The caboose, the last car in the freight train, provides office space for the train crew as well as a position from which to observe the train. Freight cars are of a wide variety: boxcars for general merchandise tank cars for liquids refrigerator cars for perishable goods hoppers and covered hoppers for bulk commodities flatcars for large machinery, containers and highway trailers tri-level automobile carriers plus various special-purpose freight cars. Modern freight cars are capable of carrying up to 100 t of freight. Today, freight and passenger cars are constructed of steel and aluminum. ![]() Until 1910 most rolling stock was constructed of wood on iron or steel frames. Freight cars were of 2 basic types: open-deck flatcars and enclosed boxcars. On the earliest railways, passenger cars were merely modified stagecoaches. ![]() Rolling stock consists of nonpowered railway cars for the transport of freight and passengers. They have 2 major disadvantages: they can run only where overhead wire (catenary) for electric power has been installed and they and their power supply equipment are expensive and thus economical only in regions of heavy traffic. Their fast acceleration makes them preferable for passenger service. They are not dependent on a single energy source they can use electricity generated by coal, oil, nuclear or hydropower.Įlectric locomotives have the ability to withstand overload power levels for short periods, making them well suited to mountainous regions where steep grades and heavy trains predominate. Electric locomotives are clean and have low maintenance. The Mount Royal tunnel in Montréal was electrified in 1915. The first electric locomotives in Canada went into service in 1906, when the St Clair tunnel at Sarnia was electrified to overcome problems with steam locomotive smoke. Locomotives for passenger trains have higher gearing which gives them a higher normal operating speed. Today most freight trains are hauled by units of approximately 220 kW (3000 hp) with 4 or 6 axles. Several units can be coupled for long trains, requiring only one engineer to operate all of them. They have higher fuel efficiency, lower maintenance requirements and fewer breakdowns. Diesel-electric locomotives are more economical to operate than steam locomotives. The generator provides electrical energy to drive the motors on each locomotive axle. The diesel-electric locomotive uses a diesel engine to power an electric generator. By 1960 both CN and CP railways had stopped using steam locomotives in regularly scheduled trains. After the war, railways began to use diesel-electric locomotives for main-line freight and passenger service. Until the end of WWII diesel locomotives in use in Canada were low-horsepower switching engines. Built in 1929, it was actually 2 locomotives coupled, developing 950 kW of power each. CN Railways operated the first diesel-electric locomotive in Canada. The diesel engine, invented by Rudolf Diesel in the late 1890s, was first used in a diesel-electric locomotive in the US (1924). The Selkirks (2-10-4 configuration) were the largest locomotives to operate in Canada and were used in the Rockies between Calgary and Kamloops. The Royal Hudson locomotive was used for high-speed passenger service. At about the same time, CPR brought into service 2 types of locomotives, the Royal Hudson (4-6-4 configuration) and the Selkirk. It had wheels in 4-8-4 configuration and was used for freight and passenger service east of the Rockies. In 1927 Canadian National Railways introduced the Northern locomotive. During the first part of the 20th century locomotives continued to grow in size and power output. This locomotive had larger cylinders than the American, greater boiler capacity and tremendous hauling power. The Pacific locomotive was introduced in Canada in 1905 to provide faster service for passenger trains. By 1887 the Canadian Pacific Railway owned nearly 400 of these locomotives. This wheel configuration, 4-4-0, was referred to as the American type and was the predominant style of locomotive during the 1850-90 period. Named Toronto, the locomotive had a set of 4 driving wheels and 4 small front wheels for better travel through curves. The first locomotive to be constructed in Canada was built by the James Good family (1853) of Toronto. In working order it weighed 5½ t and ran at an average speed of 23 km/h. It had a 0-4-0 wheel arrangement (no front truck, no rear truck, 4 main wheels) with 1.2 m diameter driving wheels. It ran between La Prairie and St-Jean, Qué, on Canada's first railway, the Champlain and Saint Lawrence (1836). The first locomotive used in Canada was the Dorchester, built by Robert Stephenson and Co in England (1835). ![]() Previous Next Locomotives and Rolling StockĪ locomotive is a self-propelled vehicle which hauls nonpowered vehicles on railway track.
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