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CN Locos


A. Wong

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Friday started off at the Alberta Railway museum with free rein to pretty much go anywhere we wanted. Just a few samples... an ex EMU car now used as a passenger car. This is the usual car used for their train rides when the museum is open. And then a couple of F units. 6311 is privately owned and is at the ARM for work, while the A-B set are owned by the museum and being repainted into CN livery.

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Shortly after leaving the museum, we found 556 heading to Edmonton with a few SD40-2's. Some rough looking paint on some of the locomotives.

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Back around 156 St we spotted two SD40-2(W)'s but they didn't quite pan out at the time. Instead, we decided to head towards East Edmonton to catch up to 442 that was due to head south towards Calgary. We'd been hearing 417 slowly progressing West ward from Clover Bar and finally found it just West of 127 St with a large 6 unit lash up, then 418 was arriving at Dunvegan. We abandoned 442 at that point and got turned around. Scoped out 418 and found it with 2144, and GTW SD40-2 5933. Decided 417 would be the first priority, we headed towards 149 St. Shortly afterwards, that pair of SD40-2(W)'s turned up. Looks like they were switching Inland. Really harsh paint on the cab of 5277.

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417 showed up. I managed not to shoot an overall shot. Oops. Nice puff of exhaust coming out of 2431. Consist was: 2431, 5432, 8803, 8800, 5335, and 5630. Pretty good paint on 5335! That was SD40 #7 at that point.

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418 had already snuck into Walker so we missed out on 5933, but, we went and hung out at 124 St and caught 5293 bringing a short train back to Walker for SD40-2(W) #8 for the day.

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Finally, this odd ball came along. GP38-2 with a set of intermodal cars and a few cars. Guessing that the intermodal equipment had been BO and had been repaired at the car shops and was it's on way to the intermodal terminal to be put back into a train.

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Some shots from today:

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2501 hauling 108 across the Fabyan trestle.

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317 was having bad luck. It had to set out a BO car at Wainwright, and while they tried to hurry to get out of Wainwright, 108 had priority. No passing sidings between Wainwright and Irma, so, 317 had to wait until 108 arrived at Wainwright. At Irma 317 then took the hole and first waited for Saskatoon-bound 806 and then another intermodal behind that.

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Not sure which train this was, but, the weather was turning ugly but still managed a decent shot (from a moving vehicle!) of 2823.

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attachicon.gifDSC07154.jpgattachicon.gifDSC07178.jpgattachicon.gifDSC07223.jpg

Friday started off at the Alberta Railway museum with free rein to pretty much go anywhere we wanted. Just a few samples... an ex EMU car now used as a passenger car. This is the usual car used for their train rides when the museum is open. And then a couple of F units. 6311 is privately owned and is at the ARM for work, while the A-B set are owned by the museum and being repainted into CN livery.

attachicon.gifDSC07358.jpgattachicon.gifDSC07369.jpgattachicon.gifDSC07372.jpg

Shortly after leaving the museum, we found 556 heading to Edmonton with a few SD40-2's. Some rough looking paint on some of the locomotives.

attachicon.gifDSC07473.jpgattachicon.gifDSC07479.jpg

Back around 156 St we spotted two SD40-2(W)'s but they didn't quite pan out at the time. Instead, we decided to head towards East Edmonton to catch up to 442 that was due to head south towards Calgary. We'd been hearing 417 slowly progressing West ward from Clover Bar and finally found it just West of 127 St with a large 6 unit lash up, then 418 was arriving at Dunvegan. We abandoned 442 at that point and got turned around. Scoped out 418 and found it with 2144, and GTW SD40-2 5933. Decided 417 would be the first priority, we headed towards 149 St. Shortly afterwards, that pair of SD40-2(W)'s turned up. Looks like they were switching Inland. Really harsh paint on the cab of 5277.

attachicon.gifDSC07493.jpgattachicon.gifDSC07494.jpgattachicon.gifDSC07528.jpg

417 showed up. I managed not to shoot an overall shot. Oops. Nice puff of exhaust coming out of 2431. Consist was: 2431, 5432, 8803, 8800, 5335, and 5630. Pretty good paint on 5335! That was SD40 #7 at that point.

attachicon.gifDSC07557.jpgattachicon.gifDSC07561.jpg

418 had already snuck into Walker so we missed out on 5933, but, we went and hung out at 124 St and caught 5293 bringing a short train back to Walker for SD40-2(W) #8 for the day.

attachicon.gifDSC07568.jpg

Finally, this odd ball came along. GP38-2 with a set of intermodal cars and a few cars. Guessing that the intermodal equipment had been BO and had been repaired at the car shops and was it's on way to the intermodal terminal to be put back into a train.

