Canadian Pacific Railway Employee
Communications
Room 500 401-9th Ave S.W. Calgary AB T2P 4Z4
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VOLUME THIRTY-ONE
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NUMBER THREE 2001
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CPR's Last Steam Locomotive: No.
5935
Henry Blaine Bowen was the last
CPR mechanical chief to acquire steam locomotives; and he gave us the largest and
heaviest steam locomotive class in the British Commonwealth - the Selkirk.
At the helm of CPR's motive power department for more than 20 years, Bowen
acquired 462 new steam locomotives, right up until two months before his
retirement, 31 May 1949.
The last one added to CPR's roster was No. 5935. A veritable behemoth, 5935, a
Selkirk type, was part of a distinctive class.
On other North American railways, locomotives with the same 2-10-4 wheel
arrangement were called "Texas" types. But CPR had held a contest among
its employees to come up with a distinctly Canadian name, when the
semi-steamlined 2-10-4 T1b class locomotives were
introduced in 1938. The reward - $20.
No less than 15 contestants came up with the name Selkirk - a British Columbia
mountain range through which the CPR main line tunnels. Selkirk won the day and
the prize was awarded to one of the employees in a random draw. The name Selkirk
was also applied retroactively to the non-streamlined
2-10-4 T1a cousins built in 1929.
The semi-streamlined T1b and T1c class Selkirk locomotives were
painted in CPR's passenger colors and used primarily for passenger service in the
mountains. The 10 T1b locomotives were delivered in November and December 1938.
Selkirk locomotives were equipped with boosters - a geared steam engine attached
to the locomotive's trailing truck that increased tractive effort and helped
locomotives move heavier trains from a standing start. All were built to burn oil
instead of coal.
Bowen took delivery of the last six T1c class Selkirk locomotives in the early
part of 1949, when dieselization at CPR was already in full swing. They were
placed in service between Calgary and Revelstoke, traversing the mountain range
for which they were named. By the mid-1950's, however, as diesel
power was introduced one territory at a time across the system, these majestic
engines were running on the Prairies, east out of Calgary. Still new, by steam
locomotive standards, all six were pulled from service within 10 years. Two have
been preserved.
Locomotive No. 5931 was first displayed in Calgary's Mewata Park, until being
moved to its current resting spot as a welcoming sentinel at that city's Heritage
Park. It caused quite a stir in 1981 when it was transported by rail on temporary
tracks, along the length of Heritage Drive, a busy Calgary thoroughfare.
The very last CPR steam locomotive - No. 5935 - was outshopped from the Montreal
Locomotive Works in March 1949.
It was refurbished and donated to the Canadian Railroad Historical Association in
March 1963, and is now displayed proudly at the Canadian Railway Museum in St.
Constant, Quebec.
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Vital
Statistics
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Numbers
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5930-5935
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Class
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T1c
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Builder
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Montreal Locomotive Works
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Built
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Feb/Mar 1949
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Type
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Selkirk
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Wheel arrangement
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2-10-4
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Tractive effort
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89,400 lbs (40,552 kg) with booster
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Cylinder size
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25 x 32 in. (63.5 x 81 cm)
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Drivers diameter
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63 in. (160 cm)
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Boiler pressure
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285 psi (1,965 kPa)
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Operating Weight
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731,000 lbs. (331,582 kg)
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Extreme length
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97 ft. 10 5/8 in. (29.8 m)
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Extreme height
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15 ft. 6 in. (4.7 m)
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Original cost
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$259,668.
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This CP Rail News article is
copyright 2001 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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