CPR class H1

CPR Hudson (H1a / H1b) CPR Royal Hudson (H1c / H1d / H1e)
Royal Hudson No. 2860 on display in Squamish.
Number:	65
Manufacturer:	MLW
Year of construction (s):	1929-1930, 1937-1938, 1940
Retirement:	1960
Type :	2'C2 'h2
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Service mass:	H1a / H1b: 159 t H1c / H1d: 166 t H1e: 161 t
Friction mass:	H1a / H1b: 83.4 t H1c / H1d: 84.7 t H1e: 88 t
Top speed:	150 km / h
Starting tractive effort:	200 kN
Driving wheel diameter:	1900 mm
Number of cylinders:	2
Cylinder diameter:	560 mm
Piston stroke:	760 mm
Boiler overpressure:	19 bar
Control:	Heusinger control
Coupling type:	Janney clutch

The Royal Hudsons were 45 Hudson locomotives from the H1 class of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), which were provided with a partial streamlining . After King George VI. Having visited Canada, the CPR was granted the right to designate these locomotives as Royal Hudson in 1939 . The locomotives were in regular service from 1937 to 1960. Four locomotives have been preserved.

technology

The H1 locomotives were considered the premier class among the express train locomotives of the CPR. The design came from Henry Blane Bowen, the chief engineer for train conveyance of the CPR. The frame and cylinder were a single casting made by General Steal Castings in Pennsylvania . The fire box had a grate surface of 7.5 m², which was fed with a stoker , only the sub-class H1e was equipped with an oil furnace . The locomotives were equipped with a Heusinger control and piston valves .

During a test drive of 210 km, the locomotive with a 1650 t 19-car train reached a top speed in the region of 145 to 150 km / h.

The H1 class is often referred to as one of the most successful designs. The elegant machines were the most famous and visually impressive steam locomotives of the CPR. They were very reliable and performed over very long distances. Thanks to its good running properties, the H1 class was popular with drivers. Together with the Selkirk locomotives, it is considered a worthy end to the steam age at the CPR.

construction

The H1 class comprised 65 locomotives that were built by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) from 1929 onwards. The H in the designation stood for Hudson locomotive, the 1 for the first series with this wheel arrangement . The class was divided into five subclasses, with only those classes called Royal Hudson that wore a partial streamlined fairing.

H1 class

Subclass	number	number	Construction year	Partial streamlining
H1a	2800-2809	10	1929	No
H1b	2810-2819	10	1930	No
H1c Royal Hudson	2820-2849	30th	1937	Yes
H1d Royal Hudson	2850-2859	10	1938	Yes
H1e Royal Hudson	2860-2864	5	1940	Yes

commitment

The Royal Hudsons mainly used before the transcontinental express trains, but also pulled freight trains. They ran on all major CPR routes except Montreal to Saint John , where they were not used due to bridge weight restrictions.

The long runs were remarkable. For example, the transcontinental passenger train The Dominion, starting in Toronto , was pulled by a Royal Hudson to Fort William , 1300 km away , where the train was taken over by the next Royal Hudson for the 2010 km to Calgary . There a Selkirk locomotive came in front of the Dominion for the journey through the Rocky Mountains, which was replaced by a H1e in Revelstoke for the remaining 610 km to Vancouver .

At the end of 1952 the locomotives were assigned to the depots as follows:

Deposit allocation

depot	number	Series
Montreal	10	H1c, H1d
Toronto	7th	H1c, H1d
Fort William	4th	H1c, H1d
Winnipeg	17th	H1c, H1d
Calgary	2	H1c, H1d
Vancouver	5	H1e

The oil-fired class H1e locomotives were initially only used on the Revelstoke – Vancouver route until they were replaced by diesel locomotives in the 1950s and assigned to other depots.

With the continued introduction of diesel locomotives, most of the Royal Hudsons were displaced before the express trains and were only used in front of freight and regional trains. By 1960, CPR had completed the conversion to diesel operation and all 65 H1-class locomotives were scrapped. Most of the locomotives were scrapped between 1958 and 1966, with the exception of five remaining locomotives.

origin of the name

In 1939 visited with King George VI. first time a ruling British monarch of Canada. He and his wife, Queen Elizabeth , traveled across the country by rail from Québec . The CPR and the Canadian National Railway (CNR) shared the honor of hauling the court train across the country, with the CPR handling the journey west from Quebec to Vancouver . The steam locomotive that the CPR used for the train was number 2850, which was specially painted in silver and blue. She drove 5,189 kilometers through Canada with 25 different crews without suffering any damage. The king himself was a railway enthusiast and therefore rode in the driver's cab whenever possible. He was so impressed with the design of the locomotive that after the tour he gave the CPR the right to designate the series with Royal Hudsons and to use the representation of the Royal Crowns on the tread plate. This was the first and only time a locomotive outside the UK was granted royal status from the reigning monarch. No. 2850 has been preserved in the Canadian Railway Museum called Exporail .

Preserved locomotives

Four Royal Hudson locomotives and one Hudson locomotive without streamlining have been preserved:

class	number	country	museum	place	photo
H1b	2816	Canada		Canadian Pacific Railway	operational until 2012
H1c	2839	United States	Nethercutt Collection	Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley in California	operational between 1979 and 1980
H1d	2850	Canada	Exporail	Saint-Constant near Montreal	Locomotive from the court train in 1939
H1d	2858	Canada	Canada Science and Technology Museum	Ottawa
H1e	2860	Canada	West Coast Railway Heritage Park	Squamish near Vancouver	operational between 2006 and 2010

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 "Hudson" Locomotives in Canada. In: steamlocomotives.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018 . 
2. ^ ^{A b} Canadian Pacific Railway's Royal Hudsons . In: Rapido Trains Inc. (Ed.): Rapido Trains Inc. April 4, 2016 ( online [accessed October 3, 2018]).
3. ^ Significant dates in Canadian railway history . In: Colin Churcher's Railway Pages . March 17, 2006. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2006.
4. ^ Michael Berr: Royal Hudson CP 2858. In: Railpictures.ca. Retrieved October 5, 2018 .