In Full CN Livery with Their Paint Shop

CRO AUGUST 2011

JULY 7th

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CANADIAN NATIONAL

Motive Power:

CN ex-BNSF C40-8W roundup as of August 1st 2011:

In full CN Livery with their paint shop:

2099 -Centralia

2136 - Centralia

2138 - Centralia

2141 - Woodcrest

2144 - Centralia

2146 - Centralia

2147 - Woodcrest

2148 - Woodcrest

2151 - Centralia

2152- Woodcrest

2153- Woodcrest

2155 - Centralia

2156 – NEW JULY CENTRALIA

2157 - Centralia

2161 - Centralia

2163 – Centralia

2164 - Woodcrest

2188 - Centralia

2194 - Woodcrest

2197 - Centralia

CN 2099,2052, and 2053 are in Toronto for completion.

George Redmond was first to catch (former BNSF) CN C40-8W 2156 fresh out of the paint shop at Centralia, Il. July 5th.

CN News:

On June 30th, cross ties caught fire on the CN Cisco Bridge 10-km south of Lytton BC, temporarily shutting down rail operations. The cause is still being investigated. The location is well known to railfans as both CP and CN mainline bridges crisscross the mighty Thompson River at Siska, BC (see video and photos) http://www.canada.com/NEWS/Lytton+bridge+fire+Cisco+bridge+burning+photo/5032922/story.html

One memory I had railfaning with my father (Bill Baird Sr.) was as a kid in the mid-1970’s in Buffalo, NY. We were enjoying a June afternoon trackside on the Penn Central mainline at the west end of Frontier Yard. At peak times, eastbound and westbound freights would arrive one after the other and pull up and stop on the mainline tracks for only a moment for a crew change. (The tail end caboose was met with a roving crew truck at the same time). With a new crew, the engineer would waste no time, throttle up through transition, and highball out of town! My Dad and I would share this thrilling railfan experience for many years, and enjoy and discuss the multitude of 2nd Generation lash-ups we had seen. One day as we were leaving Frontier Yard to head back home to Canada, a PC e/b freight with fresh crew had already caught up to us on Broadway, and we had the chance to chase the power for a stretch. As we paced the Penn Central SD45 and Alco C630, I recall the excitement of the roar, the exhaust shooting above, and watching the springs bounce in the truck sideframes over the jointed track. The train was soon at track speed and roared off ahead of us toward Selkirk Yard.

Martin C. Barry

In our July CRO CN News section, we posted the sobering photos of former CN Z-1-a #6712, a GE-built Box Cab being cut up for scrap following the Town of Mont Royal Council’s decision in March 2011 to dispose of the historic electric locomotive. This move has raised the ire of many railway enthusiasts and some TMR residents. Beginning in 1914 and up until 1996. CN Z-1-a 6712 provided commuter service north on the electrified line from downtown Central Station under Mount Royal to Deux Montagnes. On retirement it was given to TMR.

In selling the locomotive, which was kept stored all these years at the TMR public works yard, Mayor Philippe Roy cited the expense of keeping it properly protected, and needed storage space as reasons for getting disposing of it. After pieces were salvaged by the CRHA for their own Box Cab, the rest was dismantled in June by D. P. Metal of St-Urban Premier south of Montreal. A sad end for such an historic locomotive that provided so many years service through the Mount Royal Tunnel AKA “Canada’s First Subway”. It had been donated to TMR for future exhibit in the municipality which never guided to fruition. CRO readers sounded off: “This was one of the roots of TMR,” said Avrom Shtern, a member of the Montreal environment group Green Coalition for which he is the transportation critic. “This railway was what led to the creation of this municipality,” added Andrew Dawson, a member of Transport 2000, a public transit group. Shtern maintains that the destroyed locomotive was an important artifact of TMR’s history that should have been preserved. He noted that the City of Two Mountains at the other end of the rail line displays the locomotive with which it was entrusted.

CN VIGNETTES:

GREAT SHOT! Doug Wingfield captured CNR RS3’s 3004 and 3019 assiting CNR Northern Northern 6167 up Feguson Avenue in Hamilton, ON heading south on the Hagersville Sub with a 1960’s excursion. The diesels will cut off at Rymal at the top of the Niagara escarpment. Interesting street running back then as this line is now gone.

