Streamlined 4-8-4 that pulled a leg of the Royal Train across Canada in 1939, shown here at Belleville, Ontario in 1960. It still looks like this today in the Museum of Science & Technology in Ottawa, testament to the value of keeping locomotives inside.

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/cn6400.jpg

This museum in Ottawa, is one of the nicest I've been to. Rail historians should make a point of getting up there. The railroad wing alone is worth the trip. Out back there is a collection of locomotives, including an ex CPR FM C-Liner, in storage. One note regrading 6400. WHile she is immaculate, they only allow people in her cab with an escort. The CPR 4-8-4 and the Royal Hudson have both had gauges and other small cab parts stolen by museum visitors! The room where they are displayed looks like typical station of the period, too. The 6200 class Northern out front is stripped of parts, but most are stored inside the museum for safe keeping.

Ottawa is a beautiful city with plenty to do.

Here is 6400 in its 1939 Royal Train blue livery.



And here it is today in the Canada Science and Technology Museum (sorry about the poor picture quality)

Just a little side note to this. The number plate from 6400's sister engine # 6401 (it might have been 6404) sold at auction five or six years ago for $7,000 Canadian, which would translate into about $5,800 U.S. The reason for the rediculously high price? Not only were only 5 of these engines built, but the number plate is curved to conform to the shape of the streamlined nose, making it even more rare.

I have visited this engine twice, but have never seen the cab open, or seen tours taking place. The hudson and 3100 were somewhat disappointing because of the amount of hardware missing out of the cab.
Some day I hope to see sister engine 5703 under steam again, at least she is under cover, in the company of operable engines and has at least a little track to stretch her legs on. The little Essex Terminal engine is a Jewel to be sure, but a mainline excursion engine she ain't. When you tour 5703 in St.Thomas, it is easy to believe a little warm water is all she needs to go, she is very complete, well maintained. CN 6213 gave me the same impression a decade ago, the day I went to see her in Toronto they were hydroing her air tanks. All her appliances were said to be in working condition, remarkable for an engine stored outside with no protection from the elements. Too bad the stars never aligned. She could have been a star at the restored roundhouse in Toronto, but alas the roundhouse became a brewery, the tracks were torn up, a parking lot was built underneath the lands adjacent to the roundhouse, and the weight of a fully loaded 4-8-4 would never be supported. Too bad as the original coaling tower and water tower still exist on site...oh what could have been!

It is my understanding that a similar type of thing happened a few years back with the plates off of #6408, one of the GTW's U-4-b's (basically the same engine), of which sadly none were preserved. The collector in question lived in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area, and had secured them (along with most of the cab appliances, raised side numbers, and other hardware) while the engine was awaiting scrapping at Durand. The last of the GTW versions lasted into 1962 or 3, is my understanding.

To me, THIS and the CNR "Bullet-Nose-Betty's" are the definition of "streamlined steam." I never cease to stop and look when i get off the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia and guak at #6069; like I've been doing for the past 29 years or so ;-)

TJG

pm-man,
Do you have any older pics of 6069? We are trying to research when and why her whistle was removed.