MacMillan Bloedel & Powell River Ltd. 1077
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| MacMillan Bloedel & Powell River Ltd. No. 1077 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) No. 1077 taking part in the Steam Expo locomotive parade at the 1986 World Exposition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MacMillan Bloedel & Powell River Ltd. No. 1077 is a 2-6-2 "Prairie" type steam locomotive, built in 1923 by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). Today, the locomotive is preserved and operated by the Fort Steele Heritage Town in Fort Steele, British Columbia.
No. 1077 was built in December 1923 by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) for the Cathels & Sorenson Logging Company as No. 1, it worked for several years for the company hauling logging trains until 1944 when it was sold to the Victoria Lumber & Manufacturing Company and was renumbered to No. 7.[1][2][3] It was originally built to burn wood, but was later converted to burn oil.[1][2][4]
In 1952, the company later became the MacMillan Bloedel and Victoria Lumber & Manufacturing and the engine was renumbered to No. 1077.[1][2][3] It was later moved to the company's Nanaimo Lakes Logging Railway were it was placed in standby service.[1][5] No. 1077 would continue in revenue service until it was retired in 1969.[1][2][5][4]
In 1974, it was sold to the Province of British Columbia to operate tourist trains for the Provincial Museum train for BC Rail, alongside Canadian Pacific 3716.[1][2][4] it was restored to operating condition in July 1975 and was placed in standby power for CP 3716 on Vancouver Island, dude to it being too heavy for some of the bridges.[1][5] There, the engine was given the nickname Herb Hawkins, in honor of the octogenarian boiler-marker who restored the engine to active service.[5]
In May 1986, the engine participated at SteamExpo 86 in Vancouver British Columbia along with Virginia and Truckee 22 Inyo, Canadian Pacific 374, Canadian Pacific 3, ERM&L Co. 1 Falk, Dunrobin (2nd), PL Co. 12, Great Western 51, AP 2, Canadian National 1392, Union Pacific 4466, Elk River Railroad 1, Quincy Railroad 2, Tom Thumb (1927 Replica), Best Friend of Charleston (1928 Replica), Mount Ranier Railroad 91, John Bull (1939 Replica), CP 2860, Canadian Pacific 1201, Canadian National 6060, John Molson (1970 Replica), and Stephenson's Rocket (1979 Replica).[1][4][6]
In 1990, No. 1077 was moved to Fort Steele Heritage Town in Fort Steele, British Columbia, were it now hauls tourist trains around the 2.5-mile track.[1][7][8][9][10][11]
On July 15, 2023, the museum celebrated the locomotive's 100th birthday.[12][13][14][15][16]
In April 2024, No. 1077 was taken out of service and put into storage after the Fort Steele Heritage Town suspended operations due to a review for safety, maintenance, and aging equipment concerns.[11][17][4] In January 2025, the museum was purchased by the Cranbrook Archives, Museum and Landmark Society and operations were eventually resumed with No. 1077 being rebuilt and return to service.[18][19]
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