came along to restore here and the work was done from volunteers my father being one of them also Dave Ross and Jack Kuiphoff after the work was done 3 steam pressure tests were done the first one the injector didn't want to feed and was fixed and the test went on with no farther problems the 2 second test the injector acted up again at about 100 psi and the fire was dropped and the injector was redone and then the third and last test was done and she passed with flying colors. Now the 643 waits silently for her time to come for her to role the high iron again.