CPR steam locomotives in BC

This page discusses Canadian Pacific Railway's steam locomotives used in British Columbia.

= Background = Over the years, the CPR operated a wide array of steam locomotive types in British Columbia assigned to various depots, each responsible for operations along specified relations. Some of these were primary depots responsible for all manner of services in a large area and where more extensive maintenance took place, others were very small, with only one or two locomotives assigned to it for specific local operations, such as shunting at large industries or "helper" operations on steep lines.

Many of these smaller depots, especially those stationing helper engines, have disappeared since the end of steam power. Some disappeared much earlier, their function absorbed into larger depots nearby, though the physical locations often remained in use - the only real difference often being where the locomotive's formal domicile was located.

Once the Vancouver Locomotive Works began building locomotives in BC in 1902, the government levied a customs duty to be paid on locomotives built outside of British Columbia imported to BC for use on services entirely within BC. As a result, engines in that period were assigned to BC depots on lines owned by foreign-controlled companies on a fairly permanent basis - once duty was paid on a locomotive, seldom was it reassigned outside BC.

The intricacies of Dominion railway laws of the time meant that foreign-owned railway companies required parliamentary approval to build or close any rail line in BC; as well, companies registered outside of BC generally had a much more difficult time obtaining charters than those that were registered within the Dominion. Consequently, as the foreign transcontinental systems - the CPR, the Dominion Northern Railway, and the Grand Trunk Railways of Canada, along with the American Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway, and the Milwaukee Road - sought to expand into BC, they either created subsidiary corporations chartered in BC or acquired controlling interest in railways previously established by entirely local interests. With the duties charged being lower on locomotives purchased by railways registered in Victoria as legally BC companies, the CPR (and the others) frequently exploited the resulting loophole by "selling" its own locomotives to its subsidiaries registered in BC, which, on paper at least, were independent companies, but for practical and operational purposes were fully integrated into the CPR's wider network; to maintain this legal fiction visibly, locomotives so assigned were clearly lettered for the subsidiary company. In 1910, the BC government exempted Canadian-based companies - the CPR, the DNP, the GTP, and any such company expanding into BC in the future - from the aforementioned duties, which meant that engines were more frequently reassigned between BC and Canadian depots; however, for various other legal reasons, these subsidiaries continue to exist on paper to this day, although for all practical purposes, they have been fully integrated into their parent companies.

The subsidiaries for which CPR steam locomotives were thus lettered were the British Columbia Southern Railway (BCS, to 1910), the Columbia & Kootenay Railway (C&K, to 1931), the Columbia & Western Railway (C&W, to 1931), the Kootenay & Arrowhead Railway (K&A, to 1916), the Kootenay Central Railway (KCR, to 1959), the Nakusp & Slocan Railway (N&S, to 1912), and the Nicola, Kamloops & Similkameen Railway (NK&S, to 1917); the N&S was absorbed into the C&K in 1912, which in turn, along with the C&W, was absorbed into the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) in 1931; the NK&S was similarly absorbed in 1915. The KVR had been established in 1912 as a joint venture between the CPR and the BC government and was much more independent from the CPR than the full subsidiaries, but under the terms of the joint venture, the CPR was responsible for operations including the supply of locomotives (the BC government was, in effect, a more or less "silent" partner), and so KVR motive power was for the largest part sourced from the CPR fleet.

Steam power remained in use on the CPR in both BC and Canada into the mid 1960s. By 1964 only eleven steam locomotives were in regular service on the CPR in BC. This dropped to five at the start of 1965, and the last three were retired in 1966; the last three CPR steam engines in service in Canada were retired the same year. The distinction of having been the last Canadian Pacific steam locomotive to pull a scheduled revenue train went to class H1e Royal Hudson number 2860 on 31 December 1966, a Local train from Kamloops to Vancouver. Normally operated with electric multiple-unit trainsets, for the last trip of the day - an evening run - the EMU was replaced by the 2860, a string of 1930s-era cars; to meet the anticipated demand for seats, the consist was made up of ten chair cars and two cafeteria cars. This was more than double the usual capacity, but many were left disappointed, as the tickets were completely sold out four days after going on sale. A farewell ceremony was held at Kamloops prior to the departure, and many people were on hand at all stations along the line to great the Royal Hudson on its last run. The train arrived at Waterfront Station in Vancouver nine minutes late, where it was met with another farewell ceremony that extended into a New Year's celebration.

