Canadian National Steam Locomotives: History, Roster & Photos

Published: September 16, 2026

Canadian National inherited four steam railroads and then built a fifth. The Intercolonial and National Transcontinental came in with the Canadian Government Railways. The Canadian Northern came in with Mackenzie and Mann. The Grand Trunk and Grand Trunk Pacific came in on January 20, 1923. George H. Drury, in Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, is the book for how those fleets sat on one roster.

CN’s own new steam started with 4-8-2s in 1923 and peaked with the 4-8-4 Confederation type from 1927. Regular steam ended in April 1960. U-2-g 6218 kept running excursions through July 3–4, 1971. The table below is Drury’s post-1900 class grid—class, numbers, quantity, builder, dates, and which predecessor they were built for. Pre-1900 power is the paragraph on the ancestors. Grand Trunk Western steam that CN classed in the same scheme sits in the table with GTW in the built-for column.

Canadian National 4-8-4 6214 westbound train 117 at Komoka Ontario bound for Detroit

Canadian National 4-8-4 #6214 steams west with train #117 at Komoka, Ontario bound for Detroit during the 1950s. Paul Meyer photo. Author’s collection.

On this page: At a glance · Four railroads · Mikados, Santa Fes, Consolidations · Mountains and Confederations · Switchers · Smoke and streamlining · April 1960 · All-time roster (built since 1900)

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Canadian National Railways / Canadian National Railway. Mark CN
Steam owned (all-time)	About 4,064 (Clegg and Corley / McQueen count of CNR steam owned)
This roster	Classes built since 1900, after Drury. Pre-1900 ancestors in the narrative
First CN-designed new power	4-8-2 Mountains, 1923 (16, then 21 more). Dual-service
4-8-4 Confederations	First 40 in 1927. About 160 on CN plus 43 on Grand Trunk Western
Last new steam	Twenty semi-streamlined 4-8-2s, class U-1-f 6060–6079, Montreal, 1944
Last scheduled steam	April 25, 1960, The Pas–Winnipeg, Manitoba
Last Vancouver steam	October 6, 1957
Last Montreal–Toronto steam	April 17, 1959
Grand Trunk Western last regular steam	March 27, 1960
Excursions	Through the 1960s. 6218 to July 3–4, 1971
Builders	Montreal Locomotive Works, Canadian Locomotive Company (Kingston), Alco, Baldwin, Lima, Brooks, Canada Foundry, CN shops

Class table follows Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives (revised edition), pages 89–93. Information compiled September 16, 2026.

Four railroads, one class book

Canadian National came into being during World War I and the years immediately after. Canada’s population in 1901 was 5,371,000—about the same as Chicago and its inner suburbs today, Drury notes, but those five million people were spread from the northeastern tip of Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Immigration caused a great increase in Canada’s population during the ensuing decade. Canada’s railroads were able to keep pace with the population increase, but the increase in population was insufficient to support the railroads. When World War I cut off the supply of capital from England, the railroads other than Canadian Pacific found themselves in financial difficulty. They were a diverse lot: the Intercolonial, the National Transcontinental, the Canadian Northern, the Grand Trunk Pacific, and the Grand Trunk.

One of CN’s early tasks was to combine the widely differing motive-power rosters of its predecessors. Canadian Northern was powered almost exclusively by Ten-Wheelers and Consolidations; its roster included four Pacifics and a single Mikado. Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific was similar. Grand Trunk had large numbers of Moguls and relatively few Ten-Wheelers, plus 186 Consolidations, 105 Pacifics, and 168 Mikados. Canadian Government Railways—which had taken over the Intercolonial and the National Transcontinental—ran heavy to Consolidations, Mikados, and Pacifics; 20 Santa Fes were the largest locomotives on its roster. Six-wheel switchers came to CN from all its components; eight-wheel switchers came from Grand Trunk (27), Canadian Government Railways (7), and Canadian Northern (1).

Anthony Clegg and Ray Corley, in Canadian National Steam Power (1969), remain the class book Drury points to. Donald R. McQueen’s later Canadian National Steam! series expands that work locomotive by locomotive, including Newfoundland and the Central Vermont. Those two roads keep their own steam on this site: CV on Central Vermont, the Peg on Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific. Newfoundland’s 3 ft 6 in engines are not in Drury’s standard-gauge post-1900 grid.

