Canadian National 89 - Misplaced Pages

Preserved CN class E-10-a locomotive

Canadian National 89

No. 89 hauling an excursion train on the Strasburg Rail Road on March 6, 2010

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Canadian Locomotive Company
Serial number	922
Build date	February 1910
Rebuilder	Strasburg Rail Road
Rebuild date	November 1988

Specifications
Configuration:
• Whyte	2-6-0
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.	63 in (1.600 m)
Wheelbase	49.71 ft (15.15 m)
Adhesive weight	120,600 lb (54.7 t)
Loco weight	141,800 lb (64.3 t)
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	10 long tons (10 t)
Water cap.	6,000 imperial gallons (27,000 L; 7,200 US gal)
Boiler pressure	170 lbf/in (1.17 MPa)
Heating surface:
• Firebox	166 sq ft (15.4 m)
Cylinders	Two, outside
Cylinder size	21 in × 26 in (533 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gear	Stephenson
Valve type	Piston valves
Train brakes	Air

Performance figures
Tractive effort	26,300 lbf (116.99 kN)

Career
Operators	Grand Trunk Railway Canadian National Railway Strasburg Rail Road
Class	CN: E-12 GTR: E-10-a
Power class	CN: 26%
Number in class	9 of 24
Numbers	GT 1009 GT 911 CN 911 CN 89 SRR 89
Locale	Canada/ Vermont/ Strasburg, PA
Retired	1958
Restored	1965
Current owner	Strasburg Rail Road
Disposition	Operational

References:

Canadian National 89 is a class E-10-a 2-6-0 "Mogul" type steam locomotive originally built by the Canadian Locomotive Company in February 1910 for the Canadian National Railway. It is now owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where it resides today for use on excursion trains.

History

Revenue service

No. 89 was originally built in February 1910 by the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston, Ontario, for the Grand Trunk Railway as No. 1009. It has a wheel arrangement of 2-6-0. In 1919, it was renumbered to No. 911. In 1923, the Grand Trunk was merged into the Canadian National Railway (CN) with No. 911 being one of the thousands of locomotives working for this new railroad. In 1951, No. 911 was renumbered to No. 89. Most of 89's career on the CN is unknown; it appears that it spent the latter part of its working life in Quebec before being retired in late 1958 and being stored in a deadline of locomotives in Montreal.

Green Mountain Railroad

In 1961, No. 89 was purchased by New England seafood magnate and steam locomotive collector F. Nelson Blount and moved to North Walpole, New Hampshire, in the United States. No. 89 found a home in the former Boston & Maine North Walpole roundhouse and starting in 1965, would begin operating on the Green Mountain Railroad and would be moved to across the Connecticut River to Bellows Falls, Vermont. No. 89 quickly became Blount's favorite locomotive and he would often be found at the throttle until his death in 1967.

Strasburg Rail Road

In June 1972, the Green Mountain Railroad sold No. 89 to the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania. This is a linear village along the Great Conestoga Road, stretching about two miles along path later known as the Strasburg Road. The population was 2,809 at the 2010 census. The move from Bellows Falls to Strasburg was overseen by Strasburg employee Linn Moedinger. During a stopover in Penn Central's Buttonwood Yard in Wilkes-Barre, No. 89 was stranded when Hurricane Agnes caused the Susquehanna River to flood much of the area. No. 89 spent several days submerged in the rail yard but emerged with little to no damage.

Upon arrival at Strasburg in July 1972, No. 89 was refurbished and put into service the following year on March 17, 1973. When No. 89 first arrived, it originally faced east when hauling excursion trains, it would remain that way until the turntable at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania was installed in late 1973. No. 89 frequently operated in tandem with Pennsylvania Railroad 4-4-0 No. 1223 on Strasburg's half-hour trains until it was taken out of service in the early 1980s for major repairs. During these repairs which lasted the majority of the decade, No. 89 was completely rebuilt from the ground up including major boiler and running gear work. Emerging from its rebuild in November 1988, No. 89 returned to pulling the half-hour trains, being joined by former Norfolk & Western 4-8-0 No. 475 in 1993. In October 2003, No. 89 was modified and repainted to its 1950s Canadian National appearance with the tilted monogram logo. In 2008, No. 89's tender logo was re-lettered to read "Strasburg Rail Road," in keeping with Strasburg's policy of historical authenticity.

Appearances in media

The locomotive appears at east Strasburg station in the 2012 History channel series The Men Who Built America l in multiple episodes.
In 2013, the locomotive appeared in a live action segment of an episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood titled "All Aboard." The Segment was filmed in October 2012.
In 2022, the engine appeared in an episode of The Gilded Age entitled "Charity Has Two Functions," with an unlettered tender.

Gallery

The side of No. 89's cab displays its road number, its locomotive class, and its power class
CN No. 89 when it operated for the Green Mountain Railroad in North Walpole, New Hampshire, on August 11, 1968
No. 89 idling at the Strasburg Rail Road's yard in 1993
No. 89 awaiting to depart the Strasburg Rail Road's station, tender first, on December 1, 2013
No. 89 undergoing its 1,472-day inspection as required by the FRA, on August 2, 2017