Canadian Pacific Railway
5900 'Selkirk' class 2-10-4

Built by the Montreal Locomotive Works. 1929-1949

CYLINDERS (2) 25 ins x 32 ins (635mm x 812.8mm)
COUPLED WHEEL DIAMETER 63 ins (1,600mm)
TOTAL HEATING SURFACE 6,645 square feet (617.3m²)
(including superheater)
GRATE AREA 93.5 square feet (8.7m²)
BOILER PRESSURE 285 PSI (1,965 kpa)
TRACTIVE EFFORT (INCLUDING BOOSTER) 89,405 lbs (40,554kg)
TOTAL WEIGHT 332 tons (337.3 tonnes)
LENGTH OVERALL 97 feet 10 ins (29,819.6mm)

These magnificent ten-coupled locomotives were part of the CPR'S solution to lifting heavy tonnages over the steep grades of the Rocky Mountains.

The first twenty T1a's were introduced in 1929 with another ten T1b's and six T1c's following in 1938 and 1949. The last sixteen of the class applied semi-streamlining in the CPR style of smooth all-over boiler cladding and skirting below the running plates. They also featured a device in the stack cowling designed to deflect the exhaust backwards in tunnels and snow sheds so reducing the chance of damage to these structures.

The 5900's were able to haul 1,000 tons unassisted across the mountains from Calgary to Beavermouth, but it was not unusual to find two 5900's or a 5900 with a S2a 2-10-2 or a P2h 2-8-2, teamed up for the Summit Section through the spiral tunnels of Cathedral Mountain and Mount Ogden over the famous Kicking Horse Pass.