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Canadian National 47

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canadian National 47
(ex-Grand Trunk Railway 1542)
CN 4-6-4T No. 47 on static display at Steamtown National Historic Site | April 2024
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderMontreal Locomotive Works
Order numberQ-241
Serial number54896
Build dateSeptember 1914
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte4-6-4RT
 • UIC2′C2′ h2t
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.31.25 in (0.794 m)
Driver dia.63 in (1.600 m)
Trailing dia.31.25 in (0.794 m)
Minimum curve16°
Wheelbase39 ft 4.5 in (12.00 m)
Length50 ft 2.25 in (15.30 m)
Adhesive weight146,000 lb (66.2 t)
Loco weight275,000 lb (124.7 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity5 long tons (5.1 t)
Water cap.2,900 imperial gallons (13,000 L; 3,500 US gal)
Firebox:
 • Grate area47 sq ft (4.4 m2)
Boiler pressure210 lbf/in2 (1.45 MPa)
Heating surface:
 • Firebox160 sq ft (15 m2)
 • Tubes and flues1,628 sq ft (151.2 m2)
Superheater:
 • TypeSchmidt
 • Heating area342 sq ft (31.8 m2)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size21 in × 26 in (533 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gearWalschaerts
Valve type11-inch (279 mm) piston valves
Train heatingSteam heat
Train brakesAir
Performance figures
Tractive effort32,487 lbf (144.51 kN)
Career
Operators
Class
  • GTR: K2
  • CN: X-10-a
Power classCN: 32%
Number in class2 of 6
Numbers
  • GT: 1542
  • CN: 47
Retired
  • June 1959 (revenue service)
  • August 26, 1961 (excursion service)
RestoredAugust 1961
Current ownerSteamtown National Historic Site
DispositionOn static display

The Canadian National 47 is a preserved class "X-10-a" 4-6-4T type tank locomotive located at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States.[1] It is one of only three preserved CN 4-6-4Ts (No. 49 at the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, Quebec, Canada, and CN No. 46 at Vallée-Jonction, Quebec) and is the only Baltic-type suburban tank locomotive remaining in the United States.

History

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CN No. 47 was originally built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in September 1914 for the Grand Trunk Railway as its No. 1542, class K2, but became a CN locomotive after the creation of the Canadian National Railway in 1923.[1] Its CN classification was X-10-a. Along with its sister locomotives, No. 47 was based in Montreal and was used exclusively in commuter service. Following retirement in June 1959, No. 47 was sold to F. Nelson Blount for $2,000, and it became a part of his collection of steam locomotives in North Walpole, New Hampshire.[1] No. 47 was the first locomotive to run excursions for Blount's Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern Railroad (MS&N), and it was intended to become the line's primary excursion locomotive. It had been given a fresh overhaul in 1958, and it was in good mechanical condition when acquired, as evidenced in tests performed by both the MS&N and the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company.[1]

No. 47 entered service during the MS&N's first season in July 1961, operating on the tracks of the Claremont and Concord Railway (C&C) near New Hampshire's Lake Sunapee.[1][2] No. 47 operated in tourist excursion service for barely five weeks when the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) ordered for it to be removed from service, on August 26.[2] The locomotive's maintenance records had been disposed of upon retirement by the Canadian National, resulting in several dates of past maintenance being absent on the MS&N's own inspection form.[2] While Blount was maintaining No. 47 for intra-state amusement usage, the locomotive was operating on the C&C—a regulated common carrier that participated in interstate operations.[2]

Complete copies of No. 47's maintenance records were eventually obtained from Canada's Board of Transit Commissioners in September (contrary to popular belief they were not lost in a fire), but the newfound records revealed that the locomotive had been due for boiler re-tubing when retired—work that was never completed by the Canadian National. Facing a costly re-tubing, Blount took the locomotive out of service, replacing it with a leased Claremont and Concord GE 70-ton switcher for seven days until the 1961 season came to a premature end on September 17.[1][2] As a result of a lack of an operable steam locomotive, ridership of the MS&N declined before Rahway Valley 15 entered service to pull the excursion trains the following year.[2]

No. 47 was put on static display in North Walpole after its final run, and it was later moved across the Connecticut River with the rest of the Steamtown, U.S.A. collection to Bellows Falls, Vermont. No. 47 was later moved with the rest of the collection in 1984 to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where it currently remains on static display in the yard of Steamtown National Historic Site.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Steamtown NHS: Special History Study". www.nps.gov.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kyper, Frank (November–December 1995). "Nelson Blount's Steamtown". Locomotive & Railway Preservation. Pentrex. pp. 34–35.