Canadian National 47

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Canadian National 47 (ex-Grand Trunk Railway 1542)
CN 4-6-4T No. 47 on static display at Steamtown National Historic Site
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Montreal Locomotive Works Order number Q-241 Serial number 54896 Build date September 1914
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-4T  • UIC 2′C2′ h2t Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 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 curve 16° Wheelbase 39 ft 4.5 in (12.00 m) Length 50 ft 2.25 in (15.30 m) Adhesive weight 146,000 lb (66.2 t) Loco weight 275,000 lb (124.7 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 5 long tons (5.1 t) Water cap. 2,900 imperial gallons (13,000 l; 3,500 US gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 47 sq ft (4.4 m2) Boiler pressure 210 lbf/in2 (1.45 MPa) Heating surface:  • Tubes and flues 1,628 sq ft (151.2 m2)  • Firebox 160 sq ft (15 m2) Superheater: ​  • Type Schmidt  • Heating area 342 sq ft (31.8 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 21 in × 26 in (533 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Valve type 11-inch (279 mm) piston valves Train heating Steam heat Train brakes Air
Performance figures Tractive effort 32,487 lbf (144.51 kN)
Career Operators GTR » CN Steamtown, U.S.A. Class GTR: CN: X-10-a Power class CN: 32% Number in class 2 of 6 Numbers GT: 1542 CN: 47 Retired 1959 (revenue) August 26, 1961 (excursion) Restored August 1961 Current owner Steamtown National Historic Site Disposition On static display, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania

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.^[1] It is one of only three preserved CN 4-6-4Ts (No. 49 at the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, Quebec and CN No. 46 at Vallée-Jonction, Quebec) and is the only Baltic-type suburban tank locomotive remaining in the United States.

History[]

CN No. 47 was originally built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in September 1914 for the Grand Trunk Railway as its No. 1542, , 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 1959, No. 47 was sold to F. Nelson Blount for $2,000, and it became a part of his collection in North Walpole, New Hampshire.^[1] No. 47 was the first locomotive to run excursions for Blount's Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern Railroad, and was intended to become the primary excursion power. It had been given a fresh overhaul in 1958 and was in top mechanical condition when acquired, as evidenced in tests performed by both the MS&N and the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company.^[1]

The locomotive entered service during the MS&N's first season in the summer of 1961 operating on the tracks of the Claremont and Concord Railway near New Hampshire's Lake Sunapee.^[1] The locomotive operated in revenue service for barely five weeks when the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) ordered it removed from service on August 26, 1961. 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. Complete copies of the maintenance records were eventually obtained from Canada's Board of Transit Commissioners in September 1961 (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, 1961.^[1]

The locomotive was put on static display in North Walpole after its last run and 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 outside in the yard of Steamtown National Historic Site.^[1]

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