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4. Class E (2-6-0)

Rutland's 2-6-0 "Moguls" (Class E)

Last revised: September 15, 2024

By: Adam Burns

During the 19th century, both as an independent and later under Central Vermont control, the Rutland largely used the 4-4-0 design for all of its traffic needs whether hauling freight or passenger traffic.  

However, the road received its first 2-6-0 Mogul following its lease by the CV and also acquired a batch of them from the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain, a system Rutland eventually folded into its network.  

After it regained independence in the late 19th century the railroad went on to purchase a small batch of its own 2-6-0s that were listed within Class E following the company's new classification system which went into effect prior to World War I. 

 A few of the newer Moguls spent many years in service and the last was not retired until after the end of World War II.

Throughout the Rutland's history it was seemingly always operating with underpowered or worn out locomotives. 

When the railroad first began service in 1847 it relied on the standard 4-4-0 to perform everything from passenger assignments to freight work.  

These early steamers often carried personalized names (a rather usual practice for the period but one which lost appeal over time) such as Charlotte, Nantucket, Rockingham, Ethan Allen, and Addison. 

The then Rutland & Burlington Railroad was leased to the Vermont Central (later Central Vermont) effective December 30, 1870 and after that time new power began appearing on its roster.  

Jim Shaughnessy's detailed book, "The Rutland Road: Second Edition," provides great insight into this subject as well as a fine general history of the Rutland's motive power fleet over the years.

Under CV control the property was listed as its "Rutland Division" and several locomotives were transferred to the operation.  

Most of these were 4-4-0 designs along with a few 4-6-0 Ten-wheelers and a single 0-4-0 switcher.   There was also a single 2-6-0, #38, named the America. 

This little Mogul was the first to be used on the Rutland, an 1871 product of Baldwin that was originally #81 and named the Pacific.  It was later renumbered again as #228.  

On May 7, 1896 financial troubles led to the CV permanently dropping its interest in the Rutland property, which again became an independent operation for a few years (it was later controlled for some time during the early 20th century by the mighty New York Central). 

 By 1900 the railroad was operating a small fleet of 2-6-0s, which were either purchased new or acquired from predecessors such as the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain.

The O&LC was folded into the Rutland's system formally on September 27, 1901 (the route would provide it a western extension through New York from Alburgh, Vermont to the St. Lawrence River at Ogdensburg).  

Mr. Shaughnessy's book points out that the Rutland's best motive power at this time had arrived from the O&LC acquisition while the remainder was a mixture of older 4-4-0s, Ten-wheelers, and locomotives from other subsidiaries.

These lines included the Chatham & Lebanon Valley, Bennington & Rutland, and New York Central which sent over a few smaller designs from its fleet to aid in the growing freight tonnage being sent to the Rutland (formal control came in 1904). 

Roster (After 1913 Renumbering)

A total of 29 new locomotives were ordered for the railroad's growing business in 1902, which consisted largely of Ten-wheelers. 

Its fleet of Moguls was also a mixture of hand-me-downs, derived from predecessors such as the O&LC and B&R, a few sent over from the CV and NYC, and others purchased new from Alco's Schenectady plant in 1899-1900.

The American Locomotive Company was a regular supplier of locomotives for the Rutland through the diesel era, no doubt due to its relative close proximity. 

In 1913 the railroad set upon a new numbering and classification system for its motive power fleet.  

By then its collection had grown even more diverse to include a new batch of 2-8-0 Consolidations (first acquired in 1907 and continued to arrive from Alco through 1913).  

In later years the fleet was expanded featuring USRA light Mikados, 4-6-2 Pacifics, and finally a small batch of hefty 4-8-2 Mountains in the mid-1940s.

Under this new system its remaining Moguls were numbered 144-155, 1880-1881, 1891-1892, and 1898-1899 all listed under Class E. 

The latter units had been built for the Ogdensburg road and B&R by Alco, Baldwin, and the Rhode Island Locomotive Works between 1885-1891. 

They were the first from the 1913 renumbering to be retired, the last of which left the roster during December of 1920. 

Additionally, the Class E-17s (#152-155), 1890 Baldwin products, were removed from service by 1927.  Interestingly, though, the remainder saw relatively long lives. 

These units, #144-151, had all been built by Alco between 1899-1900; except for #151 retired in 1928 the others stayed on the roster until the mid-1930s while two (#144-145) stuck around until the summer of 1946!