CN U-1-f

Canadian National Railways U-1-f class locomotives, were a class of twenty 4-8-2 or Mountain type locomotives built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1944. They were numbered 6060–6079 by CN and nicknamed “Bullet Nose Bettys” due to their distinctive cone-shape smokebox door cover.

Construction history

The order for these engines came during World War II when steel was of extreme value. The mountain type locomotive was a step down in size from the much more prevalent Northern Type (4-8-4). As a result of the step down in size the mountain type had less power but more speed and served well as a general purpose workhorse.

Modifications

Half the class had been converted to oil-firing by October 1944. This resulted in the 18-ton coal/11,700-gallon tender being exchanged for a 5,000-gallon oil/11,000-gallon water tender. In later years several locomotives lost the distinctive cone-shaped smokebox door cover.

Preservation

Of the twenty locomotives that were built, only three remain in existence: 6060 owned by the Rocky Mountain Rail Society at the Alberta Prairie Railway, Stettler, Alberta; 6069 at Sarnia, Ontario; and 6077 at the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum, at Capreol, Ontario.