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Garratt locomotive

A Garratt locomotive is a type of articulated steam locomotive invented by British engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge". The two other parts, one at each end, have a pivot to support the central frame; they consist of a steam engine unit – with driving wheels, trailing wheels, valve gear, and cylinders, and above it, fuel and/or water storage.

Articulation permits locomotives to negotiate curves that might restrict large rigid-framed locomotives. The design also provides more driving wheels per unit of locomotive weight, permitting operation on lightly engineered track. Garratt locomotives produced as much as twice the tractive effort of the largest conventional locomotives of railways that introduced them, reducing the need for multiple locomotives and crews.

Advantages of the Garratt design
The principal benefit of the Garratt design is that the boiler and firebox unit are slung between the two engine units. A further advantage is that the firebox and ashpan are not restricted in dimensions by running gear; the ashpan can have much larger capacity than on a normal locomotive, allowing longer continuous runs without needing to stop and empty the ashpan to clear combustion products from the grate. A large firebox and its unrestricted air supply also allowed the Garratt to operate with poor-quality fuel without reducing steaming capacity.

Garratts ran equally well in either direction, negating the need for turntables. Often they ran with the cab leading the boiler (sometimes called [fuel] bunker leading), especially on routes with tunnels.

Most Garratts were designed for freight or mixed traffic, but several Garratt classes were designed for passenger service. A French-built Algerian Railways Garratt holds the world speed record for an articulated locomotive at 132 km/h. Garratts operating at higher speeds had one advantage over the Mallet design on account of the geometry of the design. When swinging around curves, the boiler and cab unit moved inward, reducing the centrifugal force, whereas the Mallet's forward articulated unit moved out as the locomotive rounded curves.

As O.S. Nock wrote, the Garratt type holds several advantages over the Mallet type:"This [the Mallet] was so designed to provide a very large engine unit, to be managed by a single crew, but to spread the dead weight over many axles and thus avoid excessive loads on the track and under-line bridges, and at the same time retain flexibility of wheelbase to facilitate operation on severely curved sections of line. The Mallet, having driving-wheel units beneath the boiler, retains the limitation in dimensions inherent in the orthodox type of steam locomotive, while the immense length of some of these machines is itself a handicap. Except with oil firing, ... one cannot put the cab in front. H.W. Garratt ... patented ... the idea of having a single large boiler slung on a cradle carried on two entirely separate engine units. ... The boiler could be developed to ideal proportions, unfettered by any wheels beneath it. It could be kept short, and of large diameter, which is the best possible form for securing a high rate of evaporation."

Although at the end of the steam locomotive era, most conventional steam locomotives had reached their maximum in "critical dimensions", the Garratt still had potential for further development, with larger driving wheels, larger boilers, and greater output still achievable.

Disadvantages of the Garratt concept
The major theoretical disadvantage of a Garratt (shared with all tank engines) is that adhesive weight decreases as the water is used from the front tank and coal from the rear bunker. As the weight on the wheels decreases, slipping occurs.

Competitors, look-alikes, and variations on the theme
The Garratt was not alone in the field of articulated locomotives; most notably, articulated locomotives in the United States based on the Mallet design achieved power outputs far exceeding those of Garratts. Away from North America were the Fairlie and Meyer articulated types. Further, similar designs to the Garratt were the Union Garratt, Modified Fairlie, and Golwé. Of these, the closest was the Union Garratt, a type originally prompted by the perceived necessity for a rigid connection between a bunker or tender and a firebox fed by a mechanical stoker. They were, in effect, a hybrid Fairlie and Garratt with the rear bunker attached to the frame instead of being carried on the rear bogie. The class GH and class U Union Garratts of the South African Railways were examples.

Garratt development

Herbert William Garratt, a British locomotive engineer, invented the articulated locomotive concept that bore his name, for which he was granted a patent (no. 12079). At the time, he was the New South Wales Railways' inspecting engineer in London following a career with British colonial railways. Garratt first approached Kitson and Company with his design, but his idea was rejected, perhaps because that company were already committed to the Kitson-Meyer articulated design. He then approached Beyer, Peacock and Company, which were only marginally more interested.

The first Garratts
In 1907, Beyer, Peacock and Company submitted a proposal for a gauge  Garratt to the New South Wales Government Railways, which was not proceeded with. The following year a design for a gauge Mallet locomotive was submitted in reply to an enquiry from the Government of Tasmania. The company then proposed a Garratt design based on, but a little heavier than, the design for New South Wales, with capacity to negotiate curves of 99 ft radius and 1 in 25 gradients. The proposal was accepted, and two locomotives were built in 1909, which became the K class.

The Tasmanian Railways stipulated two features that were not in Herbert Garratt's original concept. The first was a compound configuration in which two high-pressure cylinders were on the rear engine unit and a pipe led to two larger, low-pressure cylinders on the front engine unit. The second was to have the cylinders facing inwards, which would reduce the distances between both the main steam pipe and the high-pressure cylinders and between the high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders. The latter feature made the locomotive unnecessarily complicated and placed the high-pressure cylinders directly underneath the cab, making it uncomfortably hot for the crew on the rare days when Tasmania's West Coast Range was warm. Only one more Garratt locomotive was produced with compound propulsion (by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in 1927 for Burma Railways). The company built no more Garratts with inward-facing cylinders, but two Garratts operated by the Southern Fuegian tourist railway at Ushuaia in Argentina, largely based on the K class, have that feature.

Early design and construction difficulties involved the steam-tight flexible connections between the boiler unit and the power units. However, Beyer, Peacock's engineers solved them after studying a description of the spherical steam joints used on a Fairlie locomotive.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
The third Garratt (another, like the first two) was built in 1910 for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and given the class letter "D". The power output was intended to be double that of the line's existing locomotives, but only a 65% increase in loading was achieved.

First main-line class
In 1911, Beyer, Peacock & Company built six Garratts for the Western Australian Government Railways. The M class were followed by the Ms class and the Msa class. These locomotives formed the pattern for the Victorian Railways narrow gauge G class and the Australian Portland Cement Garratts.

Final Garratts constructed
Beyer, Peacock built more than a thousand Garratt or Beyer-Garratt locomotives. The final built to a Beyer-Peacock design, in 1967–1968, were eight gauge South African Railways Class NG G16 locomotives.

Production list
The following list shows known Garratt construction by all manufacturers.

Garratts around the world
Garratts were used in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America. No Garratts were used on North American railroads, the most likely explanation being that American rail companies considered the Garratt's coal and water capacities insufficient for their requirements.

Africa

The Garratt was most widely used in Africa: large numbers were in South Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Algeria, and smaller numbers in Angola, Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda and Zaïre.

Algeria
In Algeria, 29 Garratts, constructed between 1936 and 1941 by the Société Franco-Belge de Matériel de Chemins de Fer at Raismes in Northern France, operated until the Algerian independence war caused their withdrawal in 1951. This class, designated 231-132BT, was streamlined and featured Cossart motion gear, mechanical stokers and 1.8 m driving wheels, the largest of any Garratt class. On a test in France, one of these achieved a speed of 132 km/h—a record for any Garratt class (and indeed any articulated class).

Angola
All three main railways in Angola used Garratts. The largest user was the gauge Caminho de Ferro de Benguela. Forty-eight were purchased from Beyer, Peacock between 1926 and 1956. They came in four batches: class 10A (301–306); class 10B (311–324) in 1930; class 10C (331–348) in 1954; and class 10D (361–370).

The second-largest user was the Caminhos de Ferro de Luanda, which bought six locomotives (501–506) from Beyer, Peacock in 1949, and six more (551–556) from Krupp of Germany in 1954.

The third user was the Caminhos de Ferro de Moçâmedes, who bought six locomotives (101–106) from Henschel & Son of Germany.

Botswana
Garratts operated on gauge through trains from South Africa to Rhodesia.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours, which operated railways in British East Africa and the Uganda Protectorate from 1929 to 1948, acquired 77 Garratts between the same years. The Tanganyika Railway also acquired 3 in 1928. In 1948, the railways merged to form the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation, commonly known in the railways context as East African Railways, shown by the letters "EAR" on rolling stock.

In addition to the 80 acquired Garratts, East African Railways operated 63 that it purchased new between 1954 and 1956, making a total of 143. More details are in the following table.

The East African Railways 59 class Garratts were the largest and most powerful steam locomotives to run on metre gauge, having a large 70 sqft grate and a tractive effort of 83350 lbf. The 34 oil-fired locomotives remained in regular service until 1980. , the Nairobi Railway Museum held two of them.

Mozambique
and Garratts operated in Mozambique, some built as late as 1956.

Rhodesia / Zimbabwe and Zambia

Rhodesia imported 246 gauge Garratts of four different wheel arrangements: s of the 13th, 14th and 14A classes; s of the 15th class, s of the 16th, 16A, and 18th classes; and s of the 20th and 20A classes. Many went to Zambia Railways in 1967 when Rhodesia Railways surrendered the lines in Zambia to its government. Zimbabwe's economic and political situation has extended the life of its Garratts. Five Garratts, including some from the Zimbabwe National Railway Museum, were returned to service in 2004–05 to haul commuter trains. they were performing shunting duties around the city of Bulawayo.

