Canadian National 6060

Last updated
Canadian National 6060
Last steam train to leave Union Station Toronto 1980.jpg
Canadian National No. 6060 preparing to depart the Toronto Union Station with an excursion train in 1980
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder Montreal Locomotive Works
Order numberQ-401
Serial number72757
Build dateOctober 1944
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 4-8-2
 •  UIC 2′D1′ h2
Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Leading dia. 34 in (0.864 m)
Driver dia.73 in (1.854 m)
Trailing dia. 43 in (1.092 m)
Wheelbase
  • Coupled: 19 ft 0 in (5.79 m)
  • Loco: 42 ft 2 in (12.85 m)
  • Loco & tender: 80 ft 10+3⁄4 in (24.66 m)
Length90 ft 0+1⁄8 in (27.44 m)
Width10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Height15 ft 4+1⁄2 in (4.69 m)
Adhesive weight 236,950 pounds (107.48 tonnes; 105.78 long tons)
Loco weight355,700 pounds (161.3 tonnes; 158.8 long tons)
Tender weight281,840 pounds (127.84 tonnes; 125.82 long tons)
Fuel type
Tender cap.
  • Coal: 18 tons coal, 11,700 gal water
  • Oil: 5,000 gal oil, 11,000 gal water
Firebox:​
 • Grate area70.2 sq ft (6.52 m2)
Boiler
  • 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter
  • 42 ft 4 in (12.90 m) length
Boiler pressure260 psi (1.79 MPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox386 square feet (35.9 m2)
 • Tubes and flues3,198 sq ft (297.1 m2)
 • Total surface3,584 sq ft (333.0 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • TypeSchmidt type E
 • Heating area1,570 sq ft (146 m2)
Cylinders Two, outside
Cylinder size 24 in × 30 in (610 mm × 762 mm)
Valve gear Walschaerts
Train heatingSteam heat
Performance figures
Tractive effort 52% (52,315 lbf or 232.7 kN)
Factor of adh. 4.5
Career
Operators
Class U-1-f
Number in class1 of 20
NumbersCN 6060
Nicknames
  • Bullet-Nosed Betty
  • The Spirit of Alberta
Retired
  • 1959 (revenue service)
  • 1980 (1st excursion service)
  • November 1991 (2nd excursion service)
  • 2011 (3rd excursion service)
PreservedMay 23, 1962
Restored
  • October 1973 (1st excursion service)
  • May 1986 (2nd excursion service)
  • 1998 (3rd excursion service)
Current ownerRocky Mountain Rail Society
DispositionUndergoing restoration to operating condition
References: [1]

Canadian National 6060 is a 4-8-2 "Mountain" type steam locomotive built in October 1944 by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) as the first of the U-1-f class for the Canadian National Railway (CN) in Canada. It was first assigned to haul premier passenger trains and eventually fast freight trains on the CN until its retirement in 1959. Three years later, CN engineer Harry R.J. Home purchased the locomotive for $1 and brought it to Jasper, Alberta, where No. 6060 was put on display near the Jasper station.

Contents

In 1973, CN reacquired the No. 6060 locomotive and restored it to operating condition for use in excursion service until it retired again in 1980. Six years later, No. 6060 was restored again by Home and the Rocky Mountain Rail Society in time for the Expo 86 event in Vancouver, British Columbia. After the event, it stayed in Vancouver, double heading with Canadian Pacific 2860 and 3716.

In 1988, No. 6060 was stored at the Alberta Railway Museum in Edmonton, Alberta, until a decade later, it was moved to the Alberta Prairie Railway, pulling excursions in Stettler, Alberta. In 2011, it was taken out of service for a thorough overhaul.

History

Design and revenue service

No. 6060 was constructed in October 1944 by the Montreal Locomotive Works in Montreal, Quebec, as the first of the Canadian National Railway's (CN) 20 class U-1-f 4-8-2 "Mountain" types. [1] The U-1-f design was very different compared to the U-1-a design in mechanical and cosmetic details. [2] Their 73 in (1,854 mm) driving wheels gave the U-1-fs balancing high-speed with no flaws. [3] They were painted in CN's olive green livery around its running board skirt panels, cab, and tender. [4] The U-1-fs' front smokebox had a bullet nose cone design mounted, which earned them the nickname Bullet-Nosed Bettys. [4] [5] The U-1-fs were the last new design of steam locomotives built for the CN. [6]

