Canadian Pacific No. 3512 is a Class "M4g" 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Canadian Pacific Railway.
History[]
Canadian Pacific No. 3512 was constructed by the Baldwin Locomotive works as one of the Canadian Pacific Class M4 locomotives, it was originally # 1712 when it was first built and was likely renumbered 3512 after an overhaul. and it was delivered to the Canadian Pacific Railway after it was constructed.
On January 1, 1947, No. 3512 was on a wooden rail barge over at Slocan Lake in British Columbia. The barge carried No. 3512, several cars owned by Canadian Pacific and a Wedge Snowplow. During the voyage the barge began to list heavily. The captain ordered the crew to move the engine, but this could not be done because the 3512 had cooled down and lacked sufficient pressure. Along with that, the lake water had splashed onto the deck, freezing the 3512 to the rail. The list was getting worse by the minute, leaving the crew with no choice but to cut the cable between the tug and the barge, causing the locomotive, cars and the Snowplow to slide off and plunge into the dark, icy depths. No one was killed in this accident.
As of today, No. 3512 is still lying 730 feet (222 meters) deep on the bottom of the Slocan Lake, well preserved but heavily damaged from the incident. The tender, snowplow and caboose all landed upright on the lake floor, however the steam engine itself landed upside down and buried itself into silt fairly deeply. Because of its weight and momentum, it hit the bottom extremely hard and created a 60-meter-wide crater in the lakebed. The impact caused the cylinder saddle to break, forcefully ripping the frame assembly and boiler apart from each other. The upside-down boiler is all that is visible today, surrounded by twisted metal and debris, her frame and wheels are buried in the silt completely. There has been talk recently of salvaging the wreckage of the locomotive, but recovery and restoration would be extremely expensive and difficult and it remains to be seen what will happen to the 3512.
There is a documentary about the search for #3512 on You Tube. It is in-fact considered as a preserved example of the Canadian Pacific's Class M4, .three other preserved examples of the Canadian Pacific's 2-8-0s are still around, those being No. 3651 on static display at Lethbridge, Alberta, No. 3716 in running condition for excursion trains, and sister M4g No. 3522 on static display at Bienfait, Saskatchewan.
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