Class M, M1, M2/S-1a, b (Locobase 4357)

Data from the 1953 Canadian National and GT 2 - 1944 locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Alco-Schenectady, Baldwin, Canadian Locomotive Works, and Montreal Locomotive Works all supplied batches. The first of the class came from Alco's Schenectady shop and had works numbers 52788-52797, 52812 in 1913; Baldwin followed with works numbers 40210-40211, 40255-40258, 40269-40274 in July 1913, 40339-40342, 40365-40370, 40379-40381 in August; Montreal Locomotive Works' single engine for the GTW was 53920.

CLC produced 10 M1 (CNR S-1b) four years later as works numbers 1449-1472 in 1917, 1473-1508 in 1917 and nine more S-1d (1545-1553) in 1918. Schenectady delivered five M2 (CNR S-1f) works numbers 58315-58319 and 59950-59954 in 1918.

Obviously the standard freight engine of all of the CN's predecessors (the Canadian Government Railway (CGR), Grand Trunk and the CN itself), this class added members for 13 years. CNR's road numbers were 3405-3414, 3429-3455, and 3505-3524.

The weights shown in this specification represent the Baldwin locomotives.

With 67 sq (6.22 sq m) of thermic syphons fitted, firebox heating surface area rose to 295 sq ft (27.41 sq m); see Locobase 9855.

Late in their careers, at least 5 of the S-1f and S-1g class were converted to 0-8-2 switchers by removing the leading trucks. 3515-3516, 3521-3523

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Class M3/S-3-a, b, c (USRA) (Locobase 4359)

Data from the Canadian National Steam Locomotive Assorted diagram supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 59563-59577, 60300-60324 in 1918; 64510-64517 in 1923; and 65317-65326 in 1924.

Built for the Grand Trunk Pacific and the US affiliate Grand Trunk Western, these were USRA Light Mikados (Locobase 40) delivered in three batches over several years.

Locobase uses the specifications for the 1923 S-3-b, which put almost six additional tons (11,500 lb/5,216 kg) on the drivers.

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Class R-2-a/-c/-d (Locobase 960)

Data from 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia and from CN's Newfoundland Railway locomotive diagram books supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. (Thanks to Steve Low for his 30 December 2017 email noting the transfer of four of the locomotives to the US Army Transportation Corps.) There were batches from Alco's Schenectady Works, others from Montreal Locomotive Works.

Data is given for the firebox with two syphons contributing 38 sq ft (3.55 sq m) to the direct heating surface area; without the syphons, firebox heating surface was 118 sq ft.

Construction dates show that Alco supplied two in 1930 (68400-68401)and four in 1944 (71963-71966). Montreal Locomotive works supplied six in 1941 (69444, 69695-69696), four in 1947 (75635-75638), and the very last six in 1949 (76423-76428). In addition, Steve Low reports (citing Tourette's United States Army Transportation Corps Locomotives), that five 1941 Alcos originally destined for the Newfoundland as 1009-1013 were acquired by the US Army Transportation Corps as their 500-504; see Locobase 16330.

The Newfie at War on [], aka Yaffles and Yaffles [since gone missing from the Web]. The site gives a Canadian perspetive on the railway's accomplishments during World War II: "From 1939 to 1940, the railway carried approximately 162,000 passengers and the steamers carried 43,500. From 1944-1945, the railway carried approximately 355,500 and the steamers carried 56,800. The total number of passengers carried by rail during the war years, was approximately 1,884,000 and the steamers carried 345,300. Total freight tons moved during the war years, 1939-1945, was 4,573,500 tons by rail, and 647,000 tons by steamers."

"Car loadings in St. John's rose from 170 to approximately 450 per week and the volume of freight moved over the entire system, rose from approximately 650,000 tons in 1939 to well over 1,000,000 tons in 1944. In the movement of the heavy volume of passengers and freight by land and sea operations, very few accidents of a serious nature occurred."

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Class R-2-b (Locobase 8107)

Data from "Locomotives for Newfoundland", Engineer, Volume 161 (27 March 1936), p. 338. See also CN to 1953 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Locobase 960 gives many of the main details about the 1000-series Mikados. Most were produced by North American builders, but a few batches came from North British of Glasgow in 1935 (works # 24297-24298), 1938 (24520-24522), and 1941 . They had less firebox heating surface because their thermic syphons were smaller than those of the North American-built Mikes. Piston valves measured 8" (203 mm) in diameter. The original tenders carried 8 tons of coal.

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Class S-1-f with syphons (Locobase 9855)

Data from the GT 2 - 1944 locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Locobase 4357 describes the S-1 class as a whole and shows weights associated with the Schenectady and Montreal locomotives as well as the basic firebox. A later upgrade replaced the firebox's arch tubes with 67 sq (6.2 sq m) of thermic syphons. The revamped firebox formed part of a new boiler layout that saw a 12% reduction in small tubes from 240 to 213.

By the end of 1942, the entire class had been transferred to the Grand Trunk Lines East and to the CNR itself.

