One of the truly high steppers used on the Burlington was the class N-1 2-4-2 Columbia type built by Baldwin in 1895 and assigned to the road as No. 590. The engine was an experimental design, and was to handle a train of six cars from Chicago to Galesburg in three hours, for an average speed of over 54 mph. It was one of the first engines designed for burning bituminous coal with a wide firebox placed to the rear of the driving wheels and over the trailing truck. The boiler was of a straight-top type with a combustion chamber extending forward from the firebox. Unfortunately this combination did not prove entirely satisfactory, and the engine was rebuilt in 1897 with a new firebox, the combustion chamber being omitted. The 2-4-2 type had 84¼ inch drivers with cast steel centers. The first pair of drivers was equalized with the leading truck, and underhung springs were used under all wheels. The cylinders were 19X26 inches and inboard piston valves of 10 inches diameter were located above the front frame extension. The valve link motion was placed entirely between the driving wheels. The tender appears to have been influenced by European design, since it was of a six-wheel type with all three axles held in place by a rigid frame. The springs on the second and third axles were connected by equalizing bars. Although the N-1 engine was never duplicated, its design features were adopted on the 4-4-2 type locomotives that were to follow. In 1905 the Columbia type was rebuilt to a 4-4-2 wheel arrangement, reclassed as P-4, re-numbered 2599 and retired in November 1929.

Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad No. 570 to 573 were ordered originally as H&StJ 681 to 684. These were changed to KCStJ&CB, same numbers but, as the engines were to be used on the H&StJ, they were lettered with the initials of that road, and H&StJ 840 and 841 were ordered as H&StJ No. 686 and 687. These were changed to CB&KC, same numbers, but also lettered for the H&StJ. These changes were made at the Baldwin Works before the engines were delivered, which explains why the Baldwin Works issued a photograph of H&StJ 687 while the records show the engine to have been delivered under another number.

An interesting note about the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works ( later, a subsidiary of Alco ); the Works did not have a direct rail connection. The nearest railroad was the Erie, about a mile from the factory. The finished locomotives were hauled through the city of Patersonn New Jersey, first on temporary tracks laid in the streets and pulled by teams of as many as 20 horses. Later, when streetcars were operating in Paterson, heavy flatcars were used, again using "horsepower".