Canadian National Railways 6077 is a preserved

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 ...

locomotive of

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 U-1-f class, which were nicknamed ''Bullet Nosed Bettys''.

Construction and initial use

6077 was built in 1944 as part of order of twenty locomotives classified U-1-f. These 4-8-2 or Mountain Type locomotives were built instead of the larger more typical

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 ...

or Northern Type. The Northern type locomotives are larger and required more steel to make and 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 ...

a smaller more adaptable engine for general uses were needed. The U-1-f class locomotives were built in 1944 by

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 ...

, and were numbered between 6060 and 6079. The series of engines were nicknamed Bullet Nosed Betty for their definitive nose cone.

1945 wreck

In February 1945, a month after its first run, 6077 was involved in a fatal wreck. Approaching

Brantford, Ontario Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

, 6077 was attached to a pilot engine when, sensing that the pilot locomotive engineer did not apply the brakes for a sharp bend up ahead, hit the emergency brakes. This caused all the wheels to lock up and skid which made the train much more rigid than if it had been rolling. As a result, both locomotives derailed and drop down an embankment. The pilot engine crewmen were seriously injured but all head-end crew of 6077 were killed. The passengers on the rest of the train were not harmed because the wreck had detached the engines from the passenger cars which rolled on and came to a stop at the station.

Mechanical modifications

The locomotive was sent to Stratford, Ontario to be converted to oil fuel in September 1958. Its coal tender was replaced with that of

2-10-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. In the United States of America and elsewhere the is ...

#4328. This was done to get 6077 ready for its work in western Canada where it spent the last years of its life.

Relocation and static display

Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Prescott Park

Image:6077 engine room.JPG, The cab of 6077 as it is in 2009 Image:Steam engine 6077 tender.JPG, The tender of 6077 can hold of fuel oil and {{cvt, 11,000, impgal, USgal L of water Image:6077 with bell.JPG, The unique 'bullet-nosed' front of the locomotive Image:116-1633 IMG crop.jpg Image:CN -6077.jpg

References

6077 4-8-2 locomotives MLW locomotives Preserved steam locomotives of Canada Railway locomotives introduced in 1944 Standard gauge locomotives of Canada