The 4-8-4 was the ultimate wheel configuation for the modern passenger and fast freight steam locomotive. The eight driver arrangement was usable on almost every main line in North America and with drivers up to 80 inches in diameter allowed any reasonable speed that the railroad could handle. The four wheel trailing truck supported a larger firebox for maximum steam levels allowing for extra boiler capacity. The four wheel leading (or pony) truck completed the best combination for riding and tracking.
The Canadian National Railway took delivery of its first 4-8-4 locomotive (road number 6100) in 1927 and used the name "Confederation" for this wheel arrangement from the very beginning.
Between 1940 and 1944 a total of 90 more 4-8-4s, in four batches, were added to the roster giving CNR a total of 160 "Confederations".
There are six surviving "Confederations"; number 6153 at the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, QC, number 6167 near the CN station in Guelph, ON, numbers 6200 and 6400 at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, ON, number 6213 at Maritime Museum Exhibition Park in Toronto, ON and number 6218 at the Fort Erie Railroad Museum in Fort Erie, ON. These are my photos of 6218 which was a U 2 g, built around 1943. Soon of them are from damaged negatives, but since they are of 6218 my webmaster has decided to use them anyway.
