Grand Trunk Western Steam Roster

Published: October 23, 2026

George H. Drury’s Guide to North American Steam Locomotives has no Grand Trunk Western chapter. The class list here is Richard Leonard’s compilation of locomotives in service about 1937–1942. It is not an all-time roster. Most of the engines were still at work in the early 1950s. They were part of the Canadian National roster and were lettered Grand Trunk or Grand Trunk Western for service in the United States. Some number series also include Grand Trunk locomotives used in New England. The Canadian National system rated engines by percentage rather than by tractive effort, so the tractive-effort figure for most classes is approximate.

Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 6323, class U-3-b, with an eastbound freight at Drayton Plains, Michigan, circa 1950

4-8-4 6323, class U-3-b, with an eastbound freight across a wood pile bridge at Drayton Plains, Michigan, just north of Pontiac, circa 1950. Fred Byerly photo. American-Rails.com collection.

On this page: At a glance · Switchers · Consolidations and Mikados · Pacifics · Mountains and 4-8-4s · Roster

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Grand Trunk Western. Mark GTW. Company history
This table	Richard Leonard’s class list, locomotives in service about 1937–1942. Not an all-time roster. Drury has no chapter
Quantity column	232
Outside that total	S-1-f 3430–3450, and S-3-a 3700–3739. Each row mixes Grand Trunk and Grand Trunk Western engines
4-8-4s in the total	U-3-a 6300–6311, twelve. U-3-b 6312–6336, twenty-five. U-4-b 6405–6410, six
Pacific 5629	Class K-4-a, 5627–5631. Its own article. Scrapped in July 1987
Main line	Dieselized in April 1957
Last regular passenger steam	Durand–Detroit locals 21 and 56, in March 1960

Switchers

The 1937–1942 list is still a railroad of six-wheel and eight-wheel switchers. Lima built the O-18-b engines, 7474–7498, in 1920, twenty-five of them, and Leonard marks that row as shown on the 1937 roster. Three more Limas, O-18-d 7519–7521, came in 1923. The five O-19-a switchers, 7522–7526, are Alco engines of 1919.

The heavy switchers are the P-4 and P-5 classes. Lima’s five P-4-d engines of 1923, 8222–8226, are the ones that lasted into the 1956 renumbering: 8222 became 8447, and 8226 became 8448. Those are the same two frames. Alco delivered P-5-a 8300–8304 in 1923 and P-5-b 8305–8319 in 1924. Lima’s P-5-c 8320–8329 and Baldwin’s P-5-e 8340–8349 both date from 1927. Baldwin’s P-5-g 8370–8381 followed in 1929, twelve engines, with the class tractive effort printed as 49,691 pounds rather than a round figure.

Six 0-8-2s, class S-1-g,h, were rebuilt from 2-8-2s: 3515–3517, 3520, 3522, and 3523. Schenectady had built the engines in 1918. Leonard says 3523 was renumbered 3522 in June 1956 and that the others were presumably scrapped by then. The three S-1-g,h engines that were still Mikados, 3518, 3519, and 3524, are a different row.

Consolidations and Mikados

The Consolidations still on the list are two small groups of class N-4. N-4-d is sixteen engines, 2664–2668, 2671–2673, and 2676–2683, from Brooks and Schenectady in 1907 and 1911. Leonard’s build note also names 2669. That number is not in the number cell, and it is not in the quantity. He writes that all or some of the class were built as cross-compounds and converted to simple operation around 1926. N-4-e is four engines, 2670, 2674–2675, and 2684, and that subclass kept Stephenson valve gear until it was retired. The dimensions match the N-4-d.

The Mikados are the S classes. Five S-1-f engines from Schenectady in 1913, 3405, 3407–3409, and 3413, are counted. A second S-1-f row, Baldwin 1913, numbers 3430–3450, is not. Leonard says that class includes both Grand Trunk and Grand Trunk Western locomotives, and he does not separate them. Three S-1-g,h Mikados, 3518, 3519, and 3524, Schenectady 1918, are counted. They are not the six 0-8-2 rebuilds.

Class S-3-a, 3700–3739, is the United States Railroad Administration light Mikado. Leonard counts 15 Grand Trunk and 25 Grand Trunk Western locomotives inside the forty numbers and does not say which twenty-five are which. The row stays outside the total. Engines from that series still on the property in 1956 were renumbered into the 4045–4075 band. Those 4000-series numbers are the same frames. Class S-3-b 3740–3747, Schenectady 1923, is eight engines and is counted. Those remaining in 1956 were renumbered 3740 to 4076 and 3742–3747 to 4077–4082. Class S-3-c 3748–3757, Schenectady 1924, is ten engines. Those remaining in 1956 were renumbered 3748 to 4083 and 3750–3757 to 4084–4091.

