#30

Built by the Illinois Central Railroad at its Burnside shops in Chicago with instruments provided by the University of Illinois, and jointly owned by both, Number 30 was a rolling laboratory used to test the pulling power of locomotives. Its front coupler was attached to the frame by a hydraulic cylinder, and the pull of a locomotive moved a piston in the cylinder while measuring instruments in the car recorded data. The system was sensitive enough to detect the force of a person pulling on the coupler and strong enough to test an engine pulling a 213-car coal train. Number 30 was 60 feet long, weighed 125,000 pounds, and contained an operating compartment with a recording table, instruments, and tool bench, two staterooms that accommodated four people each, a toilet, shower, and kitchen. It was last used behind a steam locomotive in 1952 and was used only once behind a diesel-electric in 1955 before being donated in 1969 by the Illinois Central Railroad and University of Illinois.

Valley Park, Missouri · United States