The last eleven CPR steam locomotives in service in BC were:

= Canadian Pacific locomotive depots in BC =

The CPR's depots in BC were as follows, with former ownership indicated:


 * Blaenau (Canadian Pacific; active - primary)
 * Cranbrook (Canadian Pacific; active)
 * Castlegar (Columbia & Kootenay, to Kettle Valley in 1931; transferred to BCR in 1955)
 * Coquitlam (Canadian Pacific; active - primary)
 * Crowsnest (Canadian Pacific; discontinued)
 * Eholt (Columbia & Western; discontinued 1908)
 * Farron (Columbia & Western; discontinued 1931)
 * Fernie (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1950s)
 * Field (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1940s)
 * Grand Forks (Columbia & Western, to Kettle Valley in 1931; transferred to BCR in 1955)
 * Golden (Kootenay Central, to Canadian Pacific in 1959; active)
 * Granby (Columbia & Western, to Kettle Valley in 1931; transferred to BCR in 1955)
 * Greenwood (Columbia & Western; discontinued 1908)
 * Hope North (Kettle Valley; transferred to BCR in 1955)
 * Kamloops (Canadian Pacific; active)
 * Kootenay Landing (British Columbia Southern, to Canadian Pacific in 1910; discontinued 1914)
 * Lardo (Kootenay & Arrowhead, to Canadian Pacific 1916; discontinued 1984)
 * Michel (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1910)
 * Nakusp (Nakusp & Slocan; discontinued 1912)
 * Nelson (Columbia & Kootenay, to Canadian Pacific in 1930; active - primary)
 * Penticton (Kettle Valley; transferred to BCR in 1955)
 * North Bend (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1941)
 * Rogers (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1914)
 * Sicamous (Canadian Pacific; active)
 * Sirdar (British Columbia Southern, to Canadian Pacific in 1910; discontinued 1911)
 * Smelter (Columbia & Kootenay, to Kettle Valley in 1931; transferred to BCR in 1955)
 * Spences Bridge (Nicola, Kamloops & Similkameen, to Kettle Valley in 1915; discontinued 1929)
 * Stephen (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1914)
 * Vancouver (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1982)
 * Victoria (Esquimalt & Nanaimo; transferred to BCR in 1978)
 * Westminster (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1909)
 * Yahk (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1947)
 * Yale (Canadian Pacific; discontinued 1902)

= CPR Steam locomotives assigned to BC = After the removal of customs duties on locomotives from Canada, engines were freely reassigned across the border from depot to depot as needed, and sometimes a given locomotive only worked a year or two in BC before being transferred away again. As such, a comprehensive survey of all CPR locomotives to have operated in BC would be extremely long and complex; therefore, presented here are the steam locomotive assignments on five specific dates - 31 July 1904, 31 January 1916, 31 January 1930, 31 December 1952, and 31 December 1958, which should provide the reader with a sufficiently illustrative glimpse into the subject.

31 July 1904
On this date, a total of 122 locomotives were assigned to the CPR and its subsidiaries in BC, divided as follows:


 * British Columbia Southern: 6 (1 4-4-0, 1 0-6-0, 3 4-6-0, 1 2-8-0)
 * Canadian Pacific: 77 (9 4-4-0, 7 0-6-0, 1 2-6-0, 27 4-6-0, 33 2-8-0)
 * Columbia & Kootenay: 19 (2 4-4-0, 2 0-6-0, 15 2-8-0)
 * Columbia & Western: 9 (6 2-8-0, 3 three-truck Shay)
 * Kootenay & Arrowhead: 1 (1 4-4-0)
 * Kootenay Central: 5 (1 0-6-0, 1 2-6-0, 1 4-6-0, 2 2-8-0)
 * Nakusp & Slocan: 1 (1 2-8-0)

Where a class designation in the following table is in parentheses, it means that that particular class had no designation in the original classification system used until 1912, and so the post-1912 classification is shown; where a given locomotive had several designations over the years (i.e. due to modifications or rebuildings), the first (1912) designation is shown.

31 January 1916
By this date, two subsidiaries, the British Columbia Southern and the Nakusp & Slocan, had been absorbed into the CPR, and the Kootenay & Arrowhead would follow suit in July of the year. Another subsidiary was added, however, when the CPR purchased the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway in 1905. Over the next few years, the locomotives of the Columbia & Western and the Kettle Valley would work on each other's lines with increasing frequency, and were often supplemented by CPR power from the Kamloops and Coquitlam depots.

