Michael Becker Ne michnel@usnen IT has been 38 years since the CPR Hudson 2316 last saw a fire in her beliy. The 70-vear-old’s massive boiler took some pressure on) Uhursday for the first time in decades. HP ongoing tests ins North Vancouver prove that the corrosive ravages of time have not been overly harsh, the great metal monst well be back in business as a working pic rolling history for Canadian Pacitic Ruths av. The Canadian Pacitic Hudson would go on toe join BC Raifs Royal Hudson 2860 as one of only two Hiudson-type locomotives in rail ser where. The others that avoided the scrap heap are, as they like to say in the rail business, stuffed and mounted, Only Lo have ever been preserved. There were close to 600 Hudson-type taco motives built in’ North America. Hauling pas- sengers, the mighty locomotives coukd reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour. Named after the Hudson River, the an Pacific Hudson-type locomotives were first built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1929. They came with larger fire boves than ear: ier locomotives and produced more steam: at er pressure than their predecessors, The 2816 worked with the top passenger sof the 1930s berween Winnipeg and ary. Itwas built ay a high-powered, fast pay- r locomotive. According to CPR steam table calculations, the 2816 was good tor 4,700 horsepower at 35 miles per hour. fhe locomotive were in service today, she'd be de spower and fastest machine in th ated at speeds of 80 to 100 miles an hour. Today about 63 miles an hour is as fast as anything will go for CPR. The 2816 ts from a group of Hudsons (2800 to 2819) that came into service in 1929, [tis the only survivor of the original 20. The CPR built 51 (Bowen-class eng during the onset of the Depression Henry Bowen was the fast steam mechanical tor the CPR. He assumed the position of P mechanical officer for CPR in 1928 Bowen responsible tor the design work on the CPR's two most famous engines, the Hudsons and the P-1 Scikirks, the big mountain maulers that worked between Revelstoke and algary. The 2816 is also the sole survivor of the entire group of 3! Bowen-class engines built 1929 to 1931. When you walk into the BC Rail Royal Hudson skap, what strikes you most ata viscer- al level is the audacious mass of the machine. In a time defined by diminutive, micro-chip mar- vels, the hulking 91-foor Jong locomotive pre- sents an incongruous fact. Busy men with bright welding torches put sparks to its rusty surface. The probing and refurbis lead to a decision as to the fate of the loc tive later this month. Depending upon the mechanical integrity of the 2816, it will either come alive again fo cial service in Western Canada or it will join its stationary counterparts, in this case for likely dis- play ar CPR headquarters in Calgary. A pile of parts determined too far gone for repair sits in front of the North Vancouver loco- motive shed. Bent pipes, a broken seat, the wooden frame and glass panes of a window show the effects of decades spent exposed to acid rain in a field in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The elements have exacted their toll. The story of the locomotive’s departure from Canada and its eventual return tells much about the peculiar Canadian habit of denying ourselves our national heritage. It also speaks volumes of the potential of individual vision: in this case the steam-powered dreams of BC Rail’s resident Hudson locomotive expert Al Broadtoot and Canadian Pacific Railway 2816 project manager ing will ultimately mo north shore news SUNDAY FOCUS Heavy metal 2816 Hudson steam locomotive Bail: in’ 1930 by Montreal Locomotive Works Class: FELD Boiler pressure Cvlinders: 22°. 30° Diameter of sis driving wheels. 75 native citort: 45,300 Ths. Grate area (trebon db: SOLS sq. tt tht of locomotive: 360,000 Ths Operating weight: 6-43 000 Tbs, 00 Tmperial gallons Water: 12,000 Imperial gallons Years operated: 30 vears Cost wher new: $130,000, in December 1930 Power: 4.700 horsepower at 35 niles per hour Operating speed: SO to 100 miles an hour Water consumed per mile: 10 750 gal loans Fuel off consumed per mite: 10-15 gallons of fuel oif Number of stay bolts on baile 3,000 Nuraber of rivets on boiler: QQ) Length of engine and rende: about about SOU ta E tect Courtesy Keith Anderson THE 2816 at work in Ontario during the 1940s. Sunday, June 6, 1999 - North Shore News - 3 NEWS photos Mike Wakefield A boiler is the heart of a steam locomotive. Jim Crowley, CPR 2816 project man- ager, checks out tite front of the Hudson's boiler. A welder works on the CPR 2816 Hudson at the BC Rail locomotive shop in North Vancouver. The locomotive may see service again. James Crowle Crowicy lives and breathes steam. He’s been around it for nearly 40 years. For the past 25 years he’s had a deep interest in the historical presersation of steam-powered machines, pri- marily locomotives. He headed the joint BC Rail-CPR team that brought the locomotive from Scranton to North Vancouver last year. The 2816 was pulied by three diesel locomotives and accompanied by a parts and tools boxcar and a couple of business cars for the crev It was brought to the BCR steam shop because it’s the only such facility in Canada capable of working on a large locomotive like it. There’s a lot of expertise at the shop. Broadfoot alone has had 27 years of experience on the Hudson class of engine. Said Crowley, “I suspeet thac anyone who could profess to have more experience than Al Broadtoot has on this class of locomotive has probably been dead for 20 years.” dfoot and Crowley have worked togeth- er for 13 years in the steam business. In 1990 they travelled to the Fasters U.S. to take a look at four CPR engines, one of which was the 2816, They thoughe that some day they'd like to bring one or all of them back to Canada, A great namber of engines have gone to the United Seat Scranton’s Steamtown National Historic Site began its lite as che pet project of an American named Nelson Blount. He made his money in the i heries business, but locomotives held his hear. 2 fount lacnched the Steamtown Foundation in the late 195t Said Crov. was trying to build a liv- ing Museum to thy --eam era. Te was his desire to acquire every class . ve ine that had ever been operated in North .\i , By the late 1950s most 01 —. ican rail- roads had already scrapped their stews. ok. Blount looked to Canada as a ‘source of vaniou engine types. Steam engines operated up until 1960 on the Canadian National and the Canadian Pacitic. The 2816 was last in service in May 1960 for passenger service out of Montreal. CPR testing of its steam fleet in 1948 showed that the overall thermal efficiency of its steam locomotives was just 4.5%. On a good run the 2816 would operate at an efficiency of 7.5% to 8% (the actual energy dri- ving the wheels). Said Crowley, “The rest of it’s going up the stack, making that plume thac everybody likes. They're a dinosaur, but I think they’re probably the most fascinating contrivance chat man has ever invented.” Within 12 yea: ¢ entire CPR steam fleet was retired. But the 2816 had one more job te do. In the winter of 1960-61 it worked as a sta- ¢ Steam page B a re rE tr th rr rE eh sennypprerua henner ny