Locomotives
The first locomotive on the T&NR was a small 4-4-0 ordered from the Avonside Engine Company by George Laidlaw, and John Shedden during a visit to England in the Spring of 1869. This was before the appointment of Edmund Wragge as Chief Engineer, and it is likely that they were advised to order it by Douglas Fox based on his similar recommendations for the Queensland Railways. The largest order placed by the T&NR was for six small 4-4-0s from the Canadian Engine & Machinery Company of Kingston, Ontario delivered in 1870-71. It is significant that John Shedden, President of the T&NR, was also a Director of CE&MC. In 1872 a Fairlie 0-6-6-0 was received from Avonside together with another, larger, 4-6-0. Then followed two small 4-6-0s and one large 4-6-0 from Avonside. The most successful of all these locomotives, judged by their utilisation, were the Avonside 4-6-0s. Four of the locomotives were damaged beyond repair during a January 1883, fire at Uxbridge, Ontario and the remainder were sold following gauge standardisation and amalgamation with the Midland Railway of Canada.
The numbers and names of these T&NR locomotives have long been confused in early historical reviews, and the errors repeated in subsequent publications. Reference to the original company records held by Library and Archives Canada, the published Annual Reports of the Company, and the Avonside Engine Company records held at the Leeds Industrial Museum (UK) have established the correct numbering and naming, cited below.
| Number | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avonside Engine Company | 4-4-0 | September 1870 | 808 | named Gooderham & Worts. Sold by Midland Railway, 1883–84 |
| 2 | Canadian Engine & Machinery Company | 4-4-0 | November 1870 | 83 | named M C Cameron. Damaged beyond repair by fire, at Uxbridge, January 14, 1883 |
| 3 | Canadian Engine & Machinery Company | 4-4-0 | December 1870 | 84 | named R Walker & Son. Sold by Midland Railway, 1883–84 |
| 4 | Canadian Engine & Machinery Company | 4-4-0 | early 1871 | 85 | named Rice Lewis & Son. Damaged beyond repair by fire, at Uxbridge, January 14, 1883 |
| 5 | Canadian Engine & Machinery Company | 4-4-0 | March 1871 | 86 | named Joseph Gould. Damaged beyond repair by fire, at Uxbridge, January 14, 1883 |
| 6 | Canadian Engine & Machinery Company | 4-4-0 | May 1871 | 87 | named Uxbridge. Sold by Midland Railway, 1883–84 |
| 7 | Canadian Engine & Machinery Company | 4-4-0 | May 1871 | 88 | named Eldon. Sold by Midland Railway, 1883–84 |
| 8 | Avonside Engine Company | 4-6-0 | December 1871 | 867 | named Toronto. Sold by Midland Railway, 1883–84 |
| 9 | Avonside Engine Company | 0-6-6-0 Fairlie | December 1871 | 864 & 865 | named Shedden. Damaged beyond repair by fire, at Uxbridge, January 14, 1883 |
| 10 | Avonside Engine Company | 4-6-0 | early 1873 | Uncertain but probably one of 931-934 | named Coboconk. Sold by Midland Railway, 1883–84 |
| 11 | Avonside Engine Company | 4-6-0 | 1872 | Uncertain but probably one of 935-939 | named Bexley. Sold by Midland Railway, 1883–84 |
| 12 | Avonside Engine Company | 4-6-0 | early 1873? | Uncertain but probably one of 935-939 | named Brock. Sold by Midland Railway, 1883–84 |
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Famous quotes containing the word locomotives:
“The flower-fed buffaloes of the spring
In the days of long ago,
Ranged where the locomotives sing
And the prairie flowers lie low:—”
—Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931)