Royal Hudson
Encyclopedia
Streamliner
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
4-6-4
4-6-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification:...
Hudson steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CPR) and built by Montreal Locomotive Works
Montreal Locomotive Works
Montreal Locomotive Works was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883–1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company...
(MLW). The engine was built in 1938. In 1939, King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
allowed the CPR to use the term after Royal Hudson number 2850 transported the royal train
Royal and viceroyal transport in Canada
Various modes of transport have been used for royal and viceroyal figures in Canada, generally for royal tours of parts of the country and viceregal official and ceremonial duties in both the provinces and the federal sphere...
across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with no need of replacement. These locomotives were in service between 1937 and 1960. Four of them have been preserved, and one was used for excursion
Excursion
An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other purposes....
service in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Royal visit
In 1939, King George VI and the queen consortQueen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
visited Canada, arriving at Wolfe's Cove
Anse-au-Foulon
L'Anse au Foulon is a small cove about one and one-half miles above Quebec City. It is also referred to by the name Wolfe's Cove. It was at L'Anse au Foulon that the British forces commanded by James Wolfe landed prior to proceeding to the Plains of Abraham where they engaged and defeated the...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, on 17 May 1939. This was the first time that a reigning monarch had visited Canada
Royal tours of Canada
Canadian royal tours have been taking place since 1786, and continue into the 21st century, either as an official tour, a working tour, a vacation, or a period of military service by a member of the Canadian Royal Family...
. The King and Queen took a tour of the country by rail. The CPR and the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
s (CNR) shared the honours of transporting the royal train across the country, with the CPR undertaking the westbound journey, from Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. The steam locomotive that the CPR used to pull the train was numbered 2850, a 4-6-4 built by Montreal Locomotive works. Specially painted in silver and blue, the locomotive ran 3224 mi (5,189 km) across Canada, through 25 changes of crew, without engine failure. The King, somewhat of a railbuff
Railfan
A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...
, rode in the cab when possible. The King was very impressed with the performance of 2850 and her class, that after the tour, the King gave the CPR permission to use the term "Royal Hudson" for the semi-streamlined locomotives of the class (numbered 2820-2859, 2860-2864 were built one year later as Royal Hudsons) and to display Royal Crowns on the running boards. This was the first, and last time a locomotive outside of the United Kingdom was given royal status by the reigning monarch.
Regular service
The CPR owned a total of 65 class H1 Hudsons built by MLW. Classes H1a and H1b, numbered 2800-2819, were not semi-streamlined and were not "Royal" Hudsons. The Canadian Pacific Railway owned 30 class H1c Royal Hudsons, numbered 2820-2849, built in 1937, 10 class H1d Royal Hudsons, numbered 2850-2859, built in 1938, and five class H1e Royal Hudsons, numbered 2860-2864, built in 1940. The class H1c and class H1d Royal Hudsons were primarily used in passenger service in the EastEastern Canada
Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...
and in the Central Provinces, but also saw some use in freight service as well. The class H1e (Nos. 2860 through 2864) Royal Hudsons were all built as oil-burners and were built for service between Vancouver and Revelstoke
Revelstoke, British Columbia
Revelstoke is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just south of the Revelstoke Dam and near its confluence with the Illecillewaet River...
where they worked until they were displaced by diesels (and then re-assigned) in the 1950s. By 1960, all of the 20 Hudsons and 45 Royal Hudsons had been retired due to having been completely replaced by diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s.
Excursions
One Royal Hudson, No. 2860, was later used in excursion service. A class H1e Royal Hudson, it was built for the CPR by MLW in June 1940. It was the first locomotive of five to be built new as Royal Hudson and delivered with painted cast brass crowns affixed to their skirts. Between 1940 and 1956 it hauled transcontinentalTranscontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies...
passenger trains between Revelstoke and Vancouver. It was damaged in a derailment
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
outside of Vancouver in 1956, but by 1957 it had been refurbished and was transferred to Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
for prairie
Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...
service. It was withdrawn from service in May 1959 and sat on the scrap line for five years. It was sold to the Vancouver Railway Museum Association in 1964. However, the association was unable to find a place to display the locomotive and it remained in storage at the Drake Street shops in Vancouver. Once again the locomotive faced the risk of being scrapped, but she was sold to Joe W. Hussey in 1970.
In 1973 Hussey sold No. 2860 to the British Columbia government. The locomotive was restored by Robert E. Swanson's Railway Appliance Research Ltd. team and the staff of the CPR Drake Street roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
shops beginning on 25 November 1973 and then operated by the British Columbia Department of Travel Industry with the cooperation of the British Columbia Railway. The BCR commenced a Royal Hudson excursion service between North Vancouver
North Vancouver, British Columbia (city)
The City of North Vancouver is a waterfront municipality on the north shore of Burrard Inlet, directly across from Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the smallest of the three North Shore municipalities, and the most urbanized as well...
and Squamish
Squamish, British Columbia
Squamish is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway...
on 20 June 1974. By the end of the 1974 tourist season, 47,295 passengers had been carried and the excursion was deemed successful. It was the only regularly scheduled steam excursion over mainline trackage in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The excursion operated between May and October, from Wednesday through Saturday. It also traveled North America in the late 1970s as a promotion for BC tourism. It quickly became one of British Columbia's main tourist attractions and an icon of Canadian steam power.
