New Motive Power for the Grizzly Northern

THE  GRIZZLY

The Bulletin of the Grizzly Northern Railway

Issue  Number Six                                                                                                            September 5 1946

New motive power for the Grizzly Northern!

Railway officials were on hand at the Kamloops station yard on August 26^th to welcome the arrival of an addition to the railway’s locomotive fleet, a heavy 2-10-2 Santa Fe type engine, purchased from the Kansas City Southern Railway.

The engine, ex Kansas City Southern No. 220, will be renumbered as Grizzly Northern No. 5803. It is similar to the Grizzly Northern’s other 2-10-2, No. 5802. Both engines, built by American Locomotive Works in 1923, have 57 in. dia. drivers, weigh 380,000 lbs and have 73,800 lbs tractive effort.

Mr. Richard Trevithick, Chief, Motive Power and Rolling Stock, noted that No. 220 is the first locomotive to be acquired by the Grizzly Northern since 1938 and is much needed given the loss of No. 5800 in 1940, due to an avalanche, and No. 5801 in 1942, due to a boiler explosion; also in view of many locomotives reaching their end of life after years of heavy usage during the war.  

Mr. Trevithick pointed out an interesting feature of No. 220 is that it is oil fired, unlike No. 5802 and other Grizzly Northern locomotives, which are coal fired. He stated that the plan is to carefully evaluate the performance and maintenance characteristics and the economics of No. 220 as compared to No. 5802 in determining whether to convert other engines to oil. He said that No. 220, renumbered as No. 5803, would be assigned to Geiranger, to join No. 5802 in pusher service on the mainline.

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