Canadian National No. 89

Canadian National No. 89 is a class E-10-a 2-6-0 “Mogul” type steam locomotive built by the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston, Ontario in February 1910. It entered service as Grand Trunk Railway No. 1009, one of a large family of light, fast Moguls built for branch-line freight and mixed-train service across the Grand Trunk’s Ontario and Quebec network. The locomotive was renumbered 911 in 1919, and when the financially troubled Grand Trunk was absorbed into the newly formed Canadian National Railways in 1923, it became CN 911. It received its final number, 89, in 1951 and continued working in Canadian revenue service until CN retired it from active duty in late 1958, after 48 years of service — a remarkably long working life for a locomotive of its size and vintage.

After retirement, No. 89 passed through the Green Mountain Railroad in Vermont before being purchased by the Strasburg Rail Road of Strasburg, Pennsylvania in June 1972. It entered regular excursion service on the Strasburg’s 4.5-mile line through Lancaster County’s Pennsylvania Dutch farm country in March 1973 and has operated there continuously ever since, undergoing its last major federally mandated rebuild in 1988. With 63-inch drivers and a comparatively light 141,800-lb total weight, No. 89 is the fastest and one of the most nimble locomotives in the Strasburg fleet, and it is frequently assigned to smaller passenger consists and occasional freight moves.

Now more than a century old, Canadian National No. 89 remains one of the best-known steam locomotives in American heritage railroading thanks to Strasburg’s high visibility as the oldest continuously operating railroad in the Western Hemisphere. Its distinctive black livery and manageable size have also made it a popular filming subject, with recent appearances in productions including HBO’s The Gilded Age and PBS Kids programming.