While the engine was being prepared for Christmas trains at the end of the 1999 tourist season, No. 2860 was found to have serious leaks from the superheater
Superheater
A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired...
elements. The superheaters and the arch tubes were known to be life expired and some other fairly major boiler work was required. A variety of factors prevented BC Rail from carrying out the repairs immediately, including the fact that CPR Hudson #2816 was in the BCR shop being rebuilt under contract, and that all BC Rail passenger services were under threat in the lead up to the eventual privatization of BC Rail. After the election of the BC Liberal
British Columbia Liberal Party
The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...
Government in 2001 all passenger services were gradually phased out starting with the Royal Hudson excursion. The Royal Hudson excursion used other locomotives during the 2000 and 2001 seasons such as back up locomotive 3716 (an ex-Canadian Pacific 2-8-0
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...
which is also Provincially owned and currently operates on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway
Kettle Valley Steam Railway
The Kettle Valley Steam Railway is a heritage railway near Summerland, British Columbia.The KVSR operates excursion trains over the only remaining section of the Kettle Valley Railway through beautiful vistas, orchards, vineyards, and over the tall Trout Creek Trestle. Trains depart at 10:30 and...
in Summerland
Summerland, British Columbia
Summerland is a community on the west side of Okanagan Lake in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. The district is between Peachland to the north and Penticton to the south...
).
Currently No. 2860 is still owned by the British Columbia government, but is on permanent loan to the West Coast Railway Association
West Coast Railway Association
The West Coast Railway Association is a heritage railway and museum located on Government Road in Squamish, British Columbia near Vancouver, whose purpose is to collect, preserve and restore railway cars and artifacts and operate a licensed railway....
(WCRA) and is housed at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish, but has been seen on the CNR line from Squamish to North Vancouver since late April 2009.
2860's Return to steam
On 28 September 2006, the Royal Hudson steamed into the WCRA Squamish station under her own power for the first time since October 1999. The restoration took just over one year with a cost of over $250,000. Money for the restoration was provided wholly by donations. The WCRA also had difficulty locating missing parts. Some of the major components, such as the trailing truckTrailing wheel
On a steam locomotive, a trailing wheel or trailing axle is generally an unpowered wheel or axle located behind the driving wheels. The axle of the trailing wheels was usually located on a trailing truck...
, were borrowed from sister engine 2850. The borrowed parts had to be returned when 2850 was put on public display. WCRA replaced the borrowed tailing truck with one that was being used at a mine, which had salvaged the truck from a Royal Hudson due for scrap. The truck turned out to have been taken off of 2860 when she was sitting on the scrap line in the 1960s. The association plans to operate 2860 on excursion runs and at special events. Due to the strict "no steam" policy that CP and CN have, the excursions are restricted to special occasions only. 2860 is steamed up regularly for publicity and to salute passing passenger trains.
On 9 December 2010, the ex-CP 2860 and the Royal Hudson trainset were scheduled to depart North Vancouver for Squamish at 12:30 pm on the last of its scheduled excursion trips in 2010. The ex-CP 2860's certification expired in January 2011 and the cost of the necessary work is estimated at over $1 million CAD. The December 9 trip is likely to be her last for a long time.
Southern 2839
Royal Hudson 2839, once destined for a museum in eastern Canada, wound up being sold to a group of owners in Pennsylvania. After a restoration to full working order to full CPR livery (with Southern lettering), the engine was leased to the Southern Railway for their steam excursion program in 1979–1980, but was found that the locomotive was not powerful enough for their excursions. During her brief career with the Southern, 2839 earned the nickname "beer can" due to the Royal Hudson's cylindrical streamlined design. After being returned from the Southern, the engine was stored on the Blue Mountain and Reading Railroad before being stored near Allentown, PAAllentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
. The Blue Mountain and Reading Railroad attempted to restore and run her on excursions, but ultimately 2839 was sold. After a series of owners, the engine was shipped on a flat car from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to the Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar, California, where it has been cosmetically restored and put on display outside the museum with a Pullman car
Pullman (car or coach)
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968....
.
Preservation
Four Royal Hudsons have been preserved (Hudson #2816 is not streamlined and thus is not "Royal" but is often mistakenly referred as a Royal Hudson, some call her "Royal" due to her name, "Empress").- 2839 Operated in the 1970s and 1980s. Now at the Nethercutt Collection and Museum, Sylmar, California. Good cosmetic shape, displayed outside.
- 2850 The locomotive that hauled the Royal Train and known as "The" Royal Hudson, served a long career until 1960 when she was retired and is now preserved at the Canadian Railway MuseumCanadian Railway MuseumThe Canadian Railway Museum Musée Ferrovaire Canadien) is a rail transport museum in Delson/Saint-Constant, Quebec south of Montreal.-Collection:...
at DelsonDelson, QuebecDelson is an off-island suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is situated 8 mi/13 km SSE of Montreal within the regional county municipality of Roussillion in the administrative region of Montérégie. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 7,322.On its small territory, Delson is crossed...
/Saint-Constant, QuebecSaint-Constant, QuebecSaint-Constant is an off-island suburb of Montreal in the Roussillon Regional County Municipality of southwestern Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 23,957.-Population:Population trend-Language:...
. Very good cosmetic and mechanical shape, displayed indoors. - 2858 Preserved at the National Museum of Science and TechnologyCanada Science and Technology MuseumThe Canada Science and Technology Museum is located in Ottawa, Ontario, on St. Laurent Boulevard, to the south of the Queensway .-Mission:...
at OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. Good cosmetic shape, displayed inside. - 2860 Squamish, BC. First CPR Hudson built as a Royal Hudson, one of the last five built. Operable.