Sierra Leone
On the Sierra Leone Government Railway, this gauge system had  Garratts starting in the 1920s and in the middle 1950s purchased 14  Garratts.

South Africa
In 1921, the South African Railways held a comparative trial between three locomotives: a class 14B 4-8-2 tender engine; a class MH Mallet 2-6-6-2, and a newly arrived class GA Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2 – the first Garratt of that gauge to enter service in South Africa. The trial was conducted on the line between Durban and Ladysmith, which had gradients as steep as 1 in 30 and curves as tight as 4.5 chain in radius. The Garratt proved the superior locomotive in all regards.

The most powerful of all Garratts irrespective of gauge were the South African Railways' eight gauge GL class locomotives of 1929–30, which delivered 89130 lbf of tractive effort. They were all out of service by the late 1960s. There was also a proposal for a quadruplex super Garratt locomotive with a 2-6-6-2+2-6-6-2 wheel arrangement for South African Railways, but this was never built. On the two foot gauge lines in South Africa, several successive classes of Garratts were made, of which the NG G16 became the most powerful steam locomotive ever built for the gauge. Some of these were imported to Wales for the Welsh Highland Railway.

Sudan
Sudan operated at least one Garratt.

Myanmar (Burma)
Burma had 43 metre gauge Garratts. Five B class Garratts went to the Burma Railway Company between 1924 and 1927, with seven more built by Krupp of Germany in 1929. They were followed by 31 locomotives transferred from India for War Department service: ten locomotives, class GB (ex-Indian class MWGL); twelve  locomotives of class GC (ex-Indian class MWGH); and nine  locomotives of class GD (ex-Indian class MWGX). A class of four locomotives, the GE class, was built for Burma Railways in 1949, but was diverted to the Assam Railway in India.

Two 0-6-0+0-6-0 2 ft 6in gauge Beyer-Garratts were supplied to the Buthidaung-Maungdaw Tramway which became the Arakan Light Railway. BP works Nos. 5702 & 5703 of 1913 refer.

Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
Ceylon had 10 Garratts: an H1 class  in 1924, a C1 class   in 1927 and eight more C1 class  gauge s in 1945.

India

India had 83 Garratts. One gauge  was built for the Indian State in 1925. The gauge Bengal Nagpur Railway had 32 Garratts: a pair of HSG class  locomotives built in 1925; 16 N class and 10 NM class  locomotives built in 1930–31 and four P class  locomotives built in 1939.

The metre gauge Assam-Bengal Railway had six T class locomotives built in 1927. They later became the GT class on the Bengal Assam Railway. Three types of Garratt were supplied for war service on the BAR: ten MWGL class locomotives; twelve MWGH  locomotives; and 18 MWGX class  War Department standard light Garratts. Of these, only nine MWGX stayed in India, with the remainder transferred to Burma. After the war, the four Burma Railways GE class s were diverted to the Assam Railway.

Iran
The Trans-Iranian Railway had four Garratts (class 86) built in 1936.

Mauritius
Mauritius had three standard gauge Garratts that were built in 1927.

Nepal
The Nepal Government Railway (NGR) had Garratt locomotives manufactured by Beyer, Peacock and Company in 1932 and 1947.

Siam (Thailand)
The Royal State Railway of Siam acquired 8 Garratts built by the German company Henschel during 1929–1937 for heavy freight duties in the Pak Chong highland areas. One has been preserved; it is displayed at Kanchanaburi railway station.

Turkey
Turkish State Railways had just one standard gauge Garratt that was built in 1927.

Australasia
Most states of Australia had sets of Australian Standard Garratt with varying degrees of success during the Second World War and for the decade after.

New South Wales
New South Wales Government Railways introduced the AD60 Garratt in 1952, built by Beyer, Peacock. The AD60 weighed 265 tonnes, with a 16-tonne axle loading. As delivered, it developed a tractive effort of 60000 lbf), not as powerful as the South African Railways GMA/M Garratts of 1954, which developed a tractive effort of 60700 lbf. Following modifications in 1958 to thirty AD60s, their tractive effort was increased to 63016 lbf. These locomotives remained in service until the early 1970s with a replacement "6042" using the boiler cradle of 6043 (The original was scrapped in 1968) the last withdrawn in February 1973. Oberg wrote he witnessed an AD60 clear a dead 1220-tonne double-headed diesel freight (total weight 1450 tonnes) from a 1 in 55 grade without wheel slip. Four AD60's survive today: 6029 (which operates occasionally out of Thirlmere), 6039 (under private ownership at Dorrigo Museum), 6040 (on static display at THNSW, Thirlmere), & 6042 (also owned by the Dorrigo museum but sitting in the middle of a field in Forbes, NSW).

Queensland
Queensland Railways operated 30 Beyer Garratt locomotives. These were mainly based in the Rockhampton area.

South Australia
One of ten Garratts delivered in 1953 to the South Australian Railways – number 409 – is on static display at the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide, South Australia. The locomotives were ordered in 1951 from Beyer, Peacock & Company, when there was a need for more and bigger motive power to haul the heavy ore trains on the narrow-gauge line between Broken Hill and Port Pirie. The company subsequently subcontracted the order, with main specifications identical to those of the notable 60th class of the East African Railways, to Société Franco-Belge, its European associate based in Raismes.

By 1955, the 400 class had taken over most of the working of the Broken Hill line. They operated as oil-burners, with provision for a mechanical stoker to be installed if converted to burn coal. They were also designed to be easily converted for service on either the broad or standard gauge. They were superseded by diesel power in 1963.

Tasmania
Following the success of the K class Garratts on the North East Dundas Tramway, the Tasmanian Government Railways imported Beyer, Peacock Garratts for their main lines, in particular the M class for express passenger work. These were the only eight-cylinder Garratts. The M1 achieved a world speed record of 55 mph on 30 November 1912. Their 5-foot (1.5 m) diameter driving wheels were at the time the largest on any narrow-gauge locomotive in Australia. Their eight cylinders proved a nightmare to maintain, and after several fatal and disastrous derailments in the late 1920s, mainly due to inadequate trackwork, they were withdrawn and scrapped.

Victoria
Victorian Railways operated two Beyer Garratts, used on the Crowes and Walhalla narrow-gauge railway lines. The two engines were classified as G class, numbered G41 and G42; the latter engine has been restored. It is currently in use at the Puffing Billy Railway near Melbourne. It was not used in public service on that line prior to the preservation era. Fyansford Cement Works operated a 3'6" gauge line, with an ASG (G33) and 2 Garratts (No.1 and No.2) similar in design to the WAGR Ms class, although these 2 were not designated any class of their own. No.1 was scrapped but No.2 and G33 are preserved at the Bellarine Railway, with G33 currently undergoing restoration work.

New Zealand

Beyer, Peacock built three NZR G class locomotives in 1928, which were too powerful for the system and had complicated valve mechanisms. Unusually, these engines had three cylinders (24 ×) each, on two sets of engine frames, thus creating a six-cylinder Garratt; they were the second and final Garratts to employ this arrangement, the other being the one-off LNER U1. They entered service in 1929. Walschaerts valve gear operated the outside cylinders with the inner third cylinder linked by a Gresley conjugated valve gear. Photos verify the coal bunker was carried on an extension to the boiler frame rather than on the rear engine frame, as with most Garratts. The engines delivered 51580 lbf of tractive effort, which was too powerful for the drawbars on the rolling stock. After a few years they were rebuilt as six Pacifics, also unsuccessful, but which saw nearly twenty years of service.

Though no NZR Garratts survived, three preserved imported African Garratts are in New Zealand: Rhodesia Railways class 15A No. 398 of the Flying 15 Trust, Pakakarakiki, class 14A No. 509 of Mainline Steam Trust Plimmerton (under restoration), and South African Railways GMAM class No. 4083 at Mercer Auckland with the Mainline Steam Trust awaiting restoration. When it first arrived in NZ in the 1990s, it was steamed and ran in their former Parnell Depot yard. See preservation below.

Europe
Garratts were mainly employed in Great Britain, Russia, and Spain, where some five railway companies employed seven classes. These included the 1931 order for Central of Aragon Railway for six "Double Pacific" Garratts for fast passenger service. In addition a Dutch and a Belgian tramway also operated one or more engines based on and built to the Garratt design.

Netherlands
In 1931, the Dutch Limburgsche Tramweg Maatschappij (LTM) 'Limburg tramway company' ordered a single standard gauge Garratt, numbered LTM 51, from Henschel (Germany) with builder's number 22063. This design was slightly different in that the coal bunker was located on the boiler frame and both machines only holding the watertanks. More importantly, it was the only Garratt with inside cylinders. The wheel arrangement was C+C. Due to abandonment of the line in 1938, the locomotive was sold to a metal merchant, who in turn sold it to an engineers' bureau, that sold it in 1941 to Germany. Further whereabouts of this machine are unknown, but it is presumed scrapped.

