DAR0026

Dominion Atlantic Railway Locomotive No. 26 "President", "Wolfville", "Governor Cox", "Kent"

No. 26, in Kentville circa 1937

Wheel Arrangement: 4-4-0

Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in March 1901.

Builder No. 18998
18" x 24" cylinders
66" drivers
45 ft. 8 1/2 in. wheel base, total engine and tender
182,000 lbs. total weight engine and tender

More design details and specifications of No. 26 are shown in the article at: The Railway and Shipping World 1902 February.

No. 26 was ordered directly from Baldwin by the DAR and intended for passenger service.^[1]

The locomotive had a long, eventful career and survived to be the last 4-4-0 on the DAR. No. 26 became a much-photographed relic from earlier days during its final years working light duties out of Kentville. The locomotive was built by Baldwin for the DAR in 1901 and was a near twin to No. 25.

In 1915, No. 26 with engineer Ben Hartlen fought an epic three day battle against 26 foot snow drifts at Grafton on the North Mountain Line.^[2]

On October 12, 1920, No. 26 was being driven by engineer Harry Walsh and fireman Fred Yould as the lead locomotive in a double headed freight from Truro with No. 27. Both engines were badly wrecked after striking pigs or a cow at high speed at Lower Truro. Fireman Fred Yould was killed.^[3]

No. 26 was rebuilt and served for many more years under three different names. Working its final days as the DAR’s last 4-4-0 it worked as a switcher in the Kentville Railyard and pulled the school train to Kingsport. It was scrapped in Kentville in 1941.^[4]

Names

No. 26 was first given the name "President". In the 1920s, the locomotive was renamed "Governor Cox" and by 1929 it was named "Kent".

Name Origins:

"President": uncertain
"Wolfville": Mentioned in a letter from James O'Donnell to Harold Jenkins April 16, 1980
"Governor Cox": Governor Cox of Massachusetts or Nicholas Cox, British Army officer in colonial Nova Scotia, later Lt. Governor of Gaspe
"Kent": Edward Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria, military commander in Nova Scotia

Gallery

No. 26 "President", builder's photo, 1901.
CSTM-MAT001618.jpg

No. 26 "President", builder's photo, 1901.
No. 26 "President", broken builder's photo, 1901.
"DAR Locomotive "President" ", The Railway and Shipping World 1902 February
DAR No. 26 "President", circa 1910.
Double header wreck, 1920 at Lower Truro involving No. 26 and 27.
Double header wreck, 1920 at Lower Truro involving No. 26 and 27.
Lower Truro wreck on October 12, 1920 with locomotives No. 26 and No. 27.
Lower Truro wreck on October 12, 1920 with locomotives No. 26 and No. 27.
DAR No 26 Governor Cox at the Windsor Water Tower, circa June 1924.
Kent, locomotive No. 26, circa 1930.
No. 26 "Kent" June 18, 1936 at Kentville.
locomotive No. 26 with locomotive No. 547 at Digby with the Digby Water Tower, circa 1937.
Locomotive No. 26, by the Kentville Water Tower with Train No. 13 Train to Kingsport, 1937.
No. 26 "Kent" at Kentville, circa 1937.
No. 26 "Kent" at the Kentville Station, circa 1940.
Page from Highlights of Nova Scotia History, showing the history of No. 26's name, "Kent"