Countess of Dufferin

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**Countess of Dufferin**
Power type	Steam

Builder	Baldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number	2660
Configuration	4-4-0 American
Career	Northern Pacific Railway (NP), Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), Columbia River Lumber Company
Number	NP 21; CPR 151
Delivered	1872
Disposition	Preserved at the Winnipeg Railway Museum

The Countess of Dufferin was the first steam locomotive to operate in the Canadian prairie provinces and is named after the wife of the first Governor General of Canada. The locomotive was built by M. Baird & Co., (builders plate #2660) and delivered to Northern Pacific Railway as #21 in 1872. It was used in the Minnesota and Dakota Territories until 1877 when it was sold for $9700.00 to Joseph Whitehead, a contractor for Canadian Pacific Railway. The locomotive, along with 6 flatcars and a caboose were loaded on to barges at Fisher's Landing, Minnesota and propelled by the SS Selkirk, they were shipped up the Red River to St. Boniface, now an electoral district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, arriving October 9, 1877,^[1] at a cost of $440.00.

Upon arrival the locomotive was used on Government of Canada Contract #5, the first contract issued in the promised rail link that brought British Columbia into Confederation. The locomotive was used in the completion of Pembina branch to the US border linking Winnipeg with Minneapolis. Next it worked east from Winnipeg to the lakehead in northwest Ontario, connecting with contractors from eastern Canada. In 1883 ownership was transferred and it became Canadian Pacific #151. It then worked west from Winnipeg to Golden, British Columbia (Government of Canada Contract #15) were it was last used as a construction locomotive.

In the mid 1880s, the locomotive was again sold, this time to the Columbia River Lumber Company, owned by William Mackenzie and Donald Mann of the Canadian Northern Railway. They renamed the locomotive as The Betsy and used it to power the sawmill. In 1909, the City of Winnipeg learned of the locomotive's existence and convinced the owners to donate it to the city. It was transported back to Winnipeg, restored in the Weston Shop and renumbered CPR #1. It was displayed in various locations until 1977, when Mr. George Richardson and the CPR spent a considerable amount of money to fully restore the Countess of Dufferin. The locomotive now resides in the Winnipeg Railway Museum located on tracks 1 and 2 in VIA Rail Union Station in downtown Winnipeg.