Spain
Spain had a varied collection of Garratts from most builders; Beyer, Peacock themselves only building a pair of s for Rio Tinto in 1929. The first Garratts in Spain, however, were four metre gauge s built for the Ferrocarriles Catalanes in 1922 by Sociéte Anonyme St. Leonard of Liége, Belgium. Four more followed in 1925. Also on the metre gauge, the Ferrocarril de la Robla bought two pairs of s, the first from Hanomag of Germany in 1929, the second from Babcock & Wilcox of Bilbao in 1931. The Compania Minera de Sierra Minera also bought a pair of metre-gauge s in 1930.

On the broad gauge, the Central of Aragon Railway bought six s from Babcock & Wilcox and six s from Euskalduna of Bilbao, both in 1931. The last Garratts supplied to Spain were 10 s for Renfe by Babcock & Wilcox in 1960.

United Kingdom
British usage of Garratts was minimal. A single large Garratt (, London and North Eastern Railway Class U1 number 2395/9999/69999) was built in 1925 for banking heavy coal trains on the Woodhead route; 33 Garratts were built for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway between 1927 and 1930, although their undersized axle-boxes made them unreliable and they were withdrawn in the mid-1950s. They were also trialled unsuccessfully on the Lickey Incline between Bromsgrove and Birmingham.

Four standard-gauge Garratt locomotives were supplied by Beyer, Peacock for industrial service in the UK. One survived and is preserved at Bressingham Steam Museum. No. 6841 William Francis was built in 1937 for use at Baddesley Colliery.

On the Welsh Highland Railway, a narrow-gauge tourist line in Wales, a few imported South African NGG16 Garratts haul the greater part of service trains on the railway.

USSR
Beyer, Peacock constructed the largest steam locomotive built in Europe, a for the USSR, works order number 1176, in 1932. The locomotive had the Russian classification Ya.01 (Я.01). This massive machine was built to the Russian standard gauge and a loading gauge height of 17 ft. It underwent extensive testing and proved to be very able to operate in extremely low temperatures, due to adequate protection of the external plumbing between boiler and engine units. This may have been the lowest temperature operation of a Garratt type. The locomotive was used for a number of years for coal traffic in the Donbass region, but was never replicated. This decision appears to be a combination of unfamiliar maintenance processes and politics.

North America
No Garratts appeared in North America, although the American Locomotive Company became the sole licensee to build Garratts there. Alco was unable to garner sufficient interest from US railroads to produce even a prototype or demonstrator. This reluctance was reportedly based on a concern that tractive effort and factor of adhesion would suffer as the weight of water and fuel over the driving wheels diminished.

United States
In 1975, one Garratt NG class No. 50 formerly of the South African Railways was imported and is used on the private  gauge Hempstead & Northern Railroad in Hempstead, Texas, which also operate another former South African Railways  "Mikado" type No. 18.

Argentina
The British-owned gauge Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway operated twelve Garratt  oil-fired locomotives, numbers 4851–4862, built by Beyer, Peacock in 1929. They were used on the Bahía Blanca North Western section, particularly on the Toay line), on the main Bahía Blanca North Western line to General Pico, and between Tres Arroyos and Bahía Blanca. They were withdrawn in the 1950s due to the rapid decline in freight traffic caused by the increasing competition from road transport.

Other British-owned railway companies in Argentina operated Garratt locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock:
 * Argentine North Eastern Railway ( gauge): seven locomotives built 1925–1927 and three, built 1930
 * Argentine Transandine ( gauge): four, built 1930
 * Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway ( gauge): four, built 1929–1930
 * Buenos Aires Midland Railway ( gauge): two, 1930
 * Cordoba Central Railway ( gauge) : ten, built 1929
 * Entre Rios Railway ( gauge): five and five, built 1927

The Southern Fuegian Railway at Ushuaia uses two gauge Garratts to haul tourist trains.

Bolivia
Three meter gauge were delivered to the Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway in 1929, followed by six more in 1950.

Brazil
In Brazil after 1927, the São Paulo Railway operated broad-gauge Garratts that ran passenger trains at 70 mph.

Colombia
In Colombia, one gauge  Garratt was purchased by the FC Pacifico in 1924 and two more by the La Dorada in 1937.

Peru
Four standard gauge Garratts were delivered to the Central Railway of Peru from 1929 to 1931. (Donald Binns, The Central Railway of Peru and The Cerro de Pasco Railway, 1996)

War locomotives
During World War II, several Garratt designs were built to meet the wartime needs of narrow-gauge railways in Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Six Garratts were built for the  gauge Sierra Leone Government Railway in 1942, to a design first supplied to that railway in 1926. Five of the older Garratts were converted to a wheel arrangement to increase their tractive effort.

Seventy Garratts were constructed by Beyer, Peacock for the War Department, to three standard designs. A based on the South African Railways GE class was constructed on  gauge for West Africa and Rhodesia, while a heavier class of  was constructed for East African Railways. A lighter metre-gauge was constructed for India, Burma, and East Africa. This design was particularly successful, and was the basis for several postwar classes.

The Australian Standard Garratt was designed in 1942, for use on  gauge railways, in the critical period of World War II following the Japanese bombing of Darwin in 1942, and aerial attacks on other northern Australian centres. It was a locomotive, designed in Australia and constructed by a number of Australian railway workshops. Several design problems with the class emerged, and use of the locomotive encountered resistance from the drivers' union, especially in Queensland. Most were withdrawn at the end of the war, although a number continued to operate successfully in Tasmania.

Preservation

About 250 Garratts may exist today. However, many are dumped in varying states of disrepair in remoter parts of the world, and the number that may be likely to survive has been estimated as fewer than 100. , about 15 operating Garratt locomotives can be found in Europe, Africa, Argentina, the US and Australia.

The first Garratt locomotive, the K class of the North East Dundas Tramway, has been preserved. After the line closed in 1929 the locomotives were put up for sale. K1 was purchased by Beyer, Peacock in 1947 for their museum. The preserved locomotive has parts from both original engines. When Beyer, Peacock ceased trading, the locomotive was sold to the Ffestiniog Railway, who initially proposed to cut it down to meet their loading gauge. For a number of years it was on loan to the National Railway Museum and was exhibited in York. In 1995 it was removed from York to commence restoration in Birmingham. It was returned to Wales in 2000 where restoration was continued at the Ffestiniog Railway workshops at Boston Lodge. It was fitted with a new boiler and restored to full running order on the Welsh Highland Railway by September 2008. The Welsh Highland Railway owns several former South African SAR NGG 16 Class Garratts, and operates both the first (K1) and last (NG/G16 143) Garratts constructed by Beyer, Peacock. . The K1 ten year boiler ticket expired in 2014. Even though the locomotive had worked infrequently, a full boiler overhaul was required to meet UK regulations. The FR/WHR declined to fund this activity, citing lack of revenue generating opportunities for the locomotive and the need to maintain their core fleet of NG/G16 locomotives. Finally, in 2019 it was decided to move the locomotive to the Statfold Barn Railway in Central England on a ten year loan with two boiler overhauls in the agreement. The first boiler overhaul was quickly completed along with other work at a cost of 60,000 GBP and the locomotive seen in steam at Statfold in February 2020.

In Spain, a number 282F-0421, nicknamed "Garrafeta",  occasionally ran in the Lleida area but no longer. An enormous, number 462F-0401, is under slow cosmetic restoration. Both locomotives are managed by ARMF, a non-profit organisation which also holds the only main line repair workshop for historical railway vehicles on broad gauge network.

A single Hanomag-built narrow gauge example exists in the USA located in Hempstead Texas. It has been made operational again since November 2015.

Several Australian Garratts have been restored to operating condition. G 42, formerly used on the narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways, works regularly on the Puffing Billy Railway in the Dandenong Ranges outside Melbourne. The Puffing Billy Railway is also rebuilding ex SAR NG/G16 129 which entered service in late 2019. The Queensland Railways removed 1009, its sole remaining gauge  Garratt, from an open-air museum and fully restored it to working order. It was out of service by December 2007, awaiting a new boiler. NSWGR AD60 6029 was restored to operating condition in Canberra. As of 2018, 6029 is privately owned and is stored at Thirlmere, NSW. It is occasionally used by the NSW Rail Museum on mainline excursions. 3'6" Garratts No.2 and G33 from Fyansford Cement Works are both preserved with the Bellarine Railway, with G33 undergoing restoration work and No.2 in storage.

In Kenya, East African Railways 59 class 5918 was maintained in operating condition from 2001 to 2011. Likewise in Zimbabwe 20th class 730 and 740 were held in operating condition until 2004. They have not run since 2004 when 730 was briefly used on Bulawayo commuter services. None are likely to operate again without external funding for major repairs as the only work available for them are excursion trains for foreign tourists and rail enthusiasts.

No New Zealand Railways G class Garratts survived, but three more modern Southern African Garratts have been imported for restoration in New Zealand, with No.509's boiler certified and restoration nearing completion as of 2018.

 * Beyer Peacock No.7340 of 1950 Rhodesia Railways class 15A No.398 The Flying Fifteen Group, Steam Incorporated Paekakariki (stored).
 * Beyer Peacock No.7582 of 1953 Rhodesia Railways class 14A No.509. Mainline Steam Heritage Trust, Plimmerton (under restoration).
 * Beyer Peacock No. 7681 of 1956 South African Railways GMAM class No.4083 Mainline Steam Heritage Trust, Mercer (stored).