Mikados, Santa Fes, and a hump at Winnipeg

Canadian National came into existence late enough that it bought only a few small locomotives. It built four 2-8-0s in 1926 and 20 more in 1931, splitting them half and half in each case between its Point St. Charles shops in Montreal and Transcona shops in Winnipeg.

In 1924 CN received 75 2-8-2s for mainline freight trains and five 2-10-2s for transfer service in Toronto, Point St. Charles, and Winnipeg. It turned out one Mikado in 1930, and CN bought five from Canadian Locomotive Company in 1929 and 1930. CLC built 33 2-10-2s for CN. They had two distinctions: they were the largest locomotives in the British Empire, and they introduced the Vanderbilt tender to Canada.

The 75 Mikados built for Canadian National in 1923 and 1924 were medium-weight 2-8-2s, about halfway between the USRA light and heavy Mikados. At 314,800 pounds they were noteworthy in having Belpaire boilers. When built, they were equipped with Worthington feedwater heaters; the device has been removed from no. 3554, shown in Drury in July 1957, accounting for the empty space ahead of the air pump. In November 1954 CN changed the position of its herald from a 9-degree tilt to horizontal.

Class S-1, 3198–3524, 327 engines, was the standard freight Mikado of the predecessors from 1913 on—Canadian Government Railways, Grand Trunk, and CN shops, CLC, Montreal, Alco, and Baldwin. S-2 and S-3 filled in on Grand Trunk and Grand Trunk Western. For new mainline power, Canadian National took the opposite approach from Chesapeake & Ohio, which rostered a wide variety of wheel arrangements for different regions and different services. After an initial group of 4-8-2s, CN practically standardized on the 4-8-4.

Canadian National 4-8-2 6024 westbound train 80 at Bayview Ontario in the 1950s

Canadian National 4-8-2 #6024 has westbound train #80, a Toronto run, passing through Bayview, Ontario during the 1950s. Paul Meyer photo. Author’s collection.

Passenger and dual-service: Mountains, then Confederations

Canadian National Railways’ first new steam locomotives were delivered in 1923, sixteen 4-8-2s that were the first of a long line of dual-service Mountains and Northerns. The next year, 21 more 4-8-2s arrived.

Northern Pacific bought the first 4-8-4s in 1927. Canadian National followed almost immediately with 40 of the type, designating them the Confederation type rather than Northern. They were light machines by American standards, ideal for routes inherited from railroads that couldn’t afford heavy rail and rock ballast. They weighed 378,000 pounds, not much more than Canadian Pacific’s contemporary Hudsons, and carried 57,500 pounds per driving axle, little more than a USRA light Mikado. By comparison, total weight of Northern Pacific’s class A 4-8-4 was 426,000 pounds, with 65,000 pounds on each driving axle. NP’s last 4-8-4s, the A-5s, tipped the scales at 508,500 pounds. With their light axle loading, CN’s 4-8-4s could roam over most of the CN system, though they usually remained east of the prairies. Most of the locomotives CN assigned to western Canada were oil burners, and none of the 4-8-4s was converted to oil fuel. The U-4s had 77-inch drivers and were streamlined. For its last new steam engines, delivered in 1944, CN reverted to the Mountain type—twenty semi-streamlined 4-8-2s for fast passenger service.

The 4-8-4 on CN is the U class: U-2 6100–6264 on the parent (155 engines in subclasses a through h), U-3 6300–6336 on Grand Trunk Western (37, Alco, 1927 and 1942), U-4-a 6400–6404 streamlined at Montreal in 1936, and U-4-b 6405–6410, six Lima look-alikes for Grand Trunk Western in 1938. Drury’s count is about 160 CN 4-8-4s plus 43 on GTW. 6218 is the U-2-g that CN kept for fan trips.

Almost the sole exception to the 4-8-2 and 4-8-4 for passenger work was a group of five 80-inch-drivered Hudsons built by Montreal in 1930 for Montreal–Toronto passenger service, class K-5-a, 5700–5704. J- and K-class Pacifics handled the rest of the varnish, including J-7-c 5295–5304 of 1920—the 5302 in the Georgetown photograph.

