Canadian National 6060

Canadian National 6060 is a 4-8-2 "Mountain"-type steam locomotive built in 1944 by the Montreal Locomotive Works as the first of the U-1-f class for the Canadian National Railway (CN) in Canada. It was first assigned to haul passenger trains and eventually fast freight trains on the CN until its retirement in 1959. Three years later, CN engineer Harry R.J. Home purchased the locomotive for $1 and brought it to his hometown of Jasper, Alberta, where No. 6060 was put on display near the Jasper station.

In 1973, CN reacquired the No. 6060 locomotive and restored it to operating condition for use in excursion service until it retired again in 1980. Six years later, No. 6060 was restored again by Home and the Rocky Mountain Rail Society in time for the Expo 86 event in Vancouver, British Columbia. After the event, it stayed in Vancouver, double heading with Canadian Pacific 2860 and 3716.

In 1988, No. 6060 was stored at the Alberta Railway Museum in Edmonton, Alberta, until a decade later, it was moved to the Alberta Prairie Railway, pulling excursions in Stettler, Alberta. In 2011, it was taken out of service for a thorough overhaul.

History

Design and revenue service

No. 6060 was constructed in October 1944 by the Montreal Locomotive Works in Montreal, Quebec, as the first of the Canadian National Railway's (CN) 20 class U-1-f 4-8-2 "Mountain" types. The U-1-f design was very different compared to the U-1-a design in mechanical and cosmetic details. Their 73 in (1,854 mm) driving wheels gave the U-1-fs balancing high-speed with no flaws. They were painted in CN's olive green livery around its running board skirt panels, cab, and tender. The U-1-fs' front smokebox had a bullet nose cone design mounted, which earned them the nickname Bullet-Nosed Bettys. The U-1-fs were the last new design of steam locomotives built for the CN.

No. 6060 was first assigned to pull short freight trains between Montreal, Quebec, and Brockville, Ontario for three round-trips before entering main line passenger service, pulling the Continental Limited and International Limited trains. In 1959, it was retired and sat in storage on a siding outside in Winnipeg, Manitoba, awaiting to be sent to the scrap yard. But three years later, No. 6060 was rescued for preservation by CN engineer Harry R.J. Home who purchased the locomotive for $1 and put it on static display at the Jasper station in his hometown of Jasper, Alberta.

Excursion service

CN reacquired 6060 in 1971, and they began restoring it to operating condition for excursion service, as a replacement for U-2-g Confederation 6218, and after being restored by CN in 1973, hauled excursions for their steam excursion program until 1980, when CN ended the program.

That same year, to commemorate the Province of Alberta's 75th anniversary, 6060 was presented to the people of Alberta as a gift. After more than five years of retirement, it was restored a second time with the help of Harry Home, the Province of Alberta and volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Rail Society. 6060 travelled under her own power to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1986 to participate in the Steam Expo, part of the Expo 86 world's fair, alongside several other steam locomotives. After Expo 86 ended, the 6060 and Canadian Pacific 2860 doubleheaded back to Alberta, though when they got there, 6060 developed a mechanical failure, forcing it to be taken off the excursion, while 2860 returned to Vancouver.

After several years of storage at the Alberta Railway Museum near Edmonton, 6060 was moved to Stettler in 1998 to operate regularly in the service of Alberta Prairie Steam Tours (APST). More than a decade later, it continued to transport thousands of excursion passengers every summer until it went out of service in early 2011. Several years later, the APST began performing an overhaul on the locomotive, and as of 2023, the overhaul is still under way.

See also

• Canadian National 6077 (Another preserved CN U-1-f class locomotive)
• Canadian National 6213
• Canadian National 3254
• Canadian Pacific 2816
• Grand Trunk Western 6039

References

Bibliography

• Lorne, Perry (1973). Renaissance 6060. ASIN B0007B47WY.
• McQueen, Donald R. (2013). Canadian National Steam!: A Locomotive History of The People's Railway (1st ed.). Railfare DC Books. ISBN 978-1-927599-00-6.

External links

• Rocky Mountain Rail Society - official website of Canadian National 6060