Pacifics

The older Ten-Wheelers were still on Leonard’s list, with a scrap note of “probably” by the mid-1940s. I-6-b is 1552 and 1553, Schenectady 1898. I-7-a is 1579–1581, Schenectady 1904. I-8-a is 1599 and 1619–1625, various builders, 1906–1908. The pressure cell on that last row does not yield a usable figure, so the table leaves it blank. The tractive effort is the printed 23,000 pounds.

The Pacifics begin with Baldwin’s J-3-a class, 5030–5048, nineteen engines of 1912. Leonard does not mark that row as a mixed Grand Trunk series. The New England warning in his introduction still sits over the whole list. Two older K-3 engines remain as single locomotives: 5609, class K-3-f, built at the Grand Trunk shops in 1920, and 5611, class K-3-d, Baldwin 1912. The cylinder, driver, pressure, weight, and tractive-effort figures match.

Class K-4-a is Alco, 1924, numbers 5627–5631. The class tractive effort in this table is Leonard’s 40,800 pounds. Number 5629 has its own article. That article dates the end of its Grand Trunk Western revenue career to March 1960 and its scrapping to July 1987. Class K-4-b is three Baldwin engines of 1929, 5632–5634, with a vestibule cab, 215 pounds of pressure, and a printed tractive effort of 43,800 pounds.

Mountains and 4-8-4s

Five Baldwin 4-8-2s, class U-1-c, 6037–6041, were built in 1925. Leonard says they were later fully or partly equipped with disc drivers, and that the Canadian National system’s U-1-a through U-1-e classes used the indirect, or reverse, arrangement of the Walschaerts valve gear. Jerry A. Pinkepank adds that these five Mountains also wore, for a time, the smokelifter applied to the U-4-b 4-8-4s.

The 4-8-4s are three classes, and they are not the same engines. Alco built U-3-a 6300–6311 in 1927, twelve locomotives, cylinders 26½ by 30 inches, 73-inch drivers, 250 pounds, a weight of 399,000 pounds, and an approximate tractive effort of 60,000 pounds. Leonard says they were sent to the Canadian National after delivery of the U-3-b class. Pinkepank says they were transferred to Canada in 1940–41, because of the war, and replaced by the U-3-bs. The U-3-b class is Alco, 1942–1943, numbers 6312–6336, twenty-five engines, 26 by 30 cylinders, 73-inch drivers, 250 pounds, 403,000 pounds, and a tractive effort of 59,034 pounds. Leonard says 6313, 6317, 6324, and 6336 were transferred to the Canadian National in 1956. Number 6323 is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum. Number 6325 is preserved at the Age of Steam Roundhouse. Leonard’s gallery of the class shows 6323 at Durand in May 1954, separated from the Maple Leaf.

The U-4-b is a different machine. Lima built six in 1938, 6405–6410, with 77-inch drivers, 24 by 30 cylinders, 275 pounds, a weight of 382,700 pounds, and a printed tractive effort of 52,500 pounds. Pinkepank’s account of the class agrees: six Limas, 77-inch drivers.

Pinkepank dates the last regular revenue passenger steam in the United States to Grand Trunk Western locals 21 and 56, the Durand–Detroit remnants, in March 1960. Shortly thereafter the Detroit Division hosted the last regular intercity mainline steam freight in the country. The main line itself had been dieselized in April 1957.

Roster

The quantity column sums to 232. A blank cell is empty. The two mixed rows carry an em dash and are not in that sum. A 1956 number is the same locomotive.

