Canadian National 89
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Canadian National 89 is a 1910 built 2-6-0 owned by the Strasburg Rail Road.
History
89 was originally built by the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston, Ontario, for the Grand Trunk Railway as number 1009. In 1919 it was renumbered 911. In 1923, the Grand Trunk was merged into the Canadian National Railway (CN) with 911 being one of the thousands of locomotives working for this new railroad. In 1951, 911 was renumbered 89. Most of 89's career on the CN is unknown; it appears that it spent the latter part of its working life in Quebec before being retired in the late 1950s and being stored in a deadline of locomotives in Montreal.
In 1961, 89 was purchased by New England seafood magnate and steam locomotive collector F. Nelson Blount and moved to North Walpole, New Hampshire, in the United States. 89 found a home in the former Boston & Maine North Walpole roundhouse and starting in 1965, would begin operating on the Green Mountain Railroad and would later be moved to Bellows Falls, Vermont. 89 quickly became Blount's favorite locomotive and he would often be found at the throttle until his death in 1967.
In June 1972, 89 was sold by the Green Mountain Railroad to the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. The move from Bellows Falls to Strasburg was overseen by Strasburg employee Linn Moedinger. During a stopover in Penn Central's Buttonwood Yard in Wilkes-Bare, 89 was stranded when Hurricane Agnes caused the Susquehanna River to flood much of the area. 89 spent several days submerged in the rail yard but emerged with little to no damage.[1][2]
Upon arrival to Strasburg, 89 faced east and would remain that way until the turntable at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania was installed in 1973. 89 frequently operated in tandem with Pennsylvania Railroad 4-4-0 number 1223 on Strasburg's half-hour trains until it was taken out of service in the early 1980s for major repairs. During these repairs which lasted the majority of the decade, 89 was completely rebuilt from the ground up including major boiler and running gear work. Emerging from its rebuild in 1989, 89 returned to pulling the half-hour trains, being joined by former N&W 4-8-0 475 in 1993. In October 2001, 89 was modified and repainted to its 1950s Canadian National appearance with the tilted monogram logo. In 2008, 89's tender logo was re-lettered to read "Strasburg Rail Road," in keeping with Strasburg's policy of historical authenticity.