With increasing traffic on existing lines and the opening of new ones, the number of engines assigned to BC had nearly doubled since 1904, with a total of 233 locomotives distributed between the CPR and its six BC subsidiaries as follows:


 * Canadian Pacific: 156 (2 4-4-0, 12 0-6-0, 1 2-6-0, 37 4-6-0, 10 4-6-2, 6 0-6-6-0, 5 0-8-0, 83 2-8-0)
 * Columbia & Kootenay: 28 (1 4-4-0, 2 0-6-0, 1 4-6-0, 24 2-8-0)
 * Columbia & Western: 13 (1 0-6-0, 2 0-8-0, 10 2-8-0)
 * Esquimalt & Nanaimo: 16 (2 0-6-0, 14 4-6-0)
 * Kettle Valley: 10 (10 2-8-0)
 * Kootenay & Arrowhead: 1 (1 2-6-0)
 * Kootenay Central: 9 (2 4-4-0, 1 0-6-0, 1 2-6-0, 3 4-6-0, 2 2-8-0)

31 January 1930
This was the last year in which the Columbia & Kootenay and Columbia & Western operated with distinct identities, as on 1 January 1931 both were merged into the Kettle Valley Railway after the Dominion government bought a 50.1% stake in both the C&K and the C&W. On 1 July 1930, a few weeks after the opening of the CPR's line connecting Wynndel to Nelson, the C&K's Nelson depot was reassigned from C&K jurisdiction to that of the CPR proper. After the fusion of the three subsidiaries (C&K, C&W, KVR), the locomotives of the two disappeared lines were gradually relettered with Kettle Valley Railway titles as they were shopped; the last engine to wear C&K titles, class U2c 0-6-0 shunter number 6036 based at Smelter Station working the railyard of Trail's massive Cominco smelter, was relettered in August 1942; the last locomotive to carry Columbia & Western titles was class V1a 0-8-0 shunter 6817 based at Castlegar to handle movements from a mine at Poupore Station to Castlegar, received KVR lettering in November 1943.

A total of 254 steam locomotives were assigned to BC depots, three-fifths to the CPR proper, the rest to the five BC subsidiaries, as follows:


 * Canadian Pacific: 151 (7 0-6-0, 2 2-6-0, 19 4-6-0, 11 4-6-2, 6 0-8-0, 62 2-8-0, 18 2-10-0, 11 2-10-2, 15 2-10-4)
 * Columbia & Kootenay: 34 (2 0-6-0, 1 0-8-0, 29 2-8-0, 2 2-10-0)
 * Columbia & Western: 13 (2 0-6-0, 3 0-8-0, 8 2-8-0)
 * Esquimalt & Nanaimo: 22 (2 0-6-0, 7 4-6-0, 13 2-8-0)
 * Kettle Valley: 22 (1 2-6-0, 6 4-6-0, 14 2-8-0, 1 2-10-0)
 * Kootenay Central: 12 (3 4-4-0, 3 0-6-0, 1 4-6-0, 5 2-8-0)

31 December 1952
By the end of 1952, the CPR had nearly a hundred fewer steam locomotives operating in BC than they had had in 1930. Electrification of the Cascade and Thompson Subdivisions between Vancouver and Kamloops in 1940 reduced the need for steam locomotives on that line significantly, as did the subsequent beginnings of dieselisation. When the CPR began its first experiments with dieselisation in the late 1940s, it decided to focus on a single area first, opting for the more-or-less isolated operations on Vancouver Island to start with; by 1950, steam power had been completely eliminated from the Esquimalt & Nanaimo. The success of the E&N dieselisation led to the CPR to take the decision to dieselise system-wide over the next decade.

On the last day of 1952, the 165 steam locomotives still operating in BC were divided between the CPR and the two remaining Mainland subsidiaries as follows:


 * Canadian Pacific: 110 (15 4-6-0, 14 4-6-2, 5 4-6-4, 1 0-8-0, 44 2-8-0, 35 2-8-2, 12 2-10-0, 6 2-10-2, 8 2-10-4)
 * Kettle Valley: 46 (2 4-6-0, 8 0-8-0, 26 2-8-0, 4 2-8-2, 6 2-10-0)
 * Kootenay Central: 9 (2 0-6-0, 2 4-6-0, 1 2-8-0, 1 2-8-2, 3 2-10-0)

31 December 1958
31 December 1958 was the last day that the Kootenay Central operated as a distinct entity; from 1 January 1959 it was fully absorbed into the CPR, ending the period of CP subsidiaries on the Mainland; the Esquimalt & Nanaimo remained a distinct entity until its purchase by the British Columbia Railway in 1978.

On that day, a total of 79 steam locomotives remained in operation on CPR lines in BC, divided between the CPR and the Kootenay Central:


 * Canadian Pacific: 63 (8 4-6-0, 10 4-6-2, 1 4-6-4, 15 2-8-0, 23 2-8-2, 5 2-10-0, 1 2-10-2)
 * Kootenay Central: 16 (6 4-6-0, 7 2-8-0, 3 2-8-2)