In December 2007, Zimbabwe class 14A Garratt number 509, overhauled in Bulawayo was offloaded in New Zealand for operational preservation by the Mainline Steam trust. In early 2011 Zimbabwe 15th class 398 was also delivered to New Zealand for restoration to operating condition by Steam Inc.

As of December 2020 there is only one place in the World where one can with reasonable confidence view a Garratt in daily operating service. Ushuaia, Argentina whilst Dinas in North Wales offers the sight of daily operation for about 10 months of the year.

In September 2018, South Eastern Zone of Indian Railways made a successful trial run of a Beyer-Garratt numbered 811 from Kharagpur. A heritage service is planned and scheduled to start from the upcoming festival season.

In fiction
In the movie ''Big World! Big Adventures! of the television program, Thomas & Friends, an EAR 59 class Garratt, named Kwaku'', was introduced.

title: Garratt locomotive


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1851 in Canada

Events from the year 1851 in Canada.

Incumbents

 * Monarch — Victoria

Federal government

 * Parliament: 3rd

Governors

 * Governor General of the Province of Canada — James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
 * Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Charles Henry Darling
 * Governor of New Brunswick — Edmund Walker Head
 * Governor of Nova Scotia — John Harvey
 * Governor of Prince Edward Island — Dominick Daly

Premiers

 * Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada —
 * Francis Hincks, Canada West Premier
 * Augustin-Norbert Morin, Canada East Premier
 * Premier of Nova Scotia — James Boyle Uniacke
 * Premier of Prince Edward Island — John Holl

Events

 * April 7 – The first Canadian postage stamps are printed.
 * April 25 – Prince Edward Island wins responsible government.
 * June – Harbor Commissioners deepen Lake St. Peter.
 * July – The bloomer costume appears in Montreal.
 * July 31 – Broad Provincial railway gauge is legislated in the Province of Canada, creating a break-of-gauge with American railways.
 * August 30 – The Vancouver Island legislature meets for the first time.
 * October 11 – The St. L. & A. Railway is opened to Richmond.
 * William Kennedy was commander of the second sponsored expedition to find Sir John Franklin.

Full date unknown

 * Gabriel Franchere's Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America published in Montreal.
 * The United Kingdom transfers control of the colonial postal system to Canada.

Births

 * April 7 – John Wilson Bengough, political cartoonist (died 1923)
 * April 8 – Frederick Peters, lawyer, politician and Premier of Prince Edward Island (died 1919)
 * May 22 – Gilbert Ganong, businessman, politician and Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (died 1917)
 * July 8 – James Dunsmuir, industrialist, politician and Premier of British Columbia (died 1920)
 * August 26 – Herbert James Palmer, politician and Premier of Prince Edward Island (died 1939)
 * September 5 – George Frederick Baird, politician and lawyer (died 1899)
 * November – Levi Addison Ault, businessman and naturalist (died 1930)
 * November 28 – Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, 9th Governor General of Canada (died 1917)
 * December 10 – James Albert Manning Aikins, politician and Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (died 1929)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 1851 in Canada


text:
1852 in Canada

Events from the year 1852 in Canada.

Incumbents

 * Monarch — Victoria

Federal government

 * Parliament: 4th

Governors

 * Governor General of the Province of Canada — James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
 * Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Charles Henry Darling
 * Governor of New Brunswick — Edmund Walker Head
 * Governor of Nova Scotia — John Harvey
 * Governor of Prince Edward Island — Dominick Daly

Premiers

 * Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada —
 * Francis Hincks, Canada West Premier
 * Augustin-Norbert Morin, Canada East Premier
 * Premier of Nova Scotia — James Boyle Uniacke
 * Premier of Prince Edward Island — John Holl

Events

 * January 15 – Trinity College opens.
 * July 8 – Beginning of a fire which burns 11,000 houses in Montreal.
 * October – The Bank of Montreal issues notes like the Bank of England's; denomination water-marked.
 * October 25 – The Toronto Stock Exchange opens.
 * November 10 – The Grand Trunk Railway Company is incorporated to build a railway between Toronto and Montreal.
 * December 8 – Laval's Seminaire du Quebec founds Université Laval, North America's oldest French Language university.

Full date unknown

 * The 1852 Newfoundland general election occurs.

Births

 * January 1 – Alexander Bethune, politician and 12th Mayor of Vancouver (died 1947)
 * March 22 – Theodore Davie, lawyer, politician and 9th Premier of British Columbia (died 1898)
 * April 5 – Alexander Warburton, politician, jurist, author and Premier of Prince Edward Island (died 1929)
 * August 19 – John Andrew Davidson, politician (died 1903)
 * September 9 – Fletcher Bath Wade, politician and barrister (died 1905)
 * September 24 – Joseph Martin, lawyer, politician and 13th Premier of British Columbia (died 1923)
 * November 2 – Paul Tourigny, politician (died 1926)

Deaths

 * April 3 – Alexander Rankin, timber merchant, justice of the peace, politician, and office holder (born 1788)
 * November 3 – Francis Gore, colonial administrator (born 1769)

title: 1852 in Canada


text:
Talk:Independence Hall

Images
I uploaded a nice images....Image:Independencehall.jpe ...but i cannot get it to fit right. can someone take a stab? Kingturtle 05:50, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Charles Wilson Peale's Museum
The article could use some information on the history of the building during the 19th C. While primarily used as a historic monument, the upper floor was Charles Wilson Peale's Museum, a famed collection of curiosities, stuffed birds and animals, including a Mastodon skeleton. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.39.163.114 (talk • contribs) 10:20, March 27, 2007

'State' House in 1729?
I assume this is an error, but I'm not sure what a provincial legislative chamber would have been called in Colonial America. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.3.44.127 (talk) 17:45, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

 * The term "state" is not an American creation, nor is its application limited to organizational divisions within the United States of America post July 4, 1776. A "State House" is merely a capitol.  The US Capitol could legitimately be called a State House.  It's just not, by custom.  And by custom, some US states call their capitols their "State House" and others use a different term.  If a more generic term is preferred here, "legislative hall" would probably do nicely.  But the more important question to ask is whether there's a reliable source to support the premise of the assertion, not whether the specific terminology here is particularly artful.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:147:C380:A180:7DE5:F086:9A02:4F6D (talk) 17:05, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

Date of the name Independence Hall
Does anyone have any evidence on when the name Independence Hall began to be used? It would be a useful bit of perspective. deisenbe (talk) 17:04, 23 March 2018 (UTC)
 * I'm guessing would have an idea.  Off the top of my head, during the Revolution (and before) it was known as the State House, so when the state capital was moved (1820s??) might have been a good time to change the name.  Smallbones( smalltalk ) 17:08, 23 March 2018 (UTC)
 * Harrisburg,_Pennsylvania gives October 1812 as the date of the capital moving there. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 17:12, 23 March 2018 (UTC)
 * Hi, folks. The name is attributed to the Marquis de La Fayette on his 1824-25 tour of the United States. When he visited the (former) Pennsylvania Statehouse, he reportedly called the Assembly Room the "Hall of Independence" (or its equivalent in French), and the name eventually became attached to the entire building. == BoringHistoryGuy (talk) 17:20, 23 March 2018 (UTC)

When was it officially renamed Independence Hall?
1948, when the Park was created? I think it would be useful to know that. There is no “Independence Hall”, nor “Pennsylvania State House”, not under those names, on the National Register of Historic Places (see https://www.nps.gov/nr/research/data_downloads/Multiple_Links_2015.xlsx and https://www.nps.gov/nr/research/data_downloads/national-register-listed-properties-20171205.xlsx) deisenbe (talk) 13:00, 5 May 2018 (UTC)

 * The NY Times called it Independence Hall in a 1915 article (https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/06/18/104647618.html) Independence Square was named in 1828 (ref above after Toqueville). deisenbe (talk) 20:18, 5 May 2018 (UTC)

The Seybert clock or Centennial Clock inside indepndance hall.
a few years ago i proposed making big ben and the Cenntennial clock ultra accurate.

since that time all information about the independance hall tower clock appears to be missing.

its a wonderfull double  three leg escapement like big ben. but it appears to have gone missing from history. I considered adding the adjustments to make the centennial clock ultra accurate. but it has virtually gone missing from the web.

can wiki start a page to detail its history and chronicale its updates and repairs?

i know clocks are about a dollar a peice now.. but the precision mechanicalmclocks are still worth millions.. see exoencive watches. the tower clocks are only so accurate unless they are correctly adjusted. trinity college has done some work on its clock which is running above average.

it remains a very rare but interesting science, how to make mechanical clocks super accurate.

and i think we should charish the centennial clock which was donated.

During the Centennial restoration project, a large bell (weighing 13,000 pounds) and a new clock were given to the City by Henry Seybert for the steeple of Independence Hall. This clock and bell are still in use. http://www.ushistory.org/independencehall/history/indhall7.htm

btw the u.s. didnt pay him for 6 years..

