The Canadian National U-1-a U-1-b class locomotives were three subclasses of 37 4-8-2 Mountain-type

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built for the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

s between 1923 and 1924 . They were retired between 1951 and 1962 .

Accidents and incidents

On 1 September 1947, locomotive 6001 was involved in the

Dugald rail accident The Dugald rail accident was a railway accident that occurred on September 1, 1947, in Dugald, Manitoba, Canada, resulting in the deaths of 31 people. Background A westbound train, The ''Minaki Campers’ Special'' operating as Passenger Extra 60 ...

. It collided with another CN

4-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This type of steam locomotive is commonly known as t ...

numbered 6046. 6001 was later rebuilt by CN. On 21 November 1950, locomotive 6004, was severely damaged a head-on collision with S-2-a

2-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing wheel ...

3538 at

Canoe River The Canoe River is a river in southeastern Massachusetts. It is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 and part of the Taunton River Watershed. The Canoe R ...

, British Columbia. It was scrapped in June 1951 (as was the 3538). There was a gap of four years before the next U-1-a or U-1-b went: two were scrapped in 1955, four in 1957, six in 1958, six in 1959, eight in 1960, seven in 1961, and the last two, 6000 and 6001 in 1962.

In art

U-1-a 6004 was the subject of a 1924 publicity poster by C. Norwich. It depicts the locomotive speeding along in the foreground, while in the background is a pine-covered, snow-capped mountain peak. Across the top is the "Canadian National Railways" logotype; across the bottom are the words, "Across Canada", and in the lower left, above the artist name and date is "The Continental Limited in the Canadian Rockies"http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/C.-Norwich/Canadian-National-Railways-Poster-1924.html Canadian National Railways Poster 1924

Preservation

One locomotive has been preserved: * CN 6015 (U-1-a) — Retired 1960; to CHRA,

Delson, Quebec Delson is an off-island suburb ( South shore) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is situated 8 mi/13 km SSE of Montreal within the regional county municipality of Roussillon in the administrative region of Montérégie. The population as o ...

. On public display in

Jasper, Alberta Jasper is a specialized municipality and townsite in western Alberta within the Canadian Rockies. The townsite is in the Athabasca River valley and is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park. History Established in 1813, Jasper Hou ...

, since July 1972.

References

{{reflist 4-8-2 locomotives Steam locomotives of Canada U-1-a CLC locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1923 Standard gauge locomotives of Canada Passenger locomotives