Introduction
Legget, pp. 155-156: «Locomotive designs rarely cause widespread controversy but the last major design introduced by the CPR certainly did, two groups of semi-streamlined 4—4—4s intended for high-speed passenger service. Some had 80-in driving wheels and a boiler pressure of 300 psi. The five that were built in 1936 were seldom used to their full speed potential; their characteristic propensity for slipping prevented their use with heavy trains, but they remained in secondary service until 1958. Some thought them to be attractive-looking machines; others, the poorest-looking modern locomotives of the CPR, their unusual wheel arrangements and heavy trailing bogie giving them an almost unbalanced appearance.»
Buck, pp.167 & 169: «Semi-streamlining was applied with good effect to a new high-speed passenger locomotive with a 4—4—4 wheel arrangement. Named Jubilee, in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of transcontinental passenger service on the CPR, these diminutive locomotives were equipped with large, eighty-inch diameter driving wheels with low-friction roller bearings, and a boiler that operated at 300 psi, higher than any other CPR locomotive except the 8000. Intended for high-speed runs between cities, number 3001 was assigned in September 1936 to a new passenger express running between Edmonton and Calgary, called the Chinook, after the warm dry winds encountered in the region. Stylized name plates were mounted on the sides of the boiler jacket near the front of the smokebox, and with the new curved-sided cars, the train cut almost an hour off the travel time of regular trains.»
Jones, p.99: «By 1935, the CPR had equipped its first passenger cars with air conditioning, and during the following year introduced four complete four-car, lightweight, streamlined trains, drawn by new 4-4-4 Jubilee locomotives. The railway's hoped-for, inter-city revival in passenger traffic never occurred, but the new lightweight coaches and streamlined engines were promising prototypes of good things to come.»
In this article, we present the class details as given in Lavallée's reproduction, p.18 of CPR's "Classification and Dimensions of Locomotives, January 1945". Moreover, we present images from various archives. Note in passing that we could not find any photos for #3004.
Specifications
3000
Fresh off the assembly line:
In regular service:
3001 "Chinook"
On its 1936 demonstration tour:
British Columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
In regular service, with nameplates "Chinook":
With a front skirting different to the original (addition of two vertical brass(?) strips, no lower l-h-s handlebars(?))
Buck's description of the above image:
Buck, p.168: «Freshly polished and almost brand-new, Jubilee 3001, sporting Chinook name plates near the front of the smokebox, is seen with its train of curved-sided rollling stock at Calgary in 1936. The semi-streamlining gave the locomotive a modern appearance for the time, and the large driving wheels enabled it to reach speeds in excess of sixty miles an hour. The skirting along the front, besides deflecting the wind, covered the front coupler and the bell. The vertical slits in the front, near the top of the smokebox, permit air to enter the shroud and pass by the smokestack, helping to lift the smoke clear of the cab.»
Same image as above but with a different given location and date:
Same image, held by the Glenbow Museum:
With a front skirting different to the original (protruding coupler)
With a extended smokestack
With a new front end
Bad day at work!
3002
With extended smokestack, relocated bell, numberboard across the grill but original skirting
3003
With “elephant's ears”
Unidentified
Tender
Marginalia
- Model that's not quite right
- The inevitable result of car versus train
- No Jubilee engine but its curved-sided carriages in use
References
- Buck, G.H. (1997), From Summit to Sea: An Illustrated History of Railroads in British Columbia and Alberta, Fifth House Ltd., Calgary, ISBN 1-895618-94-0.
- Jones, D.L. (2006), Famous name trains: travelling in style with the CPR, Fifth House Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, ISBN-10: 1-894856-52-X.
- Lavallée, O. (1985), Canadian Pacific Railway Diagrams and Data: Steam Locomotives, Railfare Enterprises Limited, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 0-919130-45-3.
- Legget, R.F. (1973), Railways of Canada, Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver, B.C..
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