The Confederation type was a large locomotive type with 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 wa ...

wheel arrangement used on

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

railroads. Most were built by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and the

Canadian Locomotive Company The Canadian Locomotive Company, commonly referred to as CLC, was a Canadian manufacturer of railway locomotives located in Kingston, Ontario. Its works were located on the south side of Ontario Street between William and Gore streets on Kingston ...

(CLC) in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

, for the Canadian National Railway (CNR). The "Confederation" type was later given the more common designation "Northern" type. They were the backbone of the CNR locomotive fleet from the 1930s to the 1950s. Eight locomotives of this type have been preserved from the CNR and 2 CPR fleets. CN 6400 used roller bearing boxes on all running and tender axles, with bearings made by

SKF AB SKF (Swedish: ''Svenska Kullagerfabriken''; 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing and seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication and l ...

of Sweden. CN ordered 155 U-2 Classes from 1927-1944 . CN also ordered 5 U-4a’s in 1936 and the GTW ordered 36 U-3 Classes from 1927-1943. The GTW ordered 5 U-4b’s in 1938 . In total of 203 were built for CN and the GTW. All 203 locomotives remained in service until they were retired between 1953 and 1959 . A few have survived into preservation which are CN 6153, CN 6167, CN 6200, CN 6213, CN 6218 and CN 6400 and two from the GTW survived as well which is GTW 6323 & GTW 6325 . List Of Sub Classes U-2-a : Built : 1927 were numbered 6100-6119 U-2-b : Built : 1927 were numbered 6120-6139 U-2-c : Built : 1929 were numbered 6140-6159 U-2-d : Built : 1936 were numbered 6160-6164 U-2-e : Built : 1940 were numbered 6165-6179 U-2-f : Built : 1940 were numbered 6180-6189 U-2-g : Built : 1943 were numbered 6200-6234 U-2-h : Built : 1944 were numbered 6235-6264 U-3-a : Built : 1927 were numbered 6300-6311 U-3-b : Built : 1943-1944 were numbered 6312-6336 U-4-a : Built : 1936 were numbered : 6400-6404 U-4-b : Built : 1938 were numbered : 6405-6410 CP built its own K1a 4-8-4's in 1928 at their own Angus Shops they were numbered 3100-3101 the only two built . Both remained in service until both retired in 1955 and both are preserved . Preservation CN 6153 : On display at the CNR Museum . CN 6167 : On display at downtown

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

. CN 6200 : On display at the

Canada Science and Technology Museum The Canada Science and Technology Museum (abbreviated as CSTM; french: Musée des sciences et de la technologie du Canada) is a national museum of science and technology in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum has a mandate to preserve and promote ...

in Ottawa . CN 6213: On display at downtown

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

at the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre . CN 6218 : On display at Fort Erie Railroad Museum at Fort Erie, Ontario . CN 6400 : On display at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa . GTW 6323 : On display at the

Illinois Railway Museum The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago. Overview Hist ...

Union, Illinois Union is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 580 at the 2010 census, up from 576 in 2000. History A post office called Union has been in operation since 1852. The village was named for the federal union of th ...

. GTW 6325 : Owned by the

Age of Steam Roundhouse The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum, Sugarcreek, Ohio, United States, is a museum roundhouse housing steam and diesel locomotives, passenger cars and other railroad equipment. History The roundhouse was built by Jerry Joe Jacobson, former CEO of ...

in Sugarcreek, Ohio . CP 3100 : On display at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa . CP 3101 : On display at EVRAZ (formerly IPSCO Steel)

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

In fiction

The character Vinnie (voiced by

John Schwab John Schwab (born 15 September 1972) is an American actor, TV producer and musician who resides in London. He produced ''The Hide'' with Christopher Granier-Deferre, which was nominated for a BIFA 2010. He is best known for his film and televi ...

) from the popular series ''

Thomas and Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

'' is based on a Canadian National U-4-a, using the number of a GTW U-4-b.

Gallery

File:CN 6167.jpg, CN 6167 Class U-2-e on display at

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 C ...

File:Canadian Northern 6400 1939.jpg, CN 6400 Class U-4-a on display at the 1939 New York World's Fair "Railroads on Parade" exhibit File:CN 6218 with Illini Railroad Club Special in Dearborn Station in Chicago, IL on November 20, 1966 (25502129524).jpg, CN 6218 pulling an

excursion train An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples are trains to major sporting event, trains run for railfans or tourists, and special trains operated by the railway company for employees and prominent customer ...

out of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

in 1966 File:Old steamer (20992436835).jpg, CN 6213 Class U-2-g on display at

Roundhouse Park Roundhouse Park is a 17 acre (6.9 ha) park in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is in the former Railway Lands. It features the John Street Roundhouse, a preserved locomotive roundhouse which is home to the Toronto Railway Mus ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

CN "Confederations" at Steam Locomotive.com
- retrieved 11 May 2008
CP "Confederations" at Steam Locomotive.com
- retrieved 11 May 2008
CN 6153 at Steam Locomotive.info
- retrieved 11 May 2008

- retrieved 25 May 2008
CN 6200 at Railpictures.net
- retrieved 19 May 2008
CN 6218
at the Fort Erie Railroad Museum - retrieved 19 May 2008
CN 6400 (and others) photo gallery
- retrieved 12 May 2008
CP 3100 at Railroadforums.com
- retrieved 19 May 2008

- retrieved 19 May 2008 Steam locomotives of Canada Steam locomotive types Preserved steam locomotives of Canada 4-8-4 locomotives Canadian National Railway Canadian National Railway locomotives Passenger locomotives