Prior   0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26   Next

Decapod Type 2-10-0

by Omer Lavallee   The title "Decapod" is derived from two Greek words meaning "ten-footed", and was used to designate the 2-10-0 wheel arrangement, one of the first to employ ten driving wheels.   While the use of ten-coupled locomotives in North America dates back about a century, the first such locomotives to appear on Canadian Pacific lines were three 0-10-0 switching locomotives built in 1914, followed by six 2-10-0 types rebuilt in 1916-17 from 0-6-6-0 articulated locomotives ( Collectors' Item No. 6 ).

This conversion was considered to be a success; sufficiently so that the construction of 35 additional locomotives of class R3 was undertaken at Angus Shops beginning in May 1917, and in spite of the priorities of war production. The last units were completed in February 1919.   The R3s were used in main line services exclusively in the mountains of British Columbia. These assignments included transcontinental passenger trains. They were supplemented by the S class 2-10-2 locomotives, but were displaced after the arrival of the T class "Selkirks".

From this period, they were used as pusher and yard engines at such places as Golden, Revelstoke and Notch Hill. Some of them found their way to yard assignments on the prairies, including Winnipeg.   All except one remained in service until the 1950s.