Number 283 was a 4-4-0 locomotive, of which no class designation is known today. Built in 1883 by the Hinkley Locomotive Works, it had 62-inch diameter coupled wheels. It is said to have been used generally in front of passenger and freight trains.

It is best known for drawing the funeral train of Canadian Prime Minister John A. Macdonald. This was pulled on June 10, 1891 through Ontario from Ottawa to Kingston. The photo shows it decorated for the occasion. The 283 was eventually scrapped in 1897.

The Locomotives numbered 371 through 378 were built in 1886 by the CPR's own Montreal workshops. Their area of application was the transcontinental railroad opened in 1887 on the section to the Pacific coast near Vancouver. Originally they had 69 inch drivers which were later reduced to 62 inches. It was number 374 that brought the first passenger train to Vancouver on May 23, 1887. While the rest of the class was retired between 1915 and 1929, the 374 was rebuilt in 1914 and served until 1945. It was then restored to its original condition, with modern components removed and the locomotive no longer operational. Today, the 374 resides in a pavilion in Vancouver.

The class D10 referred to a series of ten-wheelers of the Canadian Pacific, which, with a total number of 507, were widely used throughout Canada. They were simple in construction and easy to maintain, but had a larger boiler than ten-wheelers of the 19th century and a superheater. The first locomotives were built as camelbacks, but were rebuilt after about two years. Unlike most locomotives in Canada, they did not have a completely enclosed cab.

No. 784 in its original form as Camelback

Railway and Locomotive Engineering, January 1906

There were the subclasses D10a to D10k, which also showed differences within a subclass. Basically they all used the same firebox, but different numbers of tubes and different superheaters. The driver diameter was 63 inches and the stroke of the cylinders was always 28 inches. For cylinder diameter and boiler pressure, either the combination of 22.5 inches and 180 psi or smaller cylinders with 21 inches and a boiler pressure increased to 200 psi were used. By installing arch tubes in the firebox, its heating surface later increased. The retirements took place between 1938 and 1965.

After the First World War, the Canadian Pacific realized that a significantly more powerful Pacific was needed for the new, six-axle heavyweight passenger cars. Chief engineer William H. Winterrowd then developed the class G3 with a driving wheel diameter of 75 inches, which was intended for the flatter routes. A total of 26 examples of the G3a, b and c variants, which were almost identical in construction, were completed by 1923.

In 1926, 25 examples of the G3d followed, the most important innovation of which was a boiler made of nickel steel. This allowed the boiler pressure to be increased from 200 psi (13.8 bars) to 250 psi (17.2 bars). Although the cylinders were made smaller at the same time, the starting tractive effort could be increased.

Twelve years later, the 27 examples of the G3e and f followed, which in turn benefited from new advances in boiler construction and now had a boiler pressure of 275 psi (19 bars). The cylinder diameter was reduced again, while the starting tractive effort remained about the same. The G3g, h and j reached the largest number with 93, which only followed in the forties and were almost identical to the series e and f in terms of the engine. However, they had a boiler with fewer tubes and were used with smaller tenders. They were real multi-purpose locomotives and were also used in front of freight trains.

Although it was precisely the later variants that came up at a time when other railways had already switched to 4-6-4 or 4-8-4, they were relatively strong compared to other Pacifics and had a better ratio of adhesive to service weight than other locomotives and had less of a tendency to slip. The period of use ended in 1959, when there were already enough diesel locomotives for their area of operation. Today only number 2317 still exists, which belongs to class G3c.

Starting in 1946, the Canadian Pacific had class G5 Pacific locomotives built for use on branch lines. With an adhesive weight of only 151.000 pounds, these had a low axle load by North American standards. Contrary to the field of application of most locomotives with this wheel arrangement, they were intended for use in front of passenger and freight trains, which was also noticeable in the driving wheel diameter of only 70 inches.

From an initially planned number of 600, only 102 were finally built, as more and more diesel locomotives were put into service. For the same reason, only ten years after the end of production, the first examples were retired and in 1960 the last ones disappeared. Today there are still six that are currently only on static display, but could possibly be made operational again.

H1b No. 2816 in September 2007 in Milwaukee

Brian Cazel

The 65 class H1a to H1e locomotives were built for use in front of express and freight trains. Starting with the H1c, they received partial streamlined fairing. After King George VI's train was pulled by an H1d on his visit to Canada in 1939, all streamlined Hudsons were officially allowed to call themselves “Royal Hudson”. The five H1s built in 1940 finally had oil firing. They were replaced by diesel locomotives by 1960 and some continued to run excursion trips for a longer period of time.

In 1909 H.H. Vaughan would produce a Consolidation that should achieve more power with 24x32 inch cylinders, but thanks to 63 inch (1,600 mm) large driving wheels should have enough steam even at higher speeds. However, during the trial runs it became apparent that the boiler was still insufficient at higher speeds. This resulted in the production engines with a cylinder diameter of just 23.5 inches.

In the years 1909 to 1911 the production engines of the class N3a were built, in 1912 more of the class N3b and in 1913 finally the class N3c. Technically, the subclasses were almost identical, but they differed in the driver's cab. The N3b and N3c used all-weather driver's cabs, which were characterized by an additional vestibule.

Since the capacity of the boiler later still proved to be too low compared to the cylinders, the conversion to class N2a to c took place in the 1920s. The diameter of the cylinders was reduced to 23 inches and the area of the firebox increased at the expense of the tube heating area. A larger superheater was also used.

There were two different versions of the N2, which had different boilers with 141 and 165 tubes respectively. 40 locomotives were converted to oil firing by 1950. As early as 1946, 65 units were converted to the P1n class with the 2-8-2 wheel arrangement. Four remain today, of which 3512 has been lying at the bottom of Slocan Lake in British Columbia since 1947 after a barge carrying the locomotive capsized.