About
CN 6218
Magnificent CN 6218 was built in 1942 at the Montreal Locomotive Works.� Fast and powerful, such �Confederation�
or �Northern� type locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive
design and helped to literally pull Canada through World War II and beyond.
CN 6218�s career saw it travel the rails as far west as Winnipeg and as
far east as Halifax.� CN 6218 also
saw service in the Niagara Peninsula and even to White River Junction in
Vermont before being� retired from
revenue service in 1959.
In 1963, this grand locomotive�s superb design and reliability made it
the natural choice to power Canadian National�s popular steam excursion
service.� The last steam locomotive
to be refurbished at the railway�s Stratford facility,� CN 6218 then traversed Canada and the
USA, hauling thousands of rail fans and history buffs.� It became one of the most
photographed�� locomotives of all
time and was the last coal fired steam engine to be run by the Canadian National
Railway.�
Retired from excursion service in 1971,
CN 6218 quickly became the subject of struggle between several
municipalities, all of whom wished to become the final home of this
historic engine.� Fort Erie realized
this goal when CN 6218 came to Fort Erie in 1973.� The locomotive has been the featured
attraction at the Fort Erie Railroad Museum since that time.
