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 Canadian Pacific T1b class No. 5927 takes on oil at the South Edmonton shops in the summer of 1957 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Selkirk locomotives were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works, Montreal in Quebec, Canada.
The first of these large engines, which had a 2-10-4 wheel arrangement, was built in July 1929. Altogether, twenty were constructed before the end of this year bearing numbers 5900 to 5919. The Canadian Pacific Railway's classification was T1a. These locomotives weighed 375 short tons (340 t ) fully loaded. They were the largest and most powerful locomotives in the British Empire. While most other 2-10-4s were named after the state of Texas, these locomotives were named after the Selkirk range of mountains that they crossed, the (railway) summit of which was located just inside the western portal of the Connaught Tunnel beneath Rogers Pass.
Montreal Locomotive Works built another ten of these successful Selkirk locomotives during November and December 1938. The Canadian Pacific Railway assigned them T1b class. They were numbered from 5920 to 5929. Modifications led the T1b to be ten tons or tonnes lighter while increasing steam pressure from 275 to 285 pounds per square inch (1.90 to 1.97 MPa ). A further six Selkirks, classed T1c, were built by the Montreal Locomotive Works shop in 1949. They were the last standard gauge steam locomotives built in Canada for a Canadian railway. They were much the same as the T1b except for a few refinements, including two cross-compound air compressors to speed recharging of the air brake system. Some small streamlining touches were not retained. The streamlined casing around the smokebox stack was now absent as was the teardrop shape of the classification lights. Also, the inside of the cabs were no longer lined/insulated in the same manner as the previous classes. (Previous classes had provided better cold-weather cab insulation and were better-liked by engine crews.) They were all equipped with boosters (some shortly after being built) and all Selkirks (5900 through 5935) were built as oil burners. The tenders held 12,000 imperial gallons (55,000 L; 14,000 US gal) of water and 4,100 imperial gallons (19,000 L; 4,900 US gal) of fuel oil. They had to be equipped with two pairs of six-wheel trucks because the total tender weight was 148 short tons (132 long tons; 134 t).
The first Selkirks, which come from the T1a class, had a heavier-looking, non-streamlined appearance which were better examples of the heavy steam-power look. Their original, as-delivered rear sand-domes were removed early in their service-life. All of the later T1b and T1c-class locomotives were semi-streamlined and were painted with CPR Tuscan red panels along the sides of their running boards, beneath the cab windows and on the sides of the tenders with gold leaf (originally) border trim (which was later changed to a type of yellow similar to "duluxe gold"). Some of the original T1a-class Selkirks also received this paint scheme (but with narrower panels along the sides of the running boards that widened in the middle to carry the locomotive's road number).
All 36 Selkirk locomotives (5900 through 5935) were initially assigned to handle both freight as well as passenger trains between the major division points of Calgary and Revelstoke, a distance of 262 miles (422 km). They were also used for 23 miles (37 km) in pusher service from Revelstoke west (uphill) to the wye at Taft, assisting the road engines of both freight as well as passenger trains up the steep grade to this location. The Laggan Subdivision covered the eastern portion of their assigned territory 137 miles (220 km) and included the Field Hill and the Spiral Tunnels while the western portion of their primary, assigned territory consisted of the Mountain Subdivision which covered the remaining 126 miles (203 km) and included Rogers Pass, the Connaught Tunnel and Stoney Creek Bridge. The grades encountered had a maximum of 2.2% (1 in 45), with curves of 12° or 480 feet (150 m) radius. Rated at 78,000 pounds-force (350 kN) tractive effort, on the lesser grades they could haul 1,050 short tons (940 long tons; 950 t) unassisted and without the booster cut-in. The booster engine added an additional 12,000 lbf (53 kN) of tractive effort up to a maximum speed of 20 mph (32 km/h). Due to their extreme weight, they could not proceed west of Taft to Vancouver.
When diesels began operation between Calgary and Revelstoke in the early 1950s, the Selkirks were reassigned to work the Brooks and Maple Creek subdivisions between Calgary and Swift Current, Saskatchewan. They were also used to haul freight trains north of their new Alyth terminal (in Calgary) as far as Edmonton. At least some of the reassigned Selkirks received an "all black" (non-passenger) paint scheme without CPR Tuscan red panels and without grey or "blued" metal boiler-jackets; however, they still retained the yellow panel trim around the previous CPR Tuscan red (now black) panels (on those locomotives formerly painted with "outlined" panels). The last Selkirks (5930 through 5935) were taken out of service in 1959.