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.197.63.153 (talk) 16:07, 7 November 2019 (UTC)

Infobox image
I am beginning a section here to discuss the infobox image. I am of the opinion that a wider image that captures a facade of the building in its entirety (like option 2) is more appropriate than a close up (particularly a close up with perspective distortion). does not seem to share this opinion, ostensibly preferring option 1. Any thoughts? Filetime (talk) 04:39, 23 May 2021 (UTC)

Who owns it?
It is not often discussed, but my understanding is that it is not owned by the United States but rather by the state of Pennsylvania under the city of Philadelphia. The various routes of its Pedegree might make an interesting footnote. Perhaps someone can also answer the question of whether the clock is donated or on lease. Since there has been some discussion that modern clocks can be made more accurate. Such opportunities are so Bureaucratically complex that no one has ever attempted to propose it. -- Unsigned comment
 * The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sold Independence Hall to the City of Philadelphia in 1818: https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/places-independencehall-assemblyroom.htm#. Text on the sale appears in the section "Transition to Shrine" Allreet (talk) 00:47, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Independence Hall


text:
Fifth generation of video game consoles

The fifth generation era (also known as the 32-bit era, the 64-bit era, or the 3D era) refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming consoles dating from approximately October 4, 1993, to March 23, 2006. The best-selling home console was the Sony PlayStation, followed by the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn. The PlayStation also had a redesigned version, the PSone, which was launched on July 7, 2000.

Some features that distinguished fifth generation consoles from previous fourth generation consoles include:
 * 3D polygon graphics with texture mapping
 * 3D graphics capabilities – lighting, Gouraud shading, anti-aliasing and texture filtering
 * Optical disc (CD-ROM) game storage, allowing much larger storage space (up to 650 MB) than ROM cartridges
 * CD quality audio recordings (music and speech) – PCM audio with 16-bit depth and 44.1 kHz sampling rate
 * Wide adoption of full motion video, displaying pre-rendered computer animation or live action footage
 * Analog controllers
 * Display resolutions from 480i/480p to 576i
 * Color depth up to 16,777,216 colors (24-bit true color)

This era is known for its pivotal role in the video game industry's leap from 2D to 3D computer graphics, as well as the shift in home console games from being stored on ROM cartridges to optical discs. This was also the first generation to feature internet connectivity: some systems had additional hardware which provided connectivity to an existing device, like the Sega Net Link for the Sega Saturn. The Apple Pippin, a commercial flop, was the first system to feature on-board internet capabilities.

For handhelds, this era was characterized by significant fragmentation, because the first handheld of the generation, the Sega Nomad, had a lifespan of just two years, and the Nintendo Virtual Boy had a lifespan of less than one. Both of them were discontinued before the other handhelds made their debut. The Neo Geo Pocket was released on October 28, 1998, but was dropped by SNK in favor of the fully backward compatible Neo Geo Pocket Color just a year later. Nintendo's Game Boy Color (1998) was the most successful handheld by a large margin. There were also two minor updates of the original Game Boy: the Game Boy Light (released in Japan only) and the Game Boy Pocket.

There was considerable time overlap between this generation and the next, the sixth generation of consoles, which began with the launch of the Dreamcast in Japan on November 27, 1998. The fifth generation ended with the discontinuation of the PlayStation (specifically its re-engineered form, the "PSOne") on March 23, 2006, a year after the launch of the seventh generation.

Transition to 3D
The 32-bit/64-bit era is most noted for the rise of fully 3D polygon games. While there were games prior that had used three-dimensional polygon environments, such as Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter in the arcades and Star Fox on the Super NES, it was in this era that many game designers began to move traditionally 2D and pseudo-3D genres into 3D on video game consoles. Early efforts from then-industry leaders Sega and Nintendo saw the introduction of the 32X and Super FX, which provided rudimentary 3D capabilities to the 16-bit Genesis and Super NES. Starting in 1996, 3D video games began to take off with releases such as Virtua Fighter 2 on the Saturn, Tomb Raider on the PlayStation and Saturn, Tekken 2 and Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation, and Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64. Their 3D environments were widely marketed and they steered the industry's focus away from side-scrolling and rail-style titles, as well as opening doors to more complex games and genres. 3D became the main focus in this era as well as a slow decline of cartridges in favor of CDs, due to the ability to produce games less expensively and the media's high storage capabilities.

CD vs cartridge
After allowing Sony to develop a CD-based prototype console for them and a similar failed partnership with Philips, Nintendo decided to make the Nintendo 64 a cartridge-based system like its predecessors. Publicly, Nintendo defended this decision on the grounds that it would give games shorter load times than a compact disc (and would decrease piracy due to a certain chip in the ROM cartridge). However, it also had the dubious benefit of allowing Nintendo to charge higher licensing fees, as cartridge production was considerably more expensive than CD production. Many third-party developers like EA Sports viewed this as an underhanded attempt to raise more money for Nintendo and many of them became more reluctant to release games on the N64.

Nintendo's decision to use a cartridge based system sparked a debate in the video game magazines as to which was better. The chief advantages of the CD-ROM format were (1) larger storage capacity, allowing for a much greater amount of game content; (2) considerably lower manufacturing costs, making them much less risky for game publishers; (3) lower retail prices due to the reduced need to compensate for manufacturing costs;  and (4) shorter production times, which greatly reduced the need for publishers to predict the demand for a game. Its disadvantages compared to cartridge were (1) considerable load times;  (2) their inability to load data "on the fly", making them reliant on the console RAM; and (3) the greater manufacturing costs of CD-ROM drives compared to cartridge slots, resulting in generally higher retail prices for CD-based consoles. A Nintendo Power ad placed a Space Shuttle (representing cartridges) next to a snail (representing a CD), as an analogy for their respective speeds, stating that "the future doesn't belong to snails".

Almost every other contemporary system used the new CD-ROM technology. Consequent to the storage and cost advantages of the CD-ROM format, many game developers shifted their support away from the Nintendo 64 to the PlayStation. One of the most influential game franchises to change consoles during this era was the Final Fantasy series, beginning with Final Fantasy VII, which was developed for the PlayStation instead of the N64 due to storage capacity issues; prior Final Fantasy games had all been published on Nintendo consoles – either the NES or Super NES, with the only other entries being on the Wonderswan, or computers like the MSX.

Overview of the fifth-generation consoles
The fifth generation was characterized by an unusually high number of console formats. More competing consoles comprised this generation than any other since the video game crash of 1983, leading video game magazines of the time to frequently predict a second crash.

Major consoles
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was one of the earliest fifth generation consoles and was released in October 1993. Despite having massive third-party support and an unprecedented amount of hype for a first-time entrant into the industry, it had early difficulties due to software development delays and its high price. For its initial release, the 3DO had a $700 retail price tag and only a single available game ready for market. The 3DO would be discontinued only three years later. While generally regarded as a failed system, the 3DO was this generation's fourth best-selling console in a crowded field with sales of 2 million units.

The Sega Saturn was Sega's entry into the stand-alone 32-bit console market. It was released in Japan simultaneously with the 32X in November 1994, although it would not have a North American release until six months later. It became Sega's most successful console in Japan. In America and Europe however, a disastrous launch and an MSRP of $399 compared to the PlayStation's $299 caused it to be a commercial failure, selling far fewer units than the Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis before it.

The PlayStation, released in early December 1994, was the most successful console of this generation. With attention given by third-party developers and a more mature marketing campaign aimed at the 20–30 age group enabling it to achieve market dominance, it became the first home console to ship 100 million units worldwide.

The Nintendo 64, originally announced as the "Ultra 64", was released in 1996. The system's delays and use of the expensive cartridge format made it an unpopular platform among third-party developers. Several popular first-party titles allowed the Nintendo 64 to maintain strong sales in the United States, but it remained a distant second to the PlayStation.

Other consoles
The Amiga CD32 was released in September 1993 and sold in Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was never released in the United States due to Commodore's bankruptcy and court-ordered import restrictions. Despite promising initial sales, the console was hampered by poor software quality with many titles being simply re-releases of older games. Production of the Amiga CD32 was discontinued after only eight months.

The Atari Jaguar was released in November 1993 and was marketed as the world's first 64-bit system. However, sales at launch were well below the incumbent fourth generation consoles, and a small games library rooted in a shortage of third-party support made it impossible for the Jaguar to catch up, selling below 250,000 units. The system's 64-bit nature was also questioned by many. Its only add-on, the Jaguar CD, was released in 1995 and was produced in limited quantities due to the low install base of the system. The 32-bit Atari Panther, set to be released in 1991, was canceled due to unexpectedly rapid progress in developing the Jaguar.

The Sega 32X, an add-on console produced by Sega for the Genesis, was launched in November 1994. The Sega Neptune, a standalone version of the 32X, was announced but ultimately canceled. Sega failed to deliver a steady flow of games for the 32X platform. With customers anticipating the PlayStation on the horizon, and with Sega's more technically advanced Saturn already competing on the market in Japan, sales of the 32X were poor.