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Class S-1c, -1e (Locobase 16313)

Data from the 1953 Canadian National and GT 2 - 1944 locomotive diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Unlike those supplied to the Grand Trunk Western, the CGR bought only Canadian-made locomotives from the Canadian Locomotive Works, and Alco's Montreal Locomotive Works CLC works numbers were 1353-1402 in 1916, 1459-1508 in 1917, and 1535-1594 in 1918. MLW's works numbers (part of the overall Alco series) were 58347-58376 in 1917. In 1920, the CLC added fifteen as works numbers 1673-1687. These went directly to the CNR.

Essentially identical to the contemporaneous S-1f engines sold to the CNR, this large set of locomotives had boilers fitted with 27 fewer small tubes than the earlier S-1a and b. (The S-1es had 211 tubes.)

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Class S-2 (Locobase 4358)

Data from the 1953 Canadian National locomotive diagram supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also George H Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Revised Edition (Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Books, 2015), p. 89. Montreal Locomotive Works numbers for 3525-3559 were 64475-64477 in July 1923, 64478-64497 in August, and 64498-64509 in September.

Using the same basic running gear as the S-1s (Locobase 4357), the CN put a larger boiler and firebox over it and came up with the S-2. Drury included a photograph showing the Belpaire boiler, which was unusual for a Canadian locomotive, and Drury explains that the Worthington feedwater heaters with which they were originally equipped were later removed.

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Class S-4-a (Locobase 4)

Data from the 1953 Canadian National locomotive diagram supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also table in 1930 Locomotive Cyclopedia. (Many thanks to Chris Hohl for his 22 September 2017 email reporting unlikely boiler pressure values for 177 entries. A Locobase macro caused the error. Thanks also to Larry Walton for his 6 November 2020 email noting the proper renumbering for this prototype.) Works number was 1623 in 1931.

Relatively short boiler for a Mike (most were at least 18 ft/5.48 m over tube sheets). Note the high degree of superheat and high boiler pressure. This was the prototype for a new class of high-performance freight locomotives with the driver diameter, boiler pressure, and superheater ratio of a Berkshire, but in a smaller size.

Note that the engine was fitted with a skyline casing that hid an external dry pipe. Knowing also that the 3800 had equipment to reduce boiler foaming caused by the hard water found in the Canadian West, Locobase thus suspects that the need for as much steaming room in the barrel as possible led to the unusual location of the dry pipe. He also supposes the dry pipe was heavily lagged to insulate it against the harsh winters.

Some of the other features shown on the 1953 diagram included Elesco feedwater heater, nickel-steel main frames, outside-bearing pony and trailing-truck axle boxes, floating bush main driving boxes, 65% limited cutoff, and Nathan six-feed mechanical lubricator.

See Locobase 12781 for the production version.

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Class S-4-b (Locobase 12781)

Data from the 1953 Canadian National locomotive diagram supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 1914-1915 in April 1936, 1916-1918 in May.

Depression-level traffic slumps led to a delay in producing the quintet of Mikes based on the 3800 described in Locobase 4. In the interim, the Type E superheater was modified, possibly through the use of shorter elements, which reduced superheater area. Fuel was converted to coal from oil-burning. Many of the same components found in the 3800 were carried forward. Differences included floating-bush axle boxes for the pony and trailing trucks, Wakefield 7A mechanical lubricator, and the fitting of box-type smoke deflectors flanking the smokebox.

According to Richard Leonard ([], last accessed 27 June 2011): "The S-4 Mikados featured special appliances designed to reduce boiler foaming caused by hard water in the western Canadian prairies; the unusual skyline casing visible on No. 3801 hides that equipment." Old Time Trains ([], last accessed 27 June 2011) adds that frequent boiler blowdowns led to the spraying of light-colored mud on the rear drivers, trailing truck, and firebox. The 1953 diagram confirms that the casing hid an external dry pipe.

Like most CNR steam engines, this class remained in service into the late 1950s and beyond. 4095 was the first to be scrapped in May 1959, followed by 4094 in February 1960, 4097 in March, 4096 in May 1961, and finally the class leader 4093 in December.

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Class U-1-a/R-1-a (Locobase 8106)

Data from the 1953 Canadian National locomotive diagram supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also "Transportation Exhibits at the Panama Exposition," Railway Age Gazette, Volume 58, No 9 (26 February 1915, pp. 374-375. Works number was 5425 in September 1914.

DW&P took delivery of an oddball Mikado in 1914. It was small, had very small drivers, and no superheater. Locobase wasn't sure that it wasn't a narrow-gauger, but there was no indication on the diagram to that effect. And in fact the DW&P was a standard-gauge railway.

The Canadian Northern bought the U-1-a from the DW&P in September 1916, renumbered the 3000 as 2399, and placed it in its unique class R-1.Serving the CNor and its successor, the Canadian National, the R-1-a remained decidedly unusual - a saturated-steam 2-8-2 - until its retirement in 1939.