4-6-2 Steam Locomotives in Canada

Class 133 (Locobase 9244)

Data from Sessional Papers Volume XLIV, Part XII - First Session of the 13th Legislature of the Province of Ontario (1912), Sessional Paper 46:Tenth Annual Report of the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway Commission, Ontario Government Railway, pp. 29-30. Works numbers were 961-964

The report of Thomas Ross, Master Mechanic and HL Rodgers, Draughtsman, noted that the CLC had built this quartet of Pacifics for delivery in January (133) and February (1934-1936) 1911. The design was very similar to a CLC design that later acquired the Canadian National's K-1 class designation (see Locobase 8070). The T&NO locomotives were delivered without superheaters and it isn't clear whether they were ever retrofitted with the apparatus.

In the mid-1930s, the class was renumbered in the 600s, first ast 633-636, then as 600-603 in 1940. According to [], last accessed 24 Feb 2008, a website dedicated to the "colony" of workers who lived in Abitibi Canyon in northern Ontario beginning in 1930 and stayed well after the hydroelectric generating plant was completed in 1933:

"The Temiskaming and Northern Ontario RR - now the Ontario Northland RR - used mainly Pacific type 4-6-2 steam locomotives on the Cochrane to Moosonee run. During the time we lived in the colony, the one thing you could count on about the T&NO was it would never be on time. People called it the "Time No Object" railway." (For more on the colony, see also [])

All four locomotives were retired as Ontario Northland engines in 1954-1955.

Class 157 (Locobase 14496)

Data from "Equipment & Structures", Railway Review, Volume 68 (15 January 1921), pp. 119. See also Hugues W Bonin, "Smoke Deflectors -- Ecrans Leve-Fumee", Canadian Rail (November-December 1999), pp. 155-166 at []. (Thanks to Chris Hohl and Alexander Blessing for their comments on this class's ever-changing valve gear.) Works numbers were 1692-1695 in April-May 1921.

The Review quoted S B Clement, Chief Engineer and Superintendent of Maintenance, as being impressed with the trailing truck boosters on New York Central passenger trains. He looked at the increasing train loads on his own passenger trains and considered station stops that lay on "appreciable" grades as well as a number of short ruling grades. Simply raising the tractive effort would make it necessary "to increase axle loads above what I consider good practice for our rail, ballast, and other track conditions."

The booster added the needed effort when necessary. Clement singled out the North Bay-New Liskeard segment that ran 113 miles (182 km) and offered 1 1/2% ruling grades northbound and 1 1/4% southbound. On this run, he said, there were several short grades of between a mile and mile and a half long and so short, and so much steeper than the average gradient, that the booster was well-adapted to handle the task.

Later in their careers, the class, numbered 700-703, received a full streamlining that included a skyline casing with louvres in the face, rounded smoke box face with headlight, smoke deflecting elephant ears, and broad valences with the road numbers in polished brass. By this time, they had exchanged their Young valve gear for Baker valve gear.

All were relettered for the Ontario Northland in 1947. After its sale to the Quebec, North Shore & Labrador in 1952, the 702 had all of the cosmetic cladding removed, which left the elephant ears and valence as somewhat awkward embellishment.

(Thanks to Chris Hohl for spotting this and his later email noting that Alexander Blessing had pointed out to him that the current display of 702 shows her in Quebec, North Shore & Labrador livery with Young gear. Hohl went on to point out that 701, which is preserved in her original T&NO colors, retains the later Baker gear.)