NEC, creator of the TurboGrafx-16 of the previous generation, entered the market with the PC-FX in late December 1994. The system had a 32-bit processor, 16-bit stereo sound, and video capability. Despite its impressive specifications, it did not have a polygon processor and was marketed as a platform for 2D and full motion video games. The PC-FX game library was criticized for being low in quality, and having titles that relied more on animation than gameplay. Due to low expected sales, it was never released outside of Japan.

In 1995, Nintendo released the Virtual Boy, a supposedly portable system capable of displaying true 3D graphics, albeit in monochromatic red and black. Despite being marketed as a portable system, it is not actually portable in practice due to the lack of a head strap. Also, because of the nature of its display, the system reportedly caused headaches and eye strain. It was discontinued within a year, with fewer than 25 games being released for it. Although it sold over 750,000 units, Nintendo felt that it was a failure compared to consoles such as the Super Nintendo, which sold over 20 million.

Aftermath of the fifth generation
By the end of the 1995 Christmas shopping season, the fifth generation had come down to a struggle between the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, and the upcoming Nintendo 64. The Amiga CD32 had already been discontinued; the Jaguar and Genesis 32X were still on the market but were considered a lost cause by industry analysts; the Neo Geo CD had proven to appeal only to a niche market; and industry analysts had already determined that the yet-to-launch Apple Bandai Pippin was too expensive to make any impact in the market. Moreover, even the leading fifth generation consoles were still facing sluggish sales. Combined sales for the PlayStation, Saturn, and 3DO barely topped 1 million units for the Christmas shopping season, as compared to combined sales of 4 million for the Sega Genesis and Super NES. Focus groups showed that most children under 12 years old were equally happy playing on fourth generation consoles as they were playing on fifth generation consoles, making the fourth generation consoles more appealing to adults buying gifts for children, since they were cheaper. Industry analysts began putting forth the possibility that the fifth generation of consoles would never overtake the fourth generation in sales, and become superseded by a new generation of DVD player consoles before they could achieve mass acceptance.

1996 saw the fifth generation consoles' fortunes finally turn around. With the Saturn, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64 all showing dramatic increases in sales over the previous year, they claimed a combined 40% of the retail market for hardware and software, putting them in position to finally overtake the fourth generation consoles in 1997.

The Sega Saturn suffered from poor marketing and comparatively limited third-party support outside Japan. Sega's decision to use dual processors was roundly criticized, as this made it difficult to efficiently develop for the console. Sega was also hurt by the Saturn's surprise four-month-early U.S. launch of their console; third-party developers, who had been planning for the originally scheduled launch, could not provide many launch titles and were angered by the move. Retailers were caught unprepared, resulting in distribution problems; some retailers, such as the now defunct KB Toys, were so furious that they refused to stock the Saturn thereafter.

Due to numerous delays, the Nintendo 64 was released one year later than its competitors. By the time it was finally launched in 1996, Sony had already established its dominance, the Saturn was starting to struggle, and the 3DO and Jaguar had been discontinued. Its use of cartridge media rather than compact discs alienated some developers and publishers due to the space limits, the relatively high cost involved, and a considerably longer production time. In addition, the initially high suggested retail price of the console may have driven potential customers away, and some early adopters of the system who had paid the initial price may have been angered by Nintendo's decision to cut the price of the system by $50 six months after its release. However, the Nintendo 64 turned out to be a commercial success, particularly in the United States, where it sold 20.63 million units, nearly two thirds of its worldwide sales of 32.93 million units. It was also home to highly successful games such as Star Fox 64, Mario Kart 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and Super Smash Bros. While Nintendo 64 sold far more units than the Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, and 3DO combined, it posed no challenge to the PlayStation's lead in the market.

By 1997, 40% to 60% of American homes played on video game consoles. 30% to 40% of these homes owned a console, while an additional 10% to 20% rented or shared a console.

Changes in the industry
After the dust settled in the fifth generation console wars, several companies saw their outlooks change drastically.

Atari
Atari Corporation, which was not able to recover its losses, ended up merging into JTS Corporation in 1996. This caused the Atari name to virtually disappear from the gaming market until 1998, when Hasbro Interactive purchased the Atari assets from JTS for $5 million.

On May 14, 1999, Hasbro Interactive announced that all rights to the Atari Jaguar were released into the public domain, thus declaring the platform open; this allowed anyone to freely create and publish games for the Jaguar without endorsement or licensing from Hasbro Interactive. Since then, homebrew developers began to release uncompleted Jaguar games as well as several brand new titles to satisfy the system's cult following.

Sega
Sega's loss of consumer confidence (coupled with its previous console failures), along with their financial difficulties, set the company up for a similar fate in the next round of console wars.

Other consoles
These consoles are either less notable, never saw a worldwide release, and/or sold particularly poorly, and are therefore listed as 'Other'.

Worldwide sales standings

From 1996 to 1999 (when the PlayStation, N64 and Saturn were the major 5th-generation consoles still on the market) Sony managed a 47% market share of the worldwide market, followed by Nintendo with 28% (with a percentage of that figure from the 16‑bit Super NES), while Sega was third with 23% (with a percentage of that from the Dreamcast).

Production of the Sega Saturn was discontinued in 1998. Its demise was accelerated by rumors that work on its successor was underway; these rumors hurt the systems' sales in the west as early as 1997. The N64 was succeeded by the GameCube in 2001, but continued its production until 2004; however, PlayStation production was not ceased as it was redesigned as the PSone, further extending the life of the console around the release of the follow-up PlayStation 2. The PlayStation console production was discontinued in 2006, the same year that the PlayStation 3 was released in Japan and North America.

Handheld comparison
Regional lockout

Milestone titles

 * Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PlayStation, Saturn) by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and Konami is considered one of the best PlayStation games available, and a strong argument for the relevance of 2D games in an increasingly 3D market. The game is also credited with starting the Metroidvania genre, along with Super Metroid.
 * Crash Bandicoot (PlayStation) by Naughty Dog and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) would go on to become Sony's de facto mascot along with Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. The game featured a marsupial bandicoot named Crash and would prove to be one of the PlayStation's most successful titles.
 * Dragon Warrior VII (PlayStation) by Heartbeat, ArtePiazza, and Enix was the number one best-selling title on the PlayStation in Japan, released in 2000. The game was the first main installment of Japan's national RPG series released in 5 years.
 * GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64) by Rare and Nintendo is a critically acclaimed game that helped make the first-person shooter a potential popular genre on consoles. The game has subsequently become credited alongside Shiny Entertainment's MDK for pioneering and popularising the now-standard inclusion of scoped sniper rifles in video games.
 * Guardian Heroes (Saturn) by Treasure and Sega incorporated side-scrolling beat-em-up gameplay with RPG elements, and allows players to alter the storyline through their actions, such as choosing between a number of branching paths, leading to multiple endings, and killing civilians and enemies, leading to changes in the Karma meter.
 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64) by Nintendo EAD and Nintendo is one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time and often listed as one of the greatest video games of all time.
 * Nights into Dreams (Saturn) by Sonic Team and Sega was bundled with the Saturn's analog controller, which was almost essential to the gameplay. With its innovative gameplay and graphics, Nights, an exclusive title, aided in the selling of a number of Saturns.
 * Paper Mario (Nintendo 64) received critical acclaim for its graphics, gameplay, and writing. It eventually led to more sequels starting with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door which also garnered critical acclaim.
 * Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn) by Team Andromeda and Sega is the highest-rated Saturn title on Game Rankings with a score of 92.87%, and has been cited as one of the greatest games ever made.
 * Pokémon Red and Blue (Game Boy) by Game Freak and Nintendo was a critical and financial success when the games debuted on the Game Boy and putting another Nintendo franchise on the map. By the end of this console generation, the games sold about 31 million units worldwide.
 * Pokémon Gold and Silver (Game Boy Color) also developed by Game Freak and Nintendo garnered critical acclaim from various gaming critics, are considered by many to be the best games in the Pokémon franchise.
 * Quake (PC, Saturn, Nintendo 64) by id Software built upon the technology and gameplay of its predecessor Doom, and its engine offered full real-time 3D rendering and had early support for 3D acceleration through OpenGL, in addition to various multiplayer option compared to its predecessor. The game was critically acclaimed upon release and is considered one of the best video games of all time.
 * Rayman (Jaguar, PlayStation, Saturn, PC) by Ubisoft was highly praised for its animated 2D graphics, atmosphere, soundtrack, and high difficulty, and was the number one best-selling title on the PlayStation in the UK, released in 1995. The game has since spawned over 45 additional entries in the series.
 * Resident Evil (PlayStation) by Capcom received critical acclaim and is credited for popularizing the survival horror genre.
 * Sega Rally Championship (Arcade, Saturn, PC) by Sega AM5 and Sega was the first rally racing game. It broke new ground by incorporating different surfaces with different friction properties, and has been cited as one of the greatest racing games ever made.
 * Star Fox 64 (Nintendo 64) by Nintendo EAD and Nintendo is the first Nintendo 64 game to use the Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak, which was bundled with the game. It was a success and sold 3 million copies worldwide.
 * Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64) by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (Nintendo EAD) and Nintendo is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time, particularly for its use of a dynamic camera system, the implementation of its 360-degree analog control, and open world design. Super Mario 64 is one of the best selling home console games of the era, selling 11.62 million copies worldwide.
 * Tekken 3 (arcade, PlayStation) by Namco is considered not only to be the greatest installment of the Tekken series, but remains as one of the greatest fighting games of all time according to PlayStation Magazine. It has a Metacritic score of 96, and is the 12th highest rated game ever according to GameRankings. Its predecessor achieved similar feats until its succession, and the first game in the franchise was the first PlayStation game to sell over a million units.
 * Tempest 2000 (Jaguar) by Llamasoft and Atari was critically acclaimed for its graphics, gameplay and soundtrack, and has been cited as one of the best games released on Jaguar as well as one of the best games of all time. It was later ported to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn by High Voltage Software, each with several changes and additions from the original version.
 * Tobal 2 (PlayStation) by DreamFactory and Square holds the record for the largest character roster in a fighting game with 200 playable characters to choose from, including an greatly expanded Quest Mode compared to its predecessor.
 * Tomb Raider (PlayStation, Saturn, PC) by Core Design and Eidos Interactive popularized many elements seen in later video games and spawned several very successful sequels. The main character, Lara Croft, was named the most recognizable female video game character by Guinness World Records.
 * Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PC) by Neversoft and Activision garnered widespread critical acclaim and has been cited as one of the greatest games ever made.
 * Virtua Cop (Arcade, Saturn, PC) by Sega AM2 and Sega introduced the use of 3D polygons to the light-gun shooter genre, paving the way for future light gun shooters like Namco's Time Crisis and Sega's The House of the Dead, and was a major influence on GoldenEye 007.
 * Virtua Fighter (Arcade, Saturn, PC) by Sega AM2 and Sega created the 3D fighting game genre. The console port, which was nearly identical to the arcade game, sold at a nearly 1:1 ratio with the Saturn hardware at launch. The original arcade version also had a major influence on the PlayStation becoming a 3D-focused console.
 * Virtua Fighter 2 (Arcade, Saturn, PC) by Sega AM2 and Sega was heralded at the time as "the ultimate arcade translation" and "the best fighting game ever". The title remains the highest selling Saturn game in Japan with 1.7 million copies.
 * Wipeout (PlayStation, PC, Saturn) by Psygnosis received critical and financial success for its futuristic setting, weapons designed to both stall and destroy opponents and its marketing campaign designed by Keith Hopwood and The Designers Republic, in addition to unique licensed music from established electronica acts for PAL versions. The game has been described as being synonymous with Sony's debut gaming hardware and as an early showcase for 3D graphics in console gaming.

