Originally used as a logging engine by the Canyon City Lumber Company, it was later used to complete the CPR's tracks along the western shore of Kootenay Lake, then, in 1930 it was simply abandoned, having no further purpose or use.
The engine is now on display at the northwest corner of the Creston Museum, minus a few of its original parts. Its manufacturer is not known at this time. It is of the saddle tank design, which was popular on narrow gauge engines, particularly in industrial use, as it increased the amount of water the engine could carry without pulling a tender behind.
When the Canadian Pacific Railway built into the Creston Valley in 1898, the tracks went only as far as Kootenay Landing, at the south end of Kootenay Lake. At that time, the construction along the west side of the lake was deemed too expensive, so a fleet of sternwheelers and tugboats transferred freight and passengers between Kootenay Landing and other points along the lake.
In 1929-1930, though, the CPR finally extended the track along the west shore. Lightweight, temporary narrow-gauge rails were laid by hand, and then this little steam engine hauled in the heavier, permanent standard-gauge rails.
Prior to 1929, Engine #30 was used as a logging engine, hauling ties from the various camps of the Canyon City Lumber Company in the Canyon area, east of Creston, to the Great Northern Railway tracks near the Canada-US border. After the construction along Kootenay Lake was complete, the locomotive was abandoned alongside the CPR tracks at Proctor, where it lay for many years before being rescued for the Museum.
From the Creston Museum