No. 6060 was first assigned to pull short freight trains between Montreal, Quebec, and Brockville, Ontario for three round-trips before entering main line passenger service, pulling the Continental Limited and International Limited trains. [7] In 1959, it was retired and sat in storage on a siding outside in Winnipeg, Manitoba, awaiting to be sent to the scrap yard. On May 23, 1962, No. 6060 was rescued for preservation by CN engineer Harry R.J. Home who purchased the locomotive for $1 and put it on static display at the Jasper station in his hometown of Jasper, Alberta. [1] [8]

Excursion service

6060 operating on the Alberta Prairie Railway, on August 7, 2004 Canadian National 4-8-2 6060.jpg
6060 operating on the Alberta Prairie Railway, on August 7, 2004

CN reacquired No. 6060 in 1971, and they began restoring it to operating condition for excursion service, as a replacement for U-2-g Confederation No. 6218, and after being restored by CN in October 1973, hauled excursions for their steam excursion program. [9] On April 29, 1978, No. 6060 hauled a special passenger train on GO Transit’s new commuter route between Toronto and Richmond Hill, as part of that route’s opening ceremony. [10] In 1980, CN decided to end their excursion program and No. 6060 was retired for a second time and put into storage. [9]

That same year, to commemorate the Province of Alberta's 75th anniversary, No. 6060 was presented to the people of Alberta as a gift. After more than five years of retirement, it was restored a second time with the help of Harry Home, the Province of Alberta and volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Rail Society (RMRS). [9] No. 6060 travelled under her own power to Vancouver, British Columbia, in May 1986 to participate in the Steam Expo, part of the Expo 86 world's fair, alongside several other steam locomotives. [9] After Expo 86 ended, No. 6060 and Canadian Pacific 2860 doubleheaded back to Alberta, though when they got there, No. 6060 developed a mechanical failure, forcing it to be taken off the excursion, while No. 2860 returned to Vancouver. [11]

In November 1991, the government of Alberta announced that it could no longer afford to maintain and operate No. 6060, due to the state of the economy of that time, and the government considered relocating the locomotive to a park for permanent display. [12] [13] The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) of New York State caught wind of this announcement, and they quickly made an offer to the province to purchase No. 6060 for use in their steam excursion program, but negotiations were subsequently dropped. [12] [13] The RMRS was adamant for No. 6060 to continue operating while staying in Canada, and they quickly launched a campaign for the provincial government to reconsider the locomotive's future. [12] [13]

Ownership by the Rocky Mountain Rail Society

By February 1992, the Province of Alberta relinquished ownership of No. 6060 to the RMRS. [13] No. 6060 was subsequently moved from a private siding in Calgary to the Alberta Railway Museum near Edmonton for storage and maintenance.

In 1998, the locomotive was moved to Stettler to operate regularly for Alberta Prairie Steam Tours (APST). [9] [14] More than a decade later, it continued to carry thousands of excursion passengers every summer, until it was taken out of service in early 2011 dude to boiler issues. [15] [14] In 2020, restoration work began by the Rocky Mountain Rail Society to return the locomotive to operating condition, and as of 2025, restoration work is still under way. [15] [16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Comish, Lloyd; Comish, Elaine (Winter 2002). "Steam Locomotive 6060" (PDF). On Track. Railway and Forestry Museum. pp. 4–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 7, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  2. ↑ Lorne (1973) , p. 9.
  3. ↑ Lorne (1973) , p. 12.
  4. 1 2 Lorne (1973) , p. 15.
  5. ↑ McQueen (2013) , p. 36.
  6. ↑ McQueen (2013) , pp. 34–35.
  7. ↑ Lorne (1973) , p. 21.
  8. ↑ McQueen (2013) , p. 160.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Vondrak, Otto M. (September 17, 2020). "Canadian National 6060". Railfan & Railroad . White River Productions. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Railnews - Steam on the GO". Railfan. Vol. 2, no. 6. Carstens Publications. September 1978. p. 14.
  11. ↑ "May 2021 Marks the 35th Anniversary of 'Steam Expo' Held during Expo '86" (PDF). WCRA News. Vol. 61, no. 2. West Coast Railway Association. May 2021. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 "Chinese 2-8-2 1647". Railfan & Railroad. Carstens Publications. March 1992. pp. 43–44.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "CN 4-8-2 6060". Railfan & Railroad. Carstens Publications. June 1992. p. 47.
  14. 1 2 Berger, Eric (June 25, 2020). "Canadian National 4-8-2 Being Restored in Alberta". Railfan & Railroad Magazine. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  15. 1 2 "Restoration work begins on CN 6060". Trains . Kalmbach Media. June 30, 2020. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  16. ↑ Franz, Justin (December 9, 2022). "Restoration Work Continues on Canadian National's 'Bullet-Nosed Betty'". Railfan & Railroad Magazine. Retrieved August 24, 2025.

Bibliography

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