title: Fifth generation of video game consoles


text:
1853 in Canada

Events from the year 1853 in Canada.

Incumbents

 * Monarch — Victoria

Federal government

 * Parliament: 4th

Governors

 * Governor General of the Province of Canada — James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
 * Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Charles Henry Darling
 * Governor of New Brunswick — Edmund Walker Head
 * Governor of Nova Scotia — John Gaspard Le Marchant
 * Governor of Prince Edward Island — Dominick Daly

Premiers

 * Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada —
 * Francis Hincks, Canada West Premier
 * Augustin-Norbert Morin, Canada East Premier
 * Premier of Nova Scotia — James Boyle Uniacke
 * Premier of Prince Edward Island — John Holl

Events

 * February 23 – A description of the proposed bridge across the St. Lawrence is published.
 * June 6 – Gavazzi Riot in Quebec are quelled by military.
 * June 26 – Investigation of the riot proceeds, at Montreal.
 * July – Irregular calling of jurors delays trial for riot.
 * July 15 – The Grand Trunk Railway merges numerous smaller Canadian railways into a conglomerate, while also leasing an American railway, the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad, giving it access to the year-round Atlantic port at Portland, Maine.

Full date unknown

 * Mary Ann Shadd becomes the first woman in North America to become editor of a newspaper. Working out of Chatham, Ontario, she publishes, edits and writes in the Provincial Freeman, a newspaper serving the Black community in Ontario.
 * Russian explorer-trappers find oil seeps in Cook Inlet.

Births

 * February 15 – Rodmond Roblin, businessman, politician and 9th Premier of Manitoba (died 1937)
 * March 23 – Donald Mann, railway contractor and entrepreneur (died 1934)
 * July 18 – William McGuigan, politician and 10th Mayor of Vancouver (died 1908)
 * August 10 – Pierre-Évariste Leblanc, politician and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (died 1918)
 * September 25 – Henry Emmerson, lawyer, businessman, politician, philanthropist and 8th Premier of New Brunswick (died 1914)
 * November 13 – Joseph Boutin Bourassa, politician (died 1943)
 * December 19 – Charles Fitzpatrick, lawyer, politician and 5th Chief Justice of Canada (died 1942)

Deaths

 * February 5 – Thomas Talbot, army and militia officer, settlement promoter, office holder, and politician (born 1771)
 * March 31 – William Crane, merchant, justice of the peace, judge, and politician (born 1785)
 * June 7 – Norbert Provencher, clergyman, missionary and Bishop (born 1787)
 * June 28 – Benjamin Eby, Mennonite bishop and founder of Ebytown in Upper Canada (born 1785)
 * July 11 – William Allan, banker and politician (born 1770)
 * November 8 – Friedrich Gaukel, farmer, distiller and innkeeper who helped to transform the pioneer settlement of Ebytown into Berlin, Ontario

title: 1853 in Canada


text:
Wikipedia:WikiProject Hinduism/Mythology

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Hindu Mythology


text:
1854 in Canada

Events from the year 1854 in Canada.

Incumbents

 * Monarch — Victoria

Federal government

 * Parliament — 4th then 5th

Governors

 * Governor General of the Province of Canada — James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, Edmund Walker Head
 * Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Charles Henry Darling
 * Governor of New Brunswick — Edmund Walker Head, John Manners-Sutton
 * Governor of Nova Scotia — John Gaspard Le Marchant
 * Governor of Prince Edward Island — Dominick Daly

Premiers

 * Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada —
 * Francis Hincks, Canada West Premier
 * Augustin-Norbert Morin, Canada East Premier
 * Premier of New Brunswick — Charles Fisher
 * Premier of Nova Scotia — James Boyle Uniacke
 * Premier of Prince Edward Island — John Holl

Events

 * January 27 – The Great Western Railway opens, linking Toronto, Hamilton and Windsor.
 * June 6 – The Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty is signed.
 * October 27 – A Great Western Railway passenger train collides with the tail end of gravel train at Baptiste Creek, Canada West. At least 52 people are killed.
 * Establishment of the African Baptist Association of Nova Scotia.
 * St. Joseph's Academy for Young Ladies, later to be known as St. Joseph's College School, was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto.
 * Sale of the Clergy Reserves in Canada West marking the end of any form of established religion in Canada.

Births

 * April 13 – William Henry Drummond, poet (died 1907)
 * May 21 – Edward Gawler Prior, mining engineer, politician and Premier of British Columbia (died 1920)
 * June 8 – Douglas Colin Cameron, politician and Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (died 1921)
 * June 26 – Robert Borden, lawyer, politician and 8th Prime Minister of Canada (died 1937)
 * August 29 – Arthur Peters, politician and Premier of Prince Edward Island (died 1908)
 * September 1 – James Alexander Lougheed, businessman and politician (died 1925)

Deaths

 * January 20 – Denis-Benjamin Papineau, joint premier of the Province of Canada (born 1789)
 * September 19 – Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet, army officer and colonial administrator (born 1784)

title: 1854 in Canada


text:
1855 in Canada

Events from the year 1855 in Canada.

Incumbents

 * Monarch — Victoria

Federal government

 * Parliament — 5th

Governors

 * Governor General of the Province of Canada — Edmund Walker Head

Premiers

 * Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada —
 * Canada West Premier
 * Sir Allan Napier MacNab, until May 24, 1856
 * Sir John A. Macdonald, from May 24, 1856
 * Canada East Premier
 * Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché

British North America Colonies

 * Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Charles Henry Darling
 * Premier of Newfoundland — Philip Francis Little
 * Governor of Nova Scotia — John Gaspard Le Marchant
 * Premier of Nova Scotia — William Young
 * Governor of New Brunswick — John Manners-Sutton
 * Premier of New Brunswick — Charles Fisher
 * Governor of Prince Edward Island — Dominick Daly
 * Premier of Prince Edward Island — John Holl

Events

 * British Empire's Crimean War continues, British troops being withdrawn
 * Albert Salter surveys the North Shore of Lake Huron, following the signing of the Robinson-Huron Treaty in 1850.
 * January 1 – Bytown is renamed Ottawa.
 * March 8 – A bridge over the Niagara River near Niagara Falls is completed
 * April 11 – The Militia Act of 1855 is passed in the Parliament of the Province of Canada
 * April 17 – Charlottetown incorporated as a city
 * May 19 - The Militia Act is proclaimed
 * August 17 – The Charlottetown Police Department is established
 * August 31 – The First Volunteer Militia units are formed, by year end 21 Companies have been formed.
 * November 19 – The first section of the Grand Trunk Railway's original Toronto–Montreal mainline is completed between Montreal and Brockville.