Canadian National 4-6-2 5302 class J-7c departs Georgetown Ontario in the 1950s

A handsome Canadian National 4-6-2, #5302 (J-7c), departs Georgetown, Ontario during the 1950s. Author’s collection.

Switchers

Between 1919 and 1925 CN continued Canadian Government Railways’ program of converting 2-8-0s into 0-8-0s, then CN built 45 0-8-0s between 1927 and 1931 and bought 10 each from CLC and Montreal in 1929. Between 1923 and 1929 Grand Trunk Western bought 52 from all three major U.S. builders, and in 1936 and 1937 removed the lead trucks from seven Mikados to create 0-8-2 transfer locomotives.

Six-wheel switchers were the common yard engine from every ancestor. Classes O-2 through O-20 cover the post-1900 0-6-0s: Canadian Northern, Canadian Government Railways, Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific, Grand Trunk Western, and a pair bought from the National Harbours Board at Vancouver in 1955. P-class 0-8-0s did the heavier transfer work.

Smoke, cowls, and a wind tunnel

Canadian National was neither an experimenter nor an innovator except for one item: smoke lifters and deflectors. The most commonly applied smoke lifters were vertical plates alongside the smokebox, but CN tried a variety of cowls around the stack and did considerable research that led to the streamlined 4-8-4s (which nonetheless had non-streamlined Vanderbilt tenders).

The streamlining of Canadian National’s five U-4-a class 4-8-4s, built by Montreal in 1936, was based on wind-tunnel tests. The primary concern of the designers was to keep smoke from swirling around the cab and obscuring the engineer’s view. Grand Trunk Western’s six U-4-b look-alikes came from Lima in 1938. All-weather cabs, Elesco feedwater heaters countersunk into the smokebox front, and the tilted CN herald are the other trademarks. N.W. Emmott’s “How to Streamline a Steam Locomotive” is the period magazine piece Drury lists.

Dieselization, relatively late

CN dieselized relatively late. The last steam run from Vancouver was on October 6, 1957, and the last Montreal–Toronto steam run was on April 17, 1959. The last scheduled steam run on the system was on April 25, 1960, from The Pas to Winnipeg, Manitoba. CN continued to operate steam-powered excursion trains through the 1960s. Central Vermont operated steam locomotives until the spring of 1957, and the last regular operation of steam on Grand Trunk Western was on March 27, 1960.

Road diesels had started with Electro-Motive F3s in 1948. The 1929 CLC boxcabs 9000 and 9001 were the experiment. Territory-by-territory assignments emptied the roundhouses. 6218’s excursion career is the 6218 page. Survivors of the U class, including 6167 at Guelph and streamlined 6400 at Ottawa, sit on the 4-8-4 type page.

All-time roster (built since 1900)

Drury’s grid is classes built from 1900 on. Quantities are his. “Built for” is the original owner: CN, CGR (Canadian Government Railways), CNor (Canadian Northern), GT (Grand Trunk), GTP (Grand Trunk Pacific), GTW, CV, DW&P, and a handful of shorts. Retirement years are the span he prints. Pre-1900 4-4-0s, Moguls, and Ten-Wheelers that never received a post-1900 CN class number are the ancestor paragraph, not a second builder list.

0-6-0

Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder / years	Built for	Retired
O-2-a	7000, 7001	2	Pittsburgh, 1904	CNor	1930, 1931
O-3-a	7002–7005	4	Canada Foundry, 1907	CNor	1931, 1939
O-4-a	7006	1	Baldwin, 1906	CNor	1920
O-7-a, -b	7009–7030	22	Montreal, 1910–11	CNor	1931–1954
O-10-a, -b	7031–7065	35	CLC, 1912–14	CNor	1922–1958
O-11-a	7066	1	Schenectady, 1910	DW&P	1956
O-14-a–c	7067–7159	93	CLC, Schenectady, Baldwin, Lima, Montreal, 1902–08	CGR	1923–1952
O-9-a	7218, 7219	2	Baldwin, 1905, 1913	D&TSL	1955
O-5-a	7300, 7301	2	Pittsburgh, 1907	CNor	1954, 1959
O-15	7305–7318	14	CLC, 1918	CNor	1954, 1958
O-12	7319–7423	105	CLC, Canada Foundry, Montreal, 1904–13	CGR	1939–1957
O-18	7424–7521	98	GT, CLC, Lima, 1914–20	CGR, CNor	1939–1958
O-19-a	7522–7531	10	Cooke, Schenectady, 1919–23	GTW	1954–1961
O-20-a	7532–7541	10	Montreal, 1911	GTW, GT (New England)	1955–1961
O-19-b	7542, 7543	2	Montreal, 1928, 1929	GTP	1955, 1966. From National Harbours Board, Vancouver, 1955

