Collectors' Item 19
by Omer Lavallee
In the evolution of the steam
locomotive the 2-6-0 type represented one of the first trends away from the
4-4-0 type locomotive, the standard engine for freight and passenger service
alike in the North America of 80 or 90 years ago. The type name evolves from the fact that
a number of units for China were among the earliest of their type built, the name honouring
the Mogul emperors.
The Mogul was, in effect, the first widely-produced freight
locomotive, using most of its available weight for adhesion, guided by a
two-wheeled leading truck. The type was introduced on Canadian Pacific lines in
1888 by Locomotive Superintendent Brown, himself a former Works Manager at Montreal for the
Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, an extensive user of 2-6-0s. Canadian Pacific,
however, did not possess the multiplicity of
lightly-constructed
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spurs and consequent large number of
short-distance mixed train and wayfreight runs as the GTR, and the application
of 2-6-0s to the Company's lines was short-lived. After ordering
less than 50, Canadian Pacific turned its attention to the 2-8-0 type, its
standard freight locomotive for nearly three decades.
Typical of the Moguls built for our lines in 1888-90 were
15 constructed by the Canadian Locomotive Works. No. 1287 illustrated above shows one of
this class as it appeared when about 20 years old, and after the engines had been refined
by the application of larger boilers and piston valves.
Most 2-6-0s were scrapped between the wars. Among the few
that lasted into the diesel era were Nos. 3011 and 3063, scrapped in 1954 and 1950
respectively, which were specially assigned to Smiths Falls, Ontario, because they were the
only steam locomotives that would fit the clearances of the 1860-vintage tunnel
on the wharf spur under the town of Brockville.
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SPECIFICATIONS
Class
Numbers
1881 series
1905 series
1908 series
1912 series
Builder
Year
Serial Nos.
Cylinders (Dia x stroke)
Drivers (Dia)
Pressure (psi)
Weight (Lbs)
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SL
later
J2 and J3
423-32, 460-64
1229-43
1279-1293
3029-30, 3081,
3032-34, 3085, 3036, 3087, 3038-43
CLC
1888-90
355-64, 370-74
18 X 24
58
180
235,000
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