Full date unknown

 * 1855 Newfoundland general election

Births

 * January 14 – Homer Watson, artist (died 1936)
 * February 22 – Grace Annie Lockhart, first woman in the British Empire to receive a Bachelor's degree (died 1916)
 * March 5 – Nérée Le Noblet Duplessis, politician, 19th Mayor of Trois-Rivières and father of 16th Premier of Quebec Maurice Duplessis (died 1926)
 * May 11 – Charles Doherty, politician and jurist (died 1931)
 * July 29 – Bowman Brown Law, politician (died 1916)
 * August 3 – Charles Hibbert Tupper, politician (died 1927)
 * September 12 – Simon-Napoléon Parent, politician and Premier of Quebec (died 1920)
 * December 14 – William Brymner, art teacher and painter (died 1925)

Deaths

 * July 7 – Henry Sherwood, lawyer, local politician and 4th Premier of Canada West (born 1802)

title: 1855 in Canada


text:
1856 in Canada

Events from the year 1856 in Canada.

Incumbents

 * Monarch — Victoria

Federal government

 * Parliament — 5th

Governors

 * Governor General of the Province of Canada — Edmund Walker Head

Premiers

 * Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada —
 * Canada West Premier
 * Canada East Premier
 * Canada East Premier

British North America Colonies

 * Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Charles Henry Darling
 * Premier of Newfoundland — Philip Francis Little
 * Governor of Nova Scotia — John Gaspard Le Marchant
 * Premier of Nova Scotia — William Young
 * Governor of New Brunswick — John Manners-Sutton
 * Premier of New Brunswick — Charles Fisher
 * Governor of Prince Edward Island — Dominick Daly
 * Premier of Prince Edward Island — John Holl

Events

 * March 30 – The Crimean War, fought by British Empire, ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
 * May 15 – Creation of the village of Embrun, Ontario.
 * October 27 – The two halves of the Grand Trunk Railway are joined with the construction of the Oshawa–Brockville section of the original mainline. Celebratory trains meet near the centre of the line at Kingston. The western terminus of the mainline is the east bank of the Don River.
 * Formation of the British Methodist Episcopal Church (BME), an all Black church.
 * While surveying lands recently acquired by the Crown under the Robinson-Huron Treaty, British land surveyor Albert Salter observes a significant magnetic anomaly near the future site of Creighton Mine in modern-day Northern Ontario. This is an early scientific observation of the vast mineral resources of the Sudbury Basin.

Births

 * May 16 – Charles Melville Hays, railway executive (died 1912)
 * May 20 – Eliza Ritchie, feminist
 * July 6 – Kate Simpson Hayes, playwright and legislative librarian (died 1945)
 * July 31 – John Oliver, politician and Premier of British Columbia (died 1927)

Deaths

 * December – Samuel Street Wilmot, surveyor, tanner, farmer, justice of the peace, and assemblyman in Upper Canada (b. 1773)

title: 1856 in Canada


text:
1857 in Canada

Events from the year 1857 in Canada.

Incumbents

 * Monarch — Victoria

Federal government

 * Parliament — 5th

Governors

 * Governor General of the Province of Canada — Edmund Walker Head
 * Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Charles Henry Darling
 * Governor of New Brunswick — John Manners-Sutton
 * Governor of Nova Scotia — John Gaspard Le Marchant
 * Governor of Prince Edward Island — Dominick Daly

Premiers

 * Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada —
 * , Canada West Premier
 * , Canada East Premier
 * ,
 * Premier of Newfoundland — Philip Francis Little
 * Premier of New Brunswick — Charles Fisher
 * Premier of Nova Scotia — William Young
 * Premier of Prince Edward Island — John Holl

Events

 * March 12 — Desjardins Canal disaster - The bridge over Desjardins Canal, near Hamilton, Canada West, collapses under a Great Western Railway passenger train. About 60 people die.
 * Grand Trunk Railway (Windsor-Montreal) completed, but $7 million in debt.
 * December 31 - Queen Victoria names Ottawa as capital of the Province of Canada.
 * The Palliser Expedition begins its exploration of Western Canada.

January to June

 * February 2 — Alexander Cameron Rutherford, lawyer and politician, first premier of Alberta (died 1941)
 * February 25 — Robert Bond, politician and Prime Minister of Newfoundland (died 1927)
 * February 27 — Adelaide Hoodless, educational reformer who founded the Women's Institute (died 1910)
 * March 17 — Willis Keith Baldwin, politician (died 1935)
 * June 20 — Adam Beck, politician and hydro-electricity advocate (died 1925)

July to December

 * July 27 — Ann Stowe-Gullen, doctor
 * August 15 — Theodore Arthur Burrows, politician and Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (died 1929)
 * August 15 — John Strathearn Hendrie, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (died 1923)
 * September 12 — George Halsey Perley, politician and diplomat (died 1938)
 * October 10 — Cassie Chadwick, fraudster (died 1907)
 * October 10 — George Johnson Clarke, lawyer, journalist, politician and 14th Premier of New Brunswick (died 1917)
 * November 25 — Frederick W. A. G. Haultain, politician and 1st Premier of the Northwest Territories (died 1942)

Deaths

 * February 10 — David Thompson, fur trader, surveyor and map-maker (born 1770)
 * March 13 — William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst, diplomat and governor general (born 1773)
 * September 3 — John McLoughlin, physician, fur trader, and merchant (born 1784)
 * November 3 — William Fitzwilliam Owen, naval officer, hydrographic surveyor (born 1774)

Full date unknown

 * Isabella Clark, first wife of John A. Macdonald, premier of the Province of Canada (born 1811)

title: 1857 in Canada


text:
1858 in Canada

Events from the year 1858 in Canada.

Incumbents

 * Monarch — Victoria

Federal government

 * Parliament — 6th

Governors

 * Governor General of the Province of Canada — Edmund Walker Head
 * Colonial Governor of Newfoundland — Alexander Bannerman
 * Governor of Nova Scotia — George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby
 * Governor of Prince Edward Island — Dominick Daly

Premiers

 * Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada —
 * George-Étienne Cartier, Canada West Premier
 * Antoine-Aimé Dorion, Canada East Premier
 * Premier of Newfoundland — John Kent
 * Premier of New Brunswick — Samuel Leonard Tilley
 * Premier of Nova Scotia — James William Johnston
 * Premier of Prince Edward Island — Edward Palmer

Events

 * The Frontenac County Court House opens.
 * The Canadian government imposes revenue tariffs on US manufactured goods to pay for railroad debts.
 * The Province of Canada releases its first decimal coinage into circulation, minted in England.
 * The Halifax-Truro line begins rail service.
 * The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush starts, leading to the creation of the Colony of British Columbia on the Mainland and igniting the Fraser Canyon War.
 * Chinese, German, Norwegian, Jews, American, Irish, Latin American, French, Belgian Canadian and other immigrants who had been in the California goldfields arrive in British Columbia, attracted by the Fraser River Gold rush, joining French Canadians, Métis, Hawaiians and others already in the area who abandoned regular employment to work the banks of the Fraser alongside the native peoples, who also took part in the rush.
 * About 600 African-Americans from California move to Victoria, British Columbia by invitation of Governor James Douglas as part of the gold rush migration. One of them, Mifflin Gibbs, later plays a key role in persuading British Columbia to become part of Canada. Douglas declares Emancipation Day, August 1, the anniversary of the end of slavery in the British Empire, as the colonies' first official holiday August 1, to the chagrin of the white American element in the colony, though Victoria's West Indian police force, recruited by Douglas, was necessarily disbanded because of the hostility from the numerous Americans in the emerging city.  Also among the African-Americans who came with the gold rush was Isaac "Ikey" Dixon, whose brawl in his Yale barbershop and subsequent safe-custody arrest triggered off the events known as McGowan's War, and who soon after became a noted and popular columnist for the Barkerville newspaper The Cariboo Sentinel.
 * The Toronto Islands are created after a fierce storm detaches the island from the mainland at the Eastern gap.
 * The British Columbia Provincial Police are established.
 * New Westminster became the capital city of the Colony of British Columbia.

Births

 * February 15 – Joseph Flavelle, businessman (died 1939)
 * June 1 – Phoebe Amelia Watson, painter and curator (died 1947)
 * August 8 – Ralph Smith, coal miner, labor leader and politician (died 1917)
 * September 16 – Bonar Law, politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1923)
 * September 28 – Charles Hill-Tout, anthropologist
 * October 26 – Arthur Sifton, politician and 2nd Premier of Alberta (died 1921)
 * November 1 – Joseph Tyrrell, geologist, cartographer and mining consultant (died 1957)

Deaths

 * June 29 – William Morris, businessman, militia officer, justice of the peace, politician, and school administrator (born 1786)
 * December 9 – Robert Baldwin, politician (born 1804)

Historical Documents
In Britain, "New Caledonia" bill's "immediate object is to establish temporary law and order amidst a motley inundation of immigrant diggers"

"Our miners, however, did not trust[...]to mere hearsay" - How Californians slowly caught Fraser River gold fever (Note: blackface)

title: 1858 in Canada