The McGee Report on CN 4-4-0 #40 - Part 3

In 2007, Dave McGee of the Canada Science & Technology Museum prepared a comprehensive report that pulled together various sources of information on CN 4-4-0 #40 into one document.  This included a history of the locomotive specifications in its construction, references to the Portland Locomotive Works drawings, and a series of photos that chronicled the changes made to the locomotive over its life.

We continue below with Chapter 3 - Service With The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada.  

3. Service with Grand Trunk Railway of Canada.
Portland 233 was delivered to the Grand Trunk Railway as GTR 362 in November of 1872. Its road number was changed to GTR 40 in the general renumbering of GTR locomotives that took place in 1898. In this section, the engine will be referred to as GTR 362.

The large driving wheels of either 66 or 68 ½ inches indicate that GTR 362 was intended for use as a passenger locomotive.33 Beyond this, very little is known about the career of the engine. Railroad historian Ray Corley states that GTR 362 entered Canada by a roundabout route via the Albany & Niagara Falls Railway, passing over the suspension bridge at Niagara Falls.34 According to Corley, the engine was then moved to Fort Erie and restricted to the GTR tracks from Fort Erie to Stratford and St. Mary’s to Sarnia, which had been converted to standard gauge on November 8th, 1872. The remaining lines in Western Ontario were converted in October of 1873. The main line between Montreal and Toronto was converted in November. The last of the GTR’s lines, mostly in Quebec, were converted in 1874.

There is evidence that GTR 362 was in service in Western Ontario in November of 1873, when it was peripherally involved in an accident. What happened was that GTR 362 was cleared to run from Stratford to Brantford, and a second train was cleared to run behind it. A mix-up in signals led to a head-on collision between this second train and a third train traveling in the opposite direction.35

After 1874, the engine could have run anywhere on the GTR system and may have been used for passenger service in Quebec. This would explain how the engine came to the later attention of John Breakey of Breakeyville, Quebec, but there is no proof.

The only other information available concerning the engine is contained in a GTR list of locomotive stock issued in 1901. There, GTR 362 is listed as GTR 40 in an entry that gives the following information:
Table 2: GTR No. 362 as listed in 1901. 

Three items in this table stand out. One is that the engine received a new straight boiler in 1890. The second is that the engine and tender now had Westinghouse air brakes, which were not part of the original equipment.37 The third is that the engine supposedly had 68 inch driving wheels. This led Corley to suggest that GTR 362’s original driving wheels must have been replaced between 1896 and 1901.38 This would mean the GTR went to the trouble and expense of providing new wheels for Portland locomotives still on the books when they were about to be retired. It is therefore hard to accept this data. It seems more likely that the 68 inches refers to the outside diameter of the original wheels and tires, as opposed to the 66 inches for the inside diameter of the tires given in the Portland Company casting book.39

Corley also reported that the engine was adapted to burn coal instead of wood during its time with GTR. This seems very likely, but positive evidence is lacking.

3.1 The Photographic Evidence
The only other evidence  available for GTR 362 is photographic, although no photograph of the engine has been found. Appendix 6, however, contains four later photos of engines from the original batch (245, 248, and 253, and 251) which are useful.

All four of the later photos show engines with straight stacks. It is likely that 362 also received a straight stack when it was converted to coal burning (assuming that it was).

Two of the later photos show engines with a horizontal pilot (245 and 246). The photo for 245 suggests that this new form of pilot was accompanied by a new form of coupler. The earliest photo of the GTR 362 in the service of the CVR shows such a pilot. It is likely that the new pilot and coupler were installed by the GTR.

Two of the later photos (for 251 and 253) show a change in the position of the bell, which is now just in front of the cab rather than just behind the stack. The earliest photo of the GTR 362 in CVR service shows the bell in front of the cab. It is likely that the change in position took place when GTR 362 was given a new boiler in 1890.

The photos continue to show a tender with flared out tops along the sides, and scallops at the front.

The McGee Report on CN 4-4-0 #40 - Part 2

In 2007, Dave McGee of the Canada Science & Technology Museum prepared a comprehensive report that pulled together various sources of information on CN 4-4-0 #40 into one document.  This included a history of the locomotive specifications in its construction, references to the Portland Locomotive Works drawings, and a series of photos that chronicled the changes made to the locomotive over its life.

We continue below with Chapter 2.5 - Related Photographs.  

2.5. Related Photographs.
It was Portland Company practice to take a photograph of its locomotives when they were completed. No photo of Portland 233 has been found. However, many photos of related engines have been located, including nine photos of Portland engines delivered in 1873, of which five are from the same batch as Portland 233. The photos from the same batch include shop numbers 238, 244, 245, 251, 253.  The additional photos are of shop numbers 246 and 248, built in between the two parts of the 233 batch, as well as shop number 254, built right after the batch, and 272 which was built for the GTR. These photos are found in Appendix 6 and on the DVD.

Not all the pictures are from the same decade. Nevertheless, a number of conclusions can be reached about the original appearance of Portland 233.

To begin with, most of the pictures show a “vertical pilot” with vertical rails. Two show a “horizontal pilot” with horizontal rails (shop 246 and 245), but one of these is a non-GTR engine and the other is a much later photo. It is most likely that Portland 233 had a vertical pilot. However the casting list does refer to "horizontal bars" in connection with the timber for the pilot.30

All the early pictures show a diamond stack, rather than a mushroom stack (with the exception of shop 246). Three later photos show a straight stack, but these appear to be later modifications. It is most likely that Portland 233 had a diamond stack.31

All the earliest photos show the bell, sandbox and steam dome, in that order, with the bell at the front of the boiler. It is likely that Portland 233 had this configuration.

Several early photos show bright-work, fancy painting and shiny brass bands. It is likely that this was also true of Portland 233.

All of the images of trains from the same batch show round arched windows on the side of the cab. It is likely that Portland 233 shared this feature, although other Portland engines delivered to the GTR in 1873 had square windows (for example 246 and 272). The photographic evidence seems incontrovertible, particularly since the first known photo of Portland 233 (as CVR 40, see Appendix 6) shows round arch windows. The visual evidence is in direct conflict with drawing 1501P, which states that it is a drawing of the cab for many engines, beginning with Portland 191 and including Portland 226-245. Notably, drawing 1501P is not given in the casting list.32

Most of the images show solid truck wheels on the engine and the tender. This was likely true of Portland 233.

All the earliest photos of GTR engines show tenders with sides that are flared out at the top and have a slight scallop at the front. Portland 233 likely had a tender with these features. 


Go to "The McGee Report - Part 3".  "Chapter 3. Service with Grand Trunk Railway of Canada".

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