0-8-0 and 0-8-2

Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder / years	Built for	Retired
P-2-a	8010–8014	5	CGR, CN, 1918–25	CGR, CN	1931–1958. Converted from 2-8-0s
P-3	12 engines	12	CGR, CNor, 1918–25	GT	1928–1952
P-4	8200–8226	27	CLC, GT, Lima, 1920, 1923	GT	1925–1957
P-5-a	8296–8299	4	Schenectady, 1923	CV (to CN, 1942)	1955–1957
P-5-b	8300–8329	30	Schenectady, Lima, 1923–27	GTW	1955–1961
P-5-d	8330–8339	10	CN shops, 1927–28	GTW	1957–1961
P-5-e	8340–8349	10	Baldwin, 1927	GTW	1955–1961
P-5-f	8350–8369	20	CLC, MLW, 1929	GTW	1955–1961
P-5-g	8370–8381	12	Baldwin, 1929	GTW	1960–1961
P-5-h	8382–8416	35	CN shops, 1929–31	GTW	1954–1961
P-5-j	8417–8422	6	Brooks, 1914–23	BCR (acq. 1947)	1954–1960. GTW; converted from 2-8-2s
S-1 (0-8-2)	3515–3523	7	1936–37 rebuilds	GTW (acq. 1947)	1954–1960. Converted from 2-8-2s

2-6-0 and 2-8-0

Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder / years	Built for	Retired
C-3-a	401	1	Montreal, 1910–11	Quebec & Saguenay	1940
C-3-b, c	402–407	6	Montreal, 1910–14	CGR	1954
C-5-b	409–420	12	MLW, CLC, 1909–11	CGR	1922–1955
E-7-a, b	661–864	204	Baldwin, Schenectady, Dickson, Brooks, Montreal, CLC, GT, 1898–1908	GT	1927–1959. 2-6-0 Moguls
E-8-a, -b	865–889	25	CLC, 1907	GTP	1935–1941
E-10-a	902–926	25	CLC, 1910	GT	1929
E-11-a	927, 928	2	Baldwin, 1907	D&TSL	1929
L-4-a / L-5-a	1800–1802	3	Rhode Island, 1906	AQ&W, DW&P	1925–1934. 2-6-0 / 2-8-0 group
I-6-a	1803, 1804	2	Schenectady, 1910	DW&P	1926, 1933
M-4	1805–1956	151	Rhode Island, Baldwin, Dickson, Manchester, 1898–1910	CGR	1922–1954
M-8-a	1981–1984	4	Schenectady, 1905	CV (to DW&P, 1928)	1957
M-1	2010–2064	55	CLC, 1907–08	CNor	1935–1955
M-2-a	2065–2089	25	Canada Foundry, 1907–09	CNor	1922–1941
M-3-a	2090–2124	35	Montreal, 1911	DW&P	1941–1961
M-3-c	2125–2129	5	Brooks, 1912–13	CNor	1958–1960
M-3-d, -e	2130–2179	50	CLC, 1912–16	CGR	1948–1961
M-5-a, -e	2180–2200	21	CLC, Montreal, Canada Foundry, 1913–14	CGR	1954–1961
N-1-b	2334–2384	51	MLW, CLC, 1913–14	CGR	1952–1958
N-1-c	2385–2399	15	Canada Foundry, 1912–18	CNor	1955–1959
N-1-a, -c	2400–2454	55	Canada Foundry, 1918	CNor	1957–1960
N-2-a	2455–2464	10	Brooks, 1916–17	DW&P	1955–1960
N-2-b	2465–2514	50	Montreal, 1918	CNor	1954–1961
N-4	2515–2686	172	Montreal, Schenectady, Brooks, 1906–11	GT	1952–1961
N-5-a, -b	2687–2746	60	MLW, CLC, 1911–12	GTP	1952–1961
N-5-c, -d	2747–2768	22	CN, 1926, 1931	CV	1954–1961
N-4-g, -h	2800, 2801, 2810–2819	12	Point St. Charles, Schenectady, 1906, 1926	CV, DW&P	1954–1959
R-3-a	3000	1	Cooke, 1914	CV	1939. 2-8-2

