Canadian National 6060 is a 4-8-2 “Mountain”-type steam locomotive built in 1944 by the Montreal Locomotive Works as the first of the U-1-f class for the Canadian National Railway (CN).

Canadian National 6060
Canadian National No. 6060 at the Spadina roundhouse, preparing to pull an excursion train in 1977
Type and origin References:[1] Power type Steam Builder Montreal Locomotive Works Order number Q-401 Serial number 72757 Build date October 1944
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-8-2  • UIC 2′D1′ h2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Leading dia. 34 in (0.864 m) Driver dia. 73 in (1.854 m) Trailing dia. 43 in (1.092 m) Wheelbase Coupled: 19 ft 0 in (5.79 m) Loco: 42 ft 2 in (12.85 m) Loco & tender: 80 ft 10+3⁄4 in (24.66 m) Length 90 ft 0+1⁄8 in (27.44 m) Width 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) Height 15 ft 4+1⁄2 in (4.69 m) Adhesive weight 236,950 pounds (107.48 tonnes; 105.78 long tons) Loco weight 355,700 pounds (161.3 tonnes; 158.8 long tons) Tender weight 281,840 pounds (127.84 tonnes; 125.82 long tons) Fuel type Originally coal, later oil Tender cap. Coal: 18 tons coal, 11,700 gal water Oil: 5,000 gal oil, 11,000 gal water Firebox:  • Firegrate area 70.2 sq ft (6.52 m2) Boiler 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter × 42 ft 4 in (12.90 m) length Boiler pressure 260 lbf/in2 (1.79 MPa) Heating surface 3,584 sq ft (333.0 m2)  • Tubes and flues 3,198 sq ft (297.1 m2)  • Firebox 386 square feet (35.9 m2) Superheater: ​  • Type Schmidt type E  • Heating area 1,570 sq ft (146 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 24 in × 30 in (610 mm × 762 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Train heating Steam heat
Performance figures Tractive effort 52% (52,315 lbf or 232.7 kN) Factor of adh. 4.5
Career Operators Canadian National Railway Alberta Prairie Railway Class U-1-f Number in class 1 of 20 Numbers 6060 Nicknames "Bullet Nose Betty" "The Spirit of Alberta" Retired 1959 Preserved 1962 Restored 1973 Current owner Rocky Mountain Rail Society Disposition Undergoing overhaul, based in Stettler, Alberta

History

6060 was constructed in October 1944 by the Montreal Locomotive Works in Montreal, Quebec, as the prototype locomotive of the Canadian National Railway's (CN) U-1-f class 4-8-2 "Mountain types".[1] It was initially assigned to pull main-line passenger trains until 1959, when it was retired and sat in storage on a siding outside in Winnipeg, Manitoba, awaiting to be sent to the scrap yard, but was eventually rescued for preservation by CN engineer Harry R.J. Home, and was put on static display at the Jasper station in Jasper, Alberta, during 1962.[1] Ten years later, CN reacquired 6060, and they restored it to operating condition for excursion service in 1971, as a replacement for U-2-g Confederation 6218, and after being restored by CN in 1973, hauled excursions for their steam excursion program until 1980, when CN ended the program.[2]

That same year, to commemorate the Province of Alberta's 75th anniversary, 6060 was presented to the people of Alberta as a gift. After more than five years of retirement, it was restored a second time with the help of Harry Home, the Province of Alberta and volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Rail Society. 6060 travelled under her own power to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1986 to participate in the Steam Expo, part of the Expo 86 world's fair, alongside several other steam locomotives, including Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) 4-6-4 2860, CPR 4-6-2 1201, CN 4-6-0 1392, and Union Pacific (UP) 0-6-0 4466. After Expo 86 ended, the 6060 and 2860 doubleheaded back to Alberta, though when they got there, 6060 developed a mechanical failure, forcing it to be taken off the excursion, while 2860 returned to Vancouver.[3]

After several years of storage at the Alberta Railway Museum near Edmonton, 6060 was moved to Stettler in 1998 to operate regularly in the service of Alberta Prairie Steam Tours (APST). More than a decade later, it continued to transport thousands of excursion passengers every summer until it went out of service in 2010. Several years later, the APST began performing an overhaul on the locomotive, and as of 2022^[update], the overhaul is still under way.[4]

See also

• Canadian National 6077 (Another preserved CN U-1-f class locomotive)
• Canadian National 6213
• Canadian National 6218
• Canadian National 3254
• Grand Trunk Western 6039
• Canadian Pacific 2816

References

Further reading

• Lorne, Perry (1973). Renaissance 6060. ASIN B0007B47WY.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canadian National 6060.

• Rocky Mountain Rail Society - official website of Canadian National 6060