Canadian National 3254

Canadian National 3254 is a class "S-1-b" 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive built by the Canadian Locomotive Company for the Canadian National Railway as the fifth member of the Canadian National class S-1-b.

Revenue service
Canadian National 3254 was built in 1917 by the Canadian Locomotive Company for the Canadian Government Railways where it was originally numbered as No. 2854. In 1918, the Canadian Government Railways was merged with the Canadian Northern Railway to create the Canadian National Railway (CN). During a subsequent renumbering process within the locomotive fleet, No. 2854 was renumbered to No. 3254. The locomotive had considerable pulling power, could climb grades without incident, and was used to pull heavy freight trains. No. 3254 had a mostly uneventful career before it was involved in a head-on collision in British Columbia in 1941. The locomotive subsequently continued to pull freight trains for CN, until its last major class 3 overhaul was completed in Allendale, Ontario, and it was retired from revenue service in February 1958.

Preservation
After being stored for three years, the locomotive was sold in November 1961 to motel owner Willis F. Barron, who moved it to a Reading Company (RDG) station in Ashland, Pennsylvania. Barron had intentions to run the locomotive on the former RDG branchline that served the town, but rails were ripped up before Barron's planned venture could begin operation. He had No. 3254 disassembled, moved via truck, and reassembled at his Ashland Court Motel for static display in front of a New Haven passenger coach. During the 1970s, Barron lost interest in restoring No. 3254 to operating condition, so it was sold to the Adirondack Railroad in Lake Placid, New York, but it was never delivered there.

Gettysburg Railroad
In 1982, it was sold again to the Gettysburg Railroad, and they disassembled it to be hauled by truck to Gettysburg. It was subsequently reassembled and restored to operating condition in 1985, and it began pulling excursion trains between Gettysburg and Mount Holly Springs. It also participated in that year's National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) convention alongside Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad 2-8-0 No. 38. During its time at Gettysburg, however, the locomotive proved to be oversized and overpowered for the railroad's needs, so it only operated there for a year and a half until it was pulled from service and put into storage in 1986.

Steamtown National Historic Site
Simultaneously, Steamtown, U.S.A. needed a larger locomotive to meet the demand for greater motive power to pull their longer excursion trains, and they needed a second operable steam locomotive for their grand reopening of 1987. In June 1987, the Gettysburg Railroad agreed to trade No. 3254, in exchange for Canadian Pacific 1278 and $100,000. The locomotive was repainted as Delaware, Lackawanna and Western (DLW) No. 1271, and on June 14, it moved under its own power from Gettysburg to Harrisburg to Steamtown's location in Scranton. After the National Park Service (NPS) acquired Steamtown, which was consequently renamed as Steamtown National Historic Site, No. 3254 was reverted to its CN appearance. In 1995, the locomotive participated in the grand opening of Steamtown's main roundhouse alongside multiple other locomotives, including Canadian Pacific 2317, Baldwin Locomotive Works 26, Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad 425, Susquehanna SY No. 142, and Milwaukee Road 261.

Disposition
Steamtown also owns Canadian National 3377, which became a spare parts provider for the locomotive. The tender from No. 3377 replaced No. 3254 original tender in 2010 due to rust leaks; the original tender would later be scrapped. As a result of issues with either the boiler/firebox or the frame, combined with other needed maintenance which made further operation impractical, the locomotive made its last run on December 2, 2012. It was taken out of service after the 2012 holiday season, and it was subsequently awaiting its 1,472 day inspection and rebuild. Steamtown later decided to officially retire it from excursion service indefinitely due to its poor condition. The early retirement is likely attributed due to its bent frame of its 1941 collision, it has frequently been described as a "rough rider," and had been chewing up bearings at an accelerated rate. It also consumed a staggering amount of coal compared to the amount consumed by Canadian Pacific 2317.

As of 2023, the engine still remains on static display, with no plans on returning to service anytime soon, due to its poor condition and bent frame. Boston and Maine 3713 will be replacing No. 3254 as Steamtown's main line excursion locomotive once restored to operation. Additionally, despite being used for spare parts, sister locomotive No. 3377 will be the next candidate for restoration.

1941 head-on collision
On July 24, 1941, No. 3254 was pulling the second section of CN’s Transcontinental passenger train out of New Westminster, British Columbia and onto a single-track line in the Brunette Valley at less than 25 mph, and then at 9:42 am, it collided head-on with a Great Northern Railway (GN) passenger train, led by 4-6-2 locomotive No. 1351. Local experts believed that the GN No. 1351 crew, who were new to their jobs at the time, have accidentally caused the collision; they were ordered to stop at a siding to wait for the second section of the Transcontinental—No. 3254’s train—to pass before proceeding on the single-track shared by CN and GN, but when the first section of the Transcontinental passed, the engineer allegedly mistook it as the train they were supposed to wait for and proceeded too early.

No. 3254 and its tender jackknifed onto their sides, and the locomotive was severely damaged upon impact, with the cylinder blocks being ripped away from the frame and the piston rods being twisted upwards, and a wooden baggage car directly behind it was crushed. The locomotive also began to engulf in flames, and when fire fighters arrived at the scene, they had to use chemical equipment to put the fire out. No. 3254 engineer Herbert H. Mills and fireman Tillinger were both severely injured, as was No. 1351 engineer John Caray. No. 1351 fireman A. Hager and CN baggage man Harold H. Krinks—who was inside the wooden baggage car—were killed upon impact, while twenty-one passengers and crew members received minor injuries.

Many people arrived at the scene to help bring the injured passengers and crew to safety, and a second mainline was temporarily built to clear the wreckage. Despite being badly damaged following the accident, CN rebuilt the No. 3254, and it continued to run in revenue service, but the locomotive was left with a bent frame and an off-centered cab.