2-8-2 and 2-10-2

Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder / years	Built for	Retired
S-1	3198–3524	327	CN, CLC, MLW, Schenectady, Baldwin, 1913–26	CGR, GT, CN	1924–1961
S-2	3705–3757	53	Schenectady, 1918–24	GT, GTW	1953–1961
S-3	3800–3857	58	MLW, CLC, 1923–24	GT, GTW	1952–1961. Belpaire; 75 of the 1923–24 batch were CN’s own
S-4-b	6 engines	6	CN, CLC, 1930, 1936	CN	1957
T-1	4000–4019	45	Brooks, MLW, 1916–20	CGR, CN	1952–1961. First ten to CGR, 1916
T-2-a	4100–4104	5	CLC, 1924	CN	1955–1957. Transfer, Winnipeg / Toronto / Point St. Charles
T-3-a	4200–4209	10	Brooks, 1919	Boston & Albany (purch. 1928)	1955–1961
T-4-a	4300–4332	33	CLC, 1929–30	CN	1957–1959. Largest in the British Empire; Vanderbilt tenders

Central Vermont’s ten Alco 2-10-4s, class T-3-a 700–709 of 1928, are not in this CN number series. They stay on Central Vermont.

4-4-0 and 4-6-0

Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder / years	Built for	Retired
A-20-a, A-21-a	120–124	5	CLC, 1904, 1906	CNor	1925–1951. 4-4-0
B-26-a	325–399	75	MLW, Canada Foundry, 1908–09	CNor, GTP	1922–1931. 4-4-0
F-1-a, -b	1000–1011	12	Montreal, 1908–09	CNor	1925–1941. 4-6-0
G (CNor Ten-Wheelers)	1016–1178 group	—	Montreal, CLC, Baldwin, Canada Foundry, Schenectady, Cooke, 1901–13	CNor, AQ&W, QOR, T&NO	1919–1961. Classes G-2 through G-21; see Drury for subclass splits
G-17-a	1161–1165	5	Montreal, 1913	CNor	1954–1957
H-1 through H-4	1200–1245 group	—	Montreal, Baldwin, Brooks, CLC, 1903–07	CNor, QOR, QM&S	1919–1955
H-5-a	1246–1260	15	Canada Foundry, 1907	CNor	1939–1944
H-6-a, -c	1261–1346	86	Brooks, MLW, 1902–11	CNor	1932–1959
H-6-f	1347–1351	5	Baldwin, 1911	DW&P	1937–1961
H-7-a	1352, 1353	2	Rogers, 1906	DW&P	1953–1961
H-6-g	1354–1409	56	Montreal, 1912–13	CNor	1954–1961
H-8-a	1410–1412	3	CLC, 1911	CGR	1936–1937
H-10-a	1423–1452	30	MLW, CLC, 1910	GTP	1942–1961
I-3 through I-5	1509–1542	34	CLC, Manchester, Dickson, 1899–1907	CGR (Intercolonial)	1925–1930
I-4-b, I-7, I-8-a	1547–1628	82	Baldwin, Schenectady, GT, Montreal, 1898–1908	GT	1931–1945

