CLC-built CNR 9000-9001

Tuesday, November 20, 1928: CNR 9000 left the Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC) plant on Ontario Street for its trial run east toward Brockville, perhaps as far as Coteau, QC. Newspaper reports beamed brightly: "A new epoch for CNR locomotive production" and "revolutionize...locomotive design on this continent"! Fifty-eight years later, Canada Post would feature the revolutionary locomotive(s) on a stamp (top photo).

Supervising the move were CNR Chief of Motive Power C.E. Brooks, CLC General Manager William Casey, Canadian Westinghouse Company's J.C. Wilson, among others. CNR Vice-President, Operations S.J. Hungerford was expected at some point along the intended route.

Shrouded in secrecy during its prior year-long construction, the new locomotive slipped out of the plant at 0700 on that Tuesday morning. A slight delay occurred when two freight cars were found obstructing the 9000's way north to Kingston's Outer Station. Quickly accomplishing the switching, the electric bell rang and diesel exhaust emanated ecstatically from its engine compartment.

Waiting at the Outer Station was a test train: a business car for the officials accompanying the train, a dynamometer car with instrumentation for testing en route, and a caboose. As 9000 backed in and coupled onto the waiting test train, engineer H.P. Palmer, replete with new overalls, he received the highball from conductor R. Ferguson and the train departed eastward at 0723. Wouldn't it be great to have photos of this special movement in the Kingston area? The run at low-speed to Brockville was deemed successful, and the train continued on to Montreal, reaching 65 mph!

Planned service for the single completed unit between Belleville and Brockville would be followed by a publicity tour when 9001 was released by CLC. Promised 12-hour operation without refuelling must have seemed like rocket-science during the steam era, when the care and feeding of steam engines consumed so many man-hours. An overall weight of 650,000 pounds with a tractive effort of 100,000 pounds upon acceleration. Carried onboard were 8,000 pounds of fuel oil and 11,000 pounds of boiler water providing six to twelve hours heat depending on outside temperature.

Design was by CNR engineering staff, oil engines by William Beardmore Co. Ltd. of Glasgow. Electrical generators and associated equipment from Canadian Westinghouse. CNR's previous experience with oil-electric propulsion began with CN 15820's Montreal-Vancouver trip in 1925.

The second 'half' 9001 was accepted by CNR in April, 1929. On August 26 [not September 26 per the ad below] of that year, the paired locomotive led the second section of CNR's International Limited from Montreal to Toronto. Kingston Mayor W.H. Craig met the train at the Outer Station. At the time, CLC officials proudly noted that the premier locomotives' power exceeded that of CNR 6100's, also built by CLC and at the time the largest locomotives in the British Empire!

There are lots of print and online sources on these revolutionary locomotives, so a complete history is beyond the scope of this Kingston-related post. They operated for two years together before they were separated for eight years and famously became the nucleus of a wartime armoured train, used sporadically on the West Coast. The motive power for the armoured train was 9000, with 9001 cannibalized as a parts source. Even Grenada got into the stamp-issuing act:

On August 1, 1951 CLC celebrated Diesel Day - its first production run of new C-liner cab locomotives for CP. An entire Whig special section was dedicated to the celebration, complete with ads from notable local businesses congratulating CLC, three of which featured 9000-9001: