the confederation type was a large locomotive type with a 4-8-4 wheel arrangement used on canadian railroads. most were built by the montreal locomotive works (mlw) in montreal, quebec, and the canadian locomotive company (clc) in kingston, ontario, for the canadian national railway (cnr). the "confederation" type was later given the more common designation "northern" type. they were the backbone of the cnr locomotive fleet from the 1930s to the 1950s. eight locomotives of this type have been preserved from the cnr and cpr fleets.