CANADIAN PACIFIC

Motive Power :

CP has contracted Progress Rail in Mayfield< Kentucky to overhaaul, rebuild and repaint 50 of their GP38-2 locomotives. Last month, 038, 3048, 3066, 3111, and SOO 4446 arrived DIT at Progress Rail – Mayfield, KY via CN with SOO 4515 is currently Bad Order in St. Paul will be added to this group at a later date.

CP leased locomotives on the property in July:

CEFX (AC4400CW) 1002, 1006, 1007, 1014, 1018-1020, 1023, 1024, 1026-1059.

CEFX (SD40-2) 2786, 2790 (in the computer as CEFX 2790 but is lettered CITX 2790), 2791, 2797, 2802, 2803, 3109, 3112, 3117, 3120, 3121, 3127, 3128, 3130, 3133, 3137, 3139, 3143, 3145, 3148, 3149, 3151, 3155, 3163m 3164, 3166, 3168, 3172, 3173, 3175, 3176, 3181, 3182, 3183, 3184, and 3188. (CEFX 3106. 3109, 3137 3160, 3165 are now off lease).

CITX (SD40-2) 2783, 2785, 2792, 2794, 2796, 2799, 2804, 3008,

3024, 3026, 3032, 3035, 3036, 3053-3067, 3070-3075, 3077-3083, 3086, 3088-3092, 3095, 3097-3102, 3105 (lettered CITX, but in the computer as CEFX 3105), 3110, 3157, 3170, 3177. (CITX 3020 and 3093 are now off lease)

NREX (SD40-2) 4403, 5542, 5581, 5661, 5777, 5823, 6301, 6309, 7003, 7212, 7223, 7237, 7246, 7275, 7287, 7349, 7356, 7360, 7370, 7374, 7931, 8092, 8096, 8099, 8401.

HLCX (SD40-2): 6206, 6299, 6340, 6341, 6844, 7003, 7008, 7009, 7161, 7191, 7193, 7205, 7230, 7231, 7233, 8033, 8085, 8089, 8139, 8163,

8176, and JFDX 8045.

Ron Visockis clicked CP 5917 leading a pair of assorted d SD40-2’s westbound on an empty ethanol train through Trenton, ON July 1st.

After sitting at Assiniboia, SK for three weeks and through several severe rain storms in June waiting for the line on CP's Expanse Sub to be fully reopened, Prairie Mines and Royalty Ltd PRMX SD40-2 6973 arrived in Calgary, AB. It is one of two locomotives that haul coal from Sherrit's mine at Poplar River, near Coronach, deep in southern Saskatchewan, the 12 miles to SaskPower's power plant, which produces one-third of the electricity in Saskatchewan. PRMX 6973, seen here at Alyth Yard on 06 July 6th in transit on CP from Poplar River, SK to Progress Rail in Tacoma, WA, for repairs and re-building.

CP News:

Ross Harrison took these photos of the demise of former CP Roobot car 404397. The CLC shell and trucks were scrapped at General Scrap and Car Shredder during May and June of 2010 following a purge of surplus equipment stored in Transcona. Some of the material purged was simply scrapped onsite if unable to safely move to Mandak.

After photographing the CPR 'Royal Pacific Express' July 3rd, Cor van Steenis waited at Morant's Curve for the “Rocky Mountaineer” to hopefully catch it in the new RMR livery. However, the consist arrived in the original colour scheme although did include leased genset NREX # 2020, (built new in Sep 2008) as the trailing locomotive

CP VIGNETTES:

VIA RAIL CANADA

Senior VIA News Editor Tim Hayman

VIA News Editor Terry Muirhead:

Collision damaged VIA P42DC 903 has been repaired and repainted into Renaissance green livery and photographed at VIA MMC July 3rd along with VIA F40PH-3 6406, about to enter the Maintenance Shop for inspection.

Amtrak Train ___ is seen at MMC awaiting her crew, a wash and the servicing shop.

An Internal VIA Rail News Release stated that during 2013 a new $10 Bill will be minted with the back of the note will feature VIA's Flagship "The Canadian”

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GO TRANSIT & AMT COMMUTER

AMT - Agence Metropolitaine de Transport

AMT news editor Jean-Francois Turcotte:

GO TRANSIT

GO news editor Daniel Dell’Unto:

CANADIAN LOCOMOTIVE SHOPS

Global Railway Industries: (RB Recycling / CADRAIL):

Units noted at CADRAIL in June included HLCX SD40-2 7191, 7205, 7231 and 7233 on the CP interchange track June 4th and CEFX 3117 has been at CAD for two months .

