National Museum of Transportation near Kirkwood in St. Louis County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
"Charles H." - Lake Street Elevated #9
1893
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 22, 2019
1. "Charles H." - Lake Street Elevated #9 Marker
Inscription.
"Charles H." - Lake Street Elevated #9. . The Rhode Island Locomotive Works built this 0-4-4T Forney-type locomotive (named for its designer, Matthias N. Forney) for use on a Chicago elevated line. The "T" indicates it is a tank locomotive, without a separate tender. Hundreds of Forney locomotives powered elevated trains in New York, Brooklyn, and Chicago from 1878-1903. It could run equally well forward or backward, which was important as there was no way to turn it around, hauling trains up to four cars long. It is 24' long, has 44" driving wheels, 180 pounds boiler pressure, and weighed 60,000 pounds in working order. Its tank held 700 gallons of water and it carried one ton of hard (anthracite) coal, which was used because it made less smoke. It is named for Charles H. Deere, son of John Deere, second president of Deere and Company, and a director of the lake street line. Replaced by electric power in 1896, it went to upper Michigan lumber and chemical companies. On the Sucker River Ry, a lumber line near Newberry, Mi, it was named "Big Alice." in 1944, it went to a Texas iron and chemical firm, and in 1955 to Mexico. Donated in 1957 by the Mexican firm La Condolidada, S.A., it was cosmetically restored as close to possible to its original appearance in 1995-1996.
The Rhode Island Locomotive Works built this 0-4-4T Forney-type locomotive (named for its designer, Matthias N. Forney) for use on a Chicago elevated line. The "T" indicates it is a tank locomotive, without a separate tender. Hundreds of Forney locomotives powered elevated trains in New York, Brooklyn, and Chicago from 1878-1903. It could run equally well forward or backward, which was important as there was no way to turn it around, hauling trains up to four cars long. It is 24' long, has 44" driving wheels, 180 pounds boiler pressure, and weighed 60,000 pounds in working order. Its tank held 700 gallons of water and it carried one ton of hard (anthracite) coal, which was used because it made less smoke. It is named for Charles H. Deere, son of John Deere, second president of Deere and Company, and a director of the lake street line. Replaced by electric power in 1896, it went to upper Michigan lumber and chemical companies. On the Sucker River Ry, a lumber line near Newberry, Mi, it was named "Big Alice." in 1944, it went to a Texas iron and chemical firm, and in 1955 to Mexico. Donated in 1957 by the Mexican firm La Condolidada, S.A., it was cosmetically restored as close to possible to its original appearance in 1995-1996.
Location. 38° 34.332′ N, 90° 27.627′ W. Marker is near Kirkwood, Missouri, in St. Louis County. It is in National Museum of Transportation. It can be reached from Barrett Station Road east of Old Dougherty Ferry Road, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3015 Barrett Station Road, Saint Louis MO 63122, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater St. Louis. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 22, 2019
2. Lake Street Elevated #9 and Marker
Photographed by Garrett Koch, May 30, 2026
3. Lake Street Elevated #9
Note lack of "cow-catcher" - no need for that on "The El"!
Credits. This page was last revised on June 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 28, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 247 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on April 28, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on May 31, 2026, by Garrett Koch of Saint Louis, Missouri.
