Central Vermont 4-8-2 No. 601, lettered "City of St. Albans" on the cab, poses with valve gear in reverse position at White River Junction, Vermont in June of 1953. The image is attributed to Robert Chaffin, from the collection of Charles Willhoft of Milwaukee. In 1927 the American Locomotive Company delivered four Mountain types to the CV that were classified as U-1-a in the parent Canadian National scheme. They had cylinder dimensions of 26x28 inches, a driver diameter of 73 inches, and eventually a boiler pressure of 210 p.s.i. They weighed 326,100 pounds and produced a tractive force of 46,283 pounds. Their evaporative heating surface totaled 3856 square feet, their superheating surface 968 square feet, and their grate area 67 square feet.

Said to have actually been owned by the Canadian National but leased to the CV, these 4-8-2s differed from their Canadian U-1-a cousins in having the Coffin feedwater heater embedded in the smokebox instead of the prominent Elesco bundle type. Additionally, they did not have the "reversed" or "indirect" Walschaerts valve gear configuration typical of the Canadian engines. They had an outboard-journal pilot truck which was not a feature of all Canadian U-1-a locomotives, and at times sported "elephant ear" smoke deflectors. The CV Mountains were the railroad's premier passenger power but lost this distinction with the introduction of diesels; No. 601 was retired in 1956.