As well, these VIA F40PH-2’s were at CAD facilities in Lachine, QC for the rebuild program in June: 6404, 6405, 6409, 6412, 6418, 4437, 6438, and 6448. Brand new rebuilds, VIA 6401 and 6418 left the CAD on June 27th.

CP SD9043Mac 9142 and CP AC4400CW 9505, 9627 were at CAD in June for modifications.

Industrial Rail Services (IRSI) – Moncton, NB

NRE – Capreol, ON:

NRE in late June. This locomotive which was moved via CN from Quebec, is former GTW 4998. In July, CN 2271 and R&S GP38-2 63 were inside the shop for SOPOR GP38-2 4998 arrived at repair.

GreenRailNews.com “Green” Locomotive Roundup

Edited by Jody Moore http://www.greenrailnews.com

ELECTRO-MOTIVE DIESEL (EMD Inc.)

(By Don McQueen)

Summary of EMDI deliveries during May July 2011:

SHORTLINES REGIONALS & INDUSTRIALS

WESTERN:

Mark Perry submitted these shots of BNSF GP9 1685 on the Prairie Dog Central on June 29th and 30th working between Winnipeg and Grosse Isle, Manitoba.

On July 2nd Jesse Acorn photographed Alberta Prarie's steam engine #41 back in service near Stettler, AB after being sidelined for all of last year's season.

ONTARIO:

Please check my text Wayne. It is actually an 0-4-0T isn’t it?

Who owns it and who returmed it to service? A museum or volunteers?

After much hard work and many long hours a team of dedicated volunteers at the Hunstville and Lake of Bays Railway managed to get HLBR 0-4-0T #2 back in steam and hauling passengers on Canada Day as per schedule, missing only the first run of the day due to a balky compressor. Wayne D. Shaw submitted his photo of the Portage Flyer approaching Fairy Lake Station on its second day of operations in three years. The coaches were both built in 1894 as horse-drawn trolleys before being acquired by the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway which opened in 1904 as the final link in a steamboat operation linking the North Muskoka Lakes - Vernon, Mary, Fairy, Peninsula and Lake of Bays. The lakes could be navigated by water with locks between Fairy and Mary Lakes and a canal between Fairy and Peninsula, but a high ridge of rocks between Peninsula and Lake of Bays necessitated the building of this short 1 & 1/8th mile line that included a switchback and an average gradient of 3% with one section of a whopping 7%. Before this 21-ton MLW 0-4-0T and it's 17-ton sister (both built in 1926) were obtained the grueling job was handled by 2 little wood-burning Porters that could barely make the grades, and it wasn't unheard of for passengers to have to detrain and help push the train over the hill! Wayne Shaw also did a 4 hour stint as fireman on her and joked, “No air conditioning except for the warm 10MPH-breeze while in motion. Thankfully the locomotive was converted from coal to oil-burning, so it’s not too bad a job at all!” This may be the only operating steam locomotive in Ontario at this point in time.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=367956

QUEBEC:

EASTERN:

On July 5th, Michael Berry caught HLCX GP38-3 906 and 911 (ex-Union Pacific) trailing CN 5659 and 8821 while the train was stopped in St-Henri, Quebec (E/B on the Montreal Sub) waiting for a new crew. These units are destined for NBSR and will be leased to the Eastern Maine Railway.

CRO MONTHLY PHOTO CONTEST

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MODELLER'S CORNER

(Edited by Mike Pebesma)

CANADIAN RAILWAY HISTORY

EXPORAIL (CRHA):

YDHR

www.ydhr.ca

Add your HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION or GROUP:

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http://www.canadianrailwayobservations.com/

Contact William Baird:

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

On July 1st, Kevin Burkholder caught former CN GP40-2LW 9436 a RAILAMERICA unit relettered Toledo, Peoria & Western 4053. It is basking in a break of sun at the White River Jct., VT depot as the New England Central Railroad WRJ local power for trains 600/601.

ON THE ROAD

LETTERS:

From the Editor:

Hi all,

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