Vol. 18 No. 2
February, 1988
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Make Tomorrow Happen
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Lougheed's Dream Becoming Reality By Steve Morris
Banff Alberta - Some people only dream. Others, like Bill Lougheed make
their drams a reality.
For Bill, childhood memories of trains, in particular the Selkirk-class "5907", have inspired
him to build his own operating steam engine.
Bill says he would have liked to build it actual size, but the reality of confined space forced him to limit its size
to 1/8th the original. Still, the Iron Horse replica will weigh in at a whopping one tonne when completed.
"I remember as a child, my father would drive us to Ghost River where I met a gentleman named Roland Gissing, a
well-known painter of foothills and mountain landscapes who owned a miniature railway", Bill
recalled in an interview.
"I was so taken by (the miniature railway) that, as a present, he gave me my first set of driving wheels and
said if I liked his railway so much I should build my own".
Bill took Mr. Gissing's advice and became hooked on building steam engines in the process.
His first major effort was a 4-4-2 replica another railfan had not completed and wanted to sell for $25.
"It took a lot to convince my parents because $25 was a lot of money in the early 30s", Bill said. But the
perserverance paid off and two years later he had an operating locomotive. He set up 30 metres of 12.7
centimetre-gauge track in the driveway and "was off".
As Bill grew older, his desire to be part of the steam age grew as well.
For a while Bill joined a logging railway on the British Columbia coast, working as a fireman on a Shay locomotive.
Later he returned to Banff. His vivid memories of "5907" operating on CP Rail's main line here inspired him
to build a scale version of the famous Selkirk locomotive.
"It took a lot of help and moral support to begin the project because I am not a machinist or craftsman by
trade", Bill said.
"I received a lot of material and advice and had to start at the beginning... reading books".
Two major supporters of Bill's dream were N.R. (Buck) Crump, former chairman, CP Rail, and John Corby, retired
archivist at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa.
"John gave valuable advice and more importantly copies of blueprints of the type T1a locomotive class",
Bill said. "In addition, Mr. Crump helped out and inspired me to get on with the project".
The more than 400 blueprints on the Selkirk engine included design details for every component from the boosters to
the tender.
In a basement machine shop here, Bill has been labouring on the replica two and three hours a day. He has scoured
books about the basics of a steam engine that would have qualified him for many apprenticeship programs during the
steam era.
Each component has been hand crafted to exacting standards. "This machine is going to have to pass a boiler
inspection just like the big boys did so it has to be built right", he said.
It's been a learning experience. With only the books and blueprints as his guide, Bill has crafted each part, in
some cases making the same part over and over again until it was right.
"Bringing it to scale is difficult because I'm not an engineer by profession and some parts in the boiler had to
be modified as the scale wouldn't allow them to work", he said.
The original boiler was designed to handle 8,427 grams per square centimetre of pressure. It was impossible to make
the boiler, firebox, and tubes to scale; the oil-fired boiler just wouldn't function. The measurements
had to be adjusted.
Each piece is carefully cast or machined and prepared before it becomes part of the engine. One piece, an equalizer
between the leading truck and driving wheels, took more than three months to complete.
Bill's labour of love is far from over. Even when completed, the next decision is where to operate the replica. He
hopes that when his Selkirk "5907" is completed a place can be found where it can operate and be
appreciated by rail enthusiasts like himself.
"I've loved this class of engine all my life but none are in operation in Canada", he said.
"I would like to let other people see just what they looked like under real operating conditions even if it is
only to scale. That would be a dream come true".
This CP Rail News article is copyright
1988 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with
their permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company.
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