Type	Class	Numbers	Qty	Cylinders	Drivers	Pressure	Weight	Tractive effort	Builder	Year	Notes
0-6-0	O-18-b	7474–7498	25	22×26	51	175	174,000	37,000	Lima	1920	Shown on the 1937 roster
0-6-0	O-18-d	7519–7521	3	22×26	56	190	180,000	36,000	Lima	1923	—
0-6-0	O-19-a	7522–7526	5	21×28	51	190	165,000	39,000	Alco	1919	—
0-8-0	P-4-d	8222–8226	5	26×30	56	180	249,000	55,000	Lima	1923	Remaining in 1956: 8222 became 8447, and 8226 became 8448. Same frames
0-8-0	P-5-a	8300–8304	5	22×28	51	200	208,000	45,000	Alco	1923	—
0-8-0	P-5-b	8305–8319	15	22×28	51	200	211,000	45,000	Alco	1924	—
0-8-0	P-5-c	8320–8329	10	22×28	51	220	214,000	50,000	Lima	1927	—
0-8-0	P-5-e	8340–8349	10	22×28	51	220	211,200	50,000	Baldwin	1927	—
0-8-0	P-5-g	8370–8381	12	22×28	51	220	215,150	49,691	Baldwin	1929	—
0-8-2	S-1-g,h	3515–3517, 3520, 3522, 3523	6	27×30	63	179	279,400	52,000	Schenectady	1918	Rebuilt from 2-8-2s. 3523 was renumbered 3522 in June 1956. The others were presumably scrapped by then
2-8-0	N-4-d	2664–2668, 2671–2673, 2676–2683	16	23×32	63	180	211,200	40,000	Brooks and Schenectady	1907, 1911	2664, 2665, 2669, 2671–2673, and 2676 built 1907. 2666–2668 and 2677–2683 built 1911. All or some were built as cross-compounds and converted to simple operation around 1926
2-8-0	N-4-e	2670, 2674–2675, 2684	4	23×32	63	180	211,200	40,000	Brooks and Schenectady	1907, 1911	2670, 2674, and 2675 built 1907. 2684 built 1911. Stephenson valve gear until retired
2-8-2	S-1-f	3405, 3407–3409, 3413	5	27×30	63	175	283,000	52,000	Schenectady	1913	—
2-8-2	S-1-f	3430–3450	—	27×30	63	175	272,100	52,000	Baldwin	1913	Class includes both Grand Trunk and Grand Trunk Western locomotives. Not in the total
2-8-2	S-1-g,h	3518, 3519, 3524	3	27×30	63	175	284,800	52,000	Schenectady	1918	Still Mikados. Not the six 0-8-2 rebuilds
2-8-2	S-3-a	3700–3739	—	26×30	63	200	290,000	55,000	Schenectady	1918	U.S.R.A. light Mikado. Leonard counts 15 Grand Trunk and 25 Grand Trunk Western locomotives in the span and does not separate them. Not in the total. Remaining in 1956: 3702–3706 became 4045–4049; 3708–3712 became 4050–4054; 3714–3717 became 4055–4058; 3719 became 4059; 3720 became 4060; 3722 became 4061; 3726–3739 became 4062–4075. Same frames
2-8-2	S-3-b	3740–3747	8	26×30	63	200	306,500	55,000	Schenectady	1923	Remaining in 1956: 3740 became 4076, and 3742–3747 became 4077–4082. Same frames
2-8-2	S-3-c	3748–3757	10	26×30	63	200	306,500	55,000	Schenectady	1924	Remaining in 1956: 3748 became 4083, and 3750–3757 became 4084–4091. Same frames
4-6-0	I-6-b	1552, 1553	2	21×26	73	180	177,800	24,000	Schenectady	1898	Probably scrapped by the mid-1940s
4-6-0	I-7-a	1579–1581	3	22×26	69	200	198,100	31,000	Schenectady	1904	Probably scrapped by the mid-1940s
4-6-0	I-8-a	1599, 1619–1625	8	21×26	73	—	167,300	23,000	Various builders	1906–1908	Probably scrapped by the mid-1940s. The pressure figure in the source does not yield a usable number
4-6-2	J-3-a	5030–5048	19	23×28	69	185	224,100	34,000	Baldwin	1912	—
4-6-2	K-3-f	5609	1	23×28	73	195	229,000	34,000	Grand Trunk shops	1920	—
4-6-2	K-3-d	5611	1	23×28	73	195	229,000	34,000	Baldwin	1912	—
4-6-2	K-4-a	5627–5631	5	25×28	73	200	285,500	40,800	Alco	1924	5629 has its own article. Scrapped in July 1987. Class tractive effort is Leonard’s 40,800
4-6-2	K-4-b	5632–5634	3	25×28	73	215	299,350	43,800	Baldwin	1929	Vestibule cab
4-8-2	U-1-c	6037–6041	5	26×30	73	210	354,110	49,590	Baldwin	1925	Later fully or partly equipped with disc drivers. Indirect Walschaerts valve gear. For a time, the U-4-b smokelifter
4-8-4	U-3-a	6300–6311	12	26½×30	73	250	399,000	60,000	Alco	1927	Leonard: sent to the Canadian National after delivery of the U-3-b class. Pinkepank: transferred to Canada in 1940–41 and replaced by the U-3-bs
4-8-4	U-3-b	6312–6336	25	26×30	73	250	403,000	59,034	Alco	1942–1943	6313, 6317, 6324, and 6336 transferred to the Canadian National in 1956. 6323 is at the Illinois Railway Museum. 6325 is at the Age of Steam Roundhouse
4-8-4	U-4-b	6405–6410	6	24×30	77	275	382,700	52,500	Lima	1938	—

Sources

Richard Leonard, “Grand Trunk Western Locomotives, Circa 1937–1942,” Richard Leonard’s Steam Locomotive Archive, railarchive.net/rlsteam/gtroster.htm. Class table opened October 23, 2026. His U-3-b gallery is the Durand Maple Leaf scene.
Jerry A. Pinkepank, “Grand Trunk Western history remembered,” Classic Trains. The U-3-a transfer, the U-4-b smokelifter on the five Mountains, the six U-4-b Limas, and the end of regular steam.

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