All the good CN power is out west! Jealous..

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You keep your junk out east! Maybe you should come back out this way to fan trains instead of trolleys. Lots of CN action around here. That dirty golden beaver runs around here sometimes too.

I was planning on taking a week out west to railfan during the summer yes..

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  • 3 weeks later...

Some "older" (2 Weeks ago) pics.

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I forget who this was now. Probably a 300 series train. But a repainted 2461 in the consist never the less.

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A pair of BCOL units together at Walker.

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88 heading through the Walker south bypass.

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412 I believe, with one of the early Dash 9's. Just wish they'd get a new coat of paint!

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After watching a warehouse fire, we headed toward the East and ended up around the Cloverbar yard. Pulled up to the crossing just in time for some CP and CN action, later joined by a 3rd train.

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Part Deux. Today's adventures.

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I believe this was 302. Somehow I managed a useable shot holding the camera half out the window from a moving vehicle.

They seemed to be doing some switching in Walker, and we didn't run into them again, so it might not have been 302.

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Heading East... Immediately found 198 at Tofield. Shot it at Ryley, followed by some panning, followed by some shooting at Viking. This shot in particular was some more panning work. While it wasn't the actual shot I was aiming for I still liked the effect and move the locomotive is in focus.

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The chase continued to Kinsella were 198 took the hole for a WB grain train. Not sure what train number the grain train was, but, it was mostly Cargill cars. We had predetermined where we wanted to shoot and it was just good luck that 198 stopped on the bridge for the meet.

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Got into Wainwright with 317 getting ready to depart and 315 arriving. 317 wasn't going anywhere fast. She had a ballast cleaner on the back end which limited the train to 50 MPH, plus, they were dropping a car of urea at Viking, and picking up 4 covered hoppers. We grabbed lunch in Wainwright and let 317 and 315 get ahead of us. We caught up with 315, shot it once, before getting ahead of it before Viking. Positioned ourselves to catch 315 passing 317, as 317 waited to head back to Viking to do it's switching. 315 had a repainted blue devil.

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We ended up continuing to follow 315 who then took the hole at Bruce, with 114 waiting on the main to carry on. 114 had a nice lashup, including a clean (although somewhat faded) BC Rail Dash 8-40CM, an 8-40C. The two Dash 8's however were just along for the ride and were isolated.

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315 wasn't pulling out from the siding and maybe 2 km down the road we saw why... another EB with 2800 leading and 2873 as the DPU. I don't have too many 2800's so it was a nice catch.

We actually found 1 more train but didn't figure a pair of SD70M-2's facing away from the sun was worth a stop.

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On 03/04/2016 at 4:42 PM, awstott said:

Some action from Jasper yesterday. Train 889 with 2 locomotives at the front and 2 mid train.

Some more from that trip. 

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Stack Train... 116 I believe, EB just west of Wabamun. 

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412 EB at Medicine Lodge. 2676 had pretty fresh looking paint. 

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2907 about the crossing Snaring River with 302.

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Bonus: DLCX 143 in Edson. I've been after this little beast for awhile and this was the first time we found it near the road and not near the back of the frac sand facility. It's now a SW900m, but, was originally built in 1936 as a Winston 201A powered EMC SC for Chicago and Great Western as their #5, later rebuilt by EMD i in 1957 as a SW900 and then ended up with C&NW as their 143. While it's perhaps a stretch to suggest it's a 1936 locomotive still running today as if obviously has an entirely new (in 1957) engine and hood, and probably a lot of other parts, I would imagine the frame still dates from 1936.

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On 04/04/2016 at 7:16 PM, D40LF said:

Nice pics. Interesting to see 2522 with the NA map behind the CN on the long hood. Haven't seen one of these in some time.

They're my favourite Dash 9's, it's just too bad the paint is so crappy these days on a lot of them. However, I did catch 2506 recently with good paint, although, no longer the CNNA livery. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

It sees decent service. Unit sulphur trains out of Kaybob, unit aggregate trains from that area too, as well as a lot of forestry, as well as bringing in supplies for the oil industry.

I would imagine insurance will cover at least some of the costs, and, the first report on resuming service I just read recently. Apparently 2 weeks. 

I just recently read of a trestle fire in the US south that CN had back in service in 10 days.

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