A while back we discovered a photo of locomotive 4318. (The original picture showed a framed print resting on the bumper of someone’s car; in the interest of anonymity and neatness we’ve since cropped out the car.) In our efforts to identify where the photo in this framed print was shot, we received some valuable information via e-mail we thought worth passing on.
This from Ray Matthews, railway historian:
CN had four different classes of 2-10-2’s.
- 4000 to 4044 – Class T-1-a/b/c. All coal burners. Assigned about equally between eastern and western Canada. Many could be found around New Brunswick & Nova Scotia in 1940s, and Winnipeg or Thunder Bay areas in the 1940/50s. They never operated west of Edmonton.
- 4100 to 4104 – Class T-2-a. Powerful, low drivered, used mainly in helper and yard transfer service around Toronto.
- 4200 to 4209 – Class T-3-a. Came from the Boston & Albany RR in 1928. Used mainly in Quebec, but one or two did get into Ontario.
- 4300 to 4332 – Class T-4-a/b. Their assignment locations are covered below. Engines 4319 to 4328 are not mentioned below as they were built as oil burners, but their assignments would have been the same as the other 4300s after they were converted to oil. I hope this helps you.
This next from Kenneth Skolyan, railway enthusiast:
The CNR’s T-2-a class 2-10-2s are unique engines. An article was written over 20 years ago in a magazine called CANADIAN RAIL, published by the Canadian Railroad Historical Association (CRHA). The T-2-as spent the vast majority of their lives in transfer and helper service in the Toronto area. They worked from Mimico to Scarborough. The late Dick George once told me they always faced east, thus the fireman’s side was always facing north, leading to a lack of pictures of that side of the engine. They were in this captive service from 1924 to 1955 when 4 were removed from service. The 4100 was renumbered 4190 and assigned to Montreal in snow melting service. I saw her in Stratford shops in July ’58 being rebuilt. She is now in the CRHA’s collection near Montreal. The CANADIAN RAIL article indicated they occasionally filled in for 2-8-2s on the Niagara Peninsula way freights. This statement always bothered me, as the CNR certainly didn’t lack 2-8-2s for replacement engines. One thing is for sure, when they ran to Stratford for shopping they must have faced west.
Here’s another note from Garry W. Murray, railway enthusiast:
The T-1, T-2, T-3’s were restricted to 40 MPH while the T-4’s were restricted to 45 MPH. They were restricted for good reason too. Apparently an engineer running too fast between Longlac and Port Arthur was fired because he had broken rails for mile after mile.
We thought we’d heard the last on this picture, until Jeff Henricks of Grande Prairie, Alberta, pointed out that the “shadows on the north side should indicate travel to the east, not west”. Thanks, Jeff. Eastbound she is.