All but two Selkirk locomotives class were scrapped, and both surviving classes are from the T1c class. None of the earlier T1a class or T1b class locomotives was preserved. The 5935 is preserved in the Canadian Railway Museum, in Saint-Constant, Quebec. The 5931 (which was repainted and intentionally renumbered incorrectly as 5934 upon initial public display near downtown Calgary) was eventually repainted and renumbered again, this time with its correct/original number, 5931. This coincided with its move and relocation to the main entrance to Heritage Park in Calgary, Alberta.
The Canadian Pacific Railway, also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), was a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway was owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels. The most common are diesel-electric locomotives and diesel-hydraulic.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 2-10-4 locomotive has two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a Bissel truck, ten coupled driving wheels on five axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles, usually in a bogie. These were referred to as the Texas type in most of the United States, the Colorado type on the Burlington Route, and the Selkirk type in Canada.
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The Royal Hudsons are a series of semi-streamlined 4-6-4 "Hudson" type steam locomotives formerly owned and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and built by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). The engines were built in 1937. In 1939, King George VI allowed the CPR to use the term after Royal Hudson number 2850 transported the royal train across Canada with no need of replacement. These locomotives were in service between 1937 and 1960. Four of them have been preserved. No. 2839 was used to power excursions for the Southern Railway Steam Program between 1979 and 1980. No. 2860 was used for excursion service in British Columbia between 1974 and 1999, then again between 2006 and 2010.
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The ALCO FA was a family of B-B diesel locomotives designed to haul freight trains. The locomotives were built by a partnership of ALCO and General Electric in Schenectady, New York, between January 1946 and May 1959. Designed by General Electric's Ray Patten, they were of a cab unit design; both cab-equipped lead FA and cabless booster FB models were built. A dual passenger-freight version, the FPA/FPB, was also offered. It was equipped with a steam generator for heating passenger cars.
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Steamtown, U.S.A., was a steam locomotive museum that ran steam excursions out of North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, from the 1960s to 1983. The museum was founded by millionaire seafood industrialist F. Nelson Blount. The non-profit Steamtown Foundation took over operations following his death in 1967. Because of Vermont's air quality regulations restricting steam excursions, declining visitor attendance, and disputes over the use of track, some pieces of the collection were relocated to Scranton, Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s and the rest were auctioned off. After the move, Steamtown continued to operate in Scranton but failed to attract the expected 200,000–400,000 visitors. Within two years the tourist attraction was facing bankruptcy, and more pieces of the collection were sold to pay off debt.
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Canadian Pacific 1293 is a class "G5d" 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in June 1948 by the Canadian Locomotive Company for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Built for passenger service, 1293 served an eight-year career until being replaced by diesel locomotives where it was then retired in 1959. Purchased in 1964 by F. Nelson Blount for use at his Steamtown site in Bellows Falls, Vermont, 1293 was easily restored to operation for hauling fan trips for the general public. 1293 was later sold to the Ohio Central Railroad in 1996 for tourist train service. Today, the locomotive is out on display at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio.
Canadian Pacific 1246 is a preserved G5c class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1946. In 1965, it became one of three G5 locomotives to be purchased by Steamtown, U.S.A. for excursion service. After operating in Scranton for a few years in the 1980s, No. 1246 was sold at an October 1988 auction to the Railroad Museum of New England with plans to restore and operate it, and it was initially put on static display. As of 2023, No. 1246 is stored at the Railroad Museum of New England.
Canadian Pacific Railway No. 29 is a preserved Canadian A-1e class 4-4-0 steam locomotive. It was built by the Canadian Pacific's DeLorimier Shops in 1887 as locomotive No. 390, before being renumbered 277 in 1905. It was renumbered again to 29 after being rebuilt in 1912. By the 1950s, No. 29 was the youngest of three CPR 4-4-0s that were regularly used on the Norton-Chipman mixed train. After being retired from the Canadian Pacific in 1960, the locomotive was donated to the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec for static display. In 1983, No. 29 was acquired by the Salem and Hillsborough Railway, and it was then moved to Hillsborough, New Brunswick, for further display. It was subsequently restored to operating condition for the locomotive's 100th birthday in 1987. In late 1994, No. 29 fell victim to a shed fire that would put an end to the locomotive's S&H career. Two years later, the locomotive was reacquired by the Canadian Pacific, who moved and cosmetically restored it for static display in front of their headquarters in Calgary, Alberta. In 2017, the locomotive was moved again to the CPR's new headquarters in Ogden yard. Although the locomotive is in good condition, an operational restoration on No. 29 would be expensive.
Canadian National Railway No. 6400 is a preserved 4-8-4 “Confederation” or “Northern” type locomotive built in June 1936 for the Canadian National Railway (CNR).
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