At a time when steam railcars were in vogue, the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad acquired such a vehicle. Their number 2 had five axles in total and its front part was theoretically a 2-4-0 locomotive with a four-cylinder Vauclain compound engine. Its exhaust was passed to the rear of the car and used to heat the passenger compartment.

Behind the boiler and the cab, there was an additional baggage compartment. The passenger compartment, carried on the rear truck, had space for 40 persons. Since the railcar had enough power, it could also haul up to two passenger or mail cars. When running solo, it was able to reach speeds of up to 60 mph or 97 km/h. Ultimately, it shared the fate of many other steam railcars and didn't become a great success when it got superseded by gas and diesel railcars.