4-6-2, 4-6-4, and 4-6-4T

Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder / years	Built for	Retired
J-1-a, -b	5000–5003	4	Montreal, 1913	CNor	1957–1961. CNor’s four Pacifics
J-3-a, -b	5030–5079	50	Baldwin, MLW, 1912–13	GT	1955–1961
J-4	5080–5099	20	MLW, CLC, 1914–18	CGR	1958–1961
J-4-e, -f	5125–5156	32	Montreal, 1920	CN	1955–1961
J-7-a, -b	5250–5294	45	Montreal, 1918–19	CGR	1957–1961
J-7-c	5295–5304	10	Montreal, 1920	CN	1959–1961. Photo: #5302 at Georgetown
K-1	5500–5542	43	CLC, MLW, 1905–11	CGR	1939–1957
K-2	5453–5556 group	14	Montreal, 1913–16	CGR	1954–1961
K-3	5557–5611	55	GT, Montreal, Baldwin, 1910–13	GT	1954–1962
K-3-g	5612–5626	15	Montreal, 1911	GTP	1957–1961
K-4	5627–5634	8	Alco, Baldwin, 1924, 1929	GTW	1950–1961
X-10-a	45–50	6	Montreal, 1914	GT	1960–1961. 4-6-4T suburban tanks
K-5-a	5700–5704	5	Montreal, 1930	CN	1960–1967. 80-inch Hudsons, Montreal–Toronto

4-8-2 and 4-8-4

Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder / years	Built for	Retired
U-1-a, -b	6000–6036	37	CLC, 1923–24	CN	1960–1967. First new CN steam; dual-service. Photo: #6024 at Bayview
U-1-c	6037–6041	5	Baldwin, 1925	GTW	1955–1961
U-1-d, -e	6042–6058	17	CLC, MLW, 1929–30	CN	1952–1961
U-1-f	6060–6079	20	Montreal, 1944	CN	1960–1962. Last new steam; semi-streamlined Mountains
U-2-a through -f	6100–6189	90	CLC, MLW, 1927–40	CN	1948–1961. Confederation type. 6167 later an excursion engine
U-2-g, -h	6200–6264	65	Montreal, 1942–44	CN	1958–1961. Photo: #6214 at Komoka. 6218 is U-2-g
U-3	6300–6336	37	Alco, 1927, 1942	GTW	1939–1961
U-4-a	6400–6404	5	Montreal, 1936	CN	1960–1961. Streamlined; 77-inch drivers; oil. 6400 preserved, Ottawa
U-4-b	6405–6410	6	Lima, 1938	GTW	1940–1961. Look-alikes of the U-4-a

U-2 subclasses: U-2-a 6100–6119 CLC 1927; U-2-b 6120–6139 MLW 1927; U-2-c 6140–6159 MLW 1929; U-2-d 6160–6164 MLW 1936; U-2-e 6165–6179 MLW 1940; U-2-f 6180–6189 CLC 1940; U-2-g 6200–6234 MLW 1942–43; U-2-h 6235–6264 MLW 1944. That is 155 parent-road 4-8-4s. GTW U-3 and U-4-b bring the CN-classed 4-8-4 total in line with Drury’s 160-plus-43 figure. The type encyclopedia is 4-8-4.

Built-for abbreviations in the tables: AQ&W Atlantic, Quebec & Western; BCR Buffalo Creek Railroad; CGR Canadian Government Railways; CNor Canadian Northern; CV Central Vermont; D&TSL Detroit & Toledo Shore Line; DW&P Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific; GT Grand Trunk; GTP Grand Trunk Pacific; GTW Grand Trunk Western; QOR Quebec, Oriental Railway / related Quebec shorts; QM&S Quebec, Montreal & Southern; T&NO Temiskaming & Northern Ontario (later Ontario Northland).

Sources

Drury, George H. Guide to North American Steam Locomotives. Revised edition. Waukesha: Kalmbach Books, 2015. Canadian National Railways, pages 89–93. Class table on this page; narrative on ancestors, Mikados, Santa Fes, Confederations, switchers, streamlining, and last steam dates
Clegg, Anthony, and Ray Corley. Canadian National Steam Power. Montreal: Trains & Trolleys, 1969. Class book Drury recommends
McQueen, Donald R. Canadian National Steam! Railfare DC Books. Expanded Clegg & Corley; all-time count and class-to-Whyte map
Emmott, N.W. “How to Streamline a Steam Locomotive.” Period magazine piece listed by Drury
Canadian National Railways Historical Association. Steam class practice; dieselization as context
American-Rails.com: Canadian National Railway; CN 6218; Grand Trunk Western; 4-8-4 type