NBEC 1821

In my recent survey, someone posted they liked MLW locomotives and would like to see more. For those who don't know, MLW was the Montreal Locomotive Works, originally a subsidiary of the American Alco company and later owned by Bombardier. Alco/MLW engines are revered by many railfans for the smoke they produced as well as a certain sound the diesel engines made.

My personal exposure to MLW engines comes from two main sources: the former New Brunswick East Coast Railway's extensive roster of MLW locomotives and the Salem and Hillsborough Railroad's pair of MLW locomotives.

I've decided to feature NBEC 1821 in this post, as it was the NBEC RS-18 locomotive I happened to see the most, and also one of the two NBEC locomotives I saw first.

I first saw NBEC 1821 on July 5, 1999 in Miramichi (Chatham) paired up with NBEC 1866. I took some truly bad photos of the pair of them at sunset.

Well before I learned how to pan

These were the among the very first railfan photos I ever took. The very first ones I took were on May 3, 1999 I believe.

The best of the lot

If you're familiar with the area, you can see that the latter photo shows them crossing Water Street in Chatham in front of the Lafarge facility.

I didn't see 1821 again until January 9, 2001 when she was paired up with 1840 and 1864 for local switching. By then I think my film camera was broken so I really had nothing to photograph with.

The next photo I have of NBEC 1821 dates from July 22, 2003 when I was using the 1 megapixel digital