Canadian National 6218 is a

4-8-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type w ...

U-2-g

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

built by the

Montreal Locomotive Works Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883 to 1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive ...

(MLW) in 1942 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 ...

. It became famous after it was brought back by CN for their Steam Excursion Program from 1964 to 1971. It is now on static display at the Fort Erie Railway Museum in

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of Ni ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

History

Revenue service

Built By the

(MLW) in September 1942, No. 6218 was designed for pulling mainline

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

s between

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

and

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

for the

(CN). The locomotive was one of 65 U-2-g/h “ Confederation” locomotives that were built in the early-mid 1940s during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 6218 was eventually reassigned to pull freight and mail trains after diesels took over the high-priority passenger trains. After a mostly uneventful career with CN, 6218 was retired in 1960, after CN made a complete transition to diesel power.

Excursion service

After being retired, 6218 was put into storage inside a roundhouse. In 1964, No. 6218 was selected by CN to be used on their steam

excursion An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportation ...

program as a replacement for their previous locomotive, U-2-e class 4-8-4 6167. The 6218 was overhauled in the

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River within Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2016 population of 31,465 in a land area of . Stratford is the seat of Perth County, which was settled by English, Irish, Scottish and German im ...

shops in November 1963, before the shops subsequently closed for good. The 6218 was brought back under steam in 1964, and in September that year, it performed a Double header with 6167 shortly before that engine’s retirement. For the rest of the 1964 operational season, 6218 pulled fall-foliage trains sponsored by the

Canadian Railroad Historical Association The Canadian Railroad Historical Association (CRHA) (french: L'Association canadienne d'histoire ferroviaire (ACHF)) is a non-profit organization established in 1932 in Canada and is "devoted to preserving and interpreting Canada's railway heritage ...

(CRHA). The engine spent the next seven years famously pulling several excursion runs between

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, and many other cities. During the rest of the engine’s new lease on life, the 6218 would have its

smoke deflectors Smoke deflectors, sometimes called "blinkers" in the UK because of their strong resemblance to the blinkers used on horses, and "elephant ears" in US railway slang, are vertical plates attached to each side of the smokebox at the front of a ste ...

removed and reinstalled frequently. The locomotive became even more famous in November 1968, when it pulled a few excursions on the

Grand Trunk Western The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holdi ...

between Chicago, Illinois and South Bend, Indiana, sponsored by the Illinois Railroad Club. As the constant boiler extensions for the 6218 continued to become shorter, though, CN decided to operate the final excursion trips to usher out what appeared to be end of their steam fantrip program. In 1970, the 6218 pulled a series of fan trips that were dubbed “Countdown 6218”, as orchestrated by the Montreal-based St Lawrence Region Department of Public Relations. On July 3rd and 4th, 1971, the 6218 performed its final runs between Belleville and Anson Junction. After the final runs ended, No. 6218 was retired by CN, and it became replaced on the fantrip program by U-1-f

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 ...

No. 6060.

Disposion

After its retirement from excursion service, 6218 was put into storage. In 1972, the locomotive was donated to the Fort Erie Railway Museum in

, along with a

Caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damag ...

. A second restoration was considered in 2010, but the cost was estimated to be around $429,000 at the time. Another restoration possibility was considered in 2017, as it was within several options that were explored to change the locomotive’s future. However, the Fort Erie city council chose to keep the locomotive at the museum, and a cosmetic restoration would be performed, instead. The locomotive remains on static display at the museum today.

References

{{Reflist Canadian National Railway 6218 4-8-4 locomotives Steam locomotives of Canada Preserved steam locomotives of Canada Individual locomotives of Canada

History

Revenue service

Excursion service

Disposion

See also

References