Canadian National 6077

Canadian National 6077
CN 6077, on display in 2009
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Montreal Locomotive Works Order number Q-401 Serial number 72774 Build date 1944
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-8-2  • UIC 2′D1′ h2 Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 34 in (0.864 m) Driver dia. 73 in (1.854 m) Trailing dia. 43 in (1.092 m) Wheelbase Coupled: 19 ft 0 in (5.79 m) Loco: 42 ft 2 in (12.85 m) Loco & tender: 80 ft 10 3⁄4 in (24.66 m) Length 90 ft 0 1⁄8 in (27.44 m) Width 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) Height 15 ft 4 1⁄2 in (4.69 m) Adhesive weight 236,950 pounds (107.48 tonnes; 105.78 long tons) Loco weight 355,700 pounds (161.3 tonnes; 158.8 long tons) Tender weight 281,840 pounds (127.84 tonnes; 125.82 long tons) Fuel type Originally coal, later oil Tender cap. Coal: 18 tons coal, 11,700 gal water Oil: 5,000 gal oil, 11,000 gal water Firebox:  • Firegrate area 70.2 sq ft (6.52 m2) Boiler 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter × 42 ft 4 in (12.90 m) length Boiler pressure 260 lbf/in2 (1.79 MPa) Heating surface 3,584 sq ft (333.0 m2)  • Tubes and flues 3,198 sq ft (297.1 m2)  • Firebox 386 square feet (35.9 m2) Superheater: ​  • Type Schmidt type E  • Heating area 1,570 sq ft (146 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 24 in × 30 in (610 mm × 762 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Train heating Steam heat
Performance figures Tractive effort 52% (52,315 lbf or 232.7 kN) Factor of adh. 4.5
Career Operators Canadian National Railways Class U-1-f Numbers 6077 First run January, 1945 Retired 1960 Restored July 5, 1967 Current owner Northern Ontario Railway Museum Disposition Static display in Capreol, Ontario

Canadian National Railways 6077 is a preserved 4-8-2 locomotive of Canadian National Railways 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 or Northern Type. The Northern type locomotives are larger and required more steel to make and during World War II a smaller more adaptable engine for general uses were needed. The U-1-f class locomotives were built in 1944 by Montreal Locomotive Works, and were numbered between 6060 and 6079. The series of engines were nicknamed Bullet Nosed Betty for their definitive nose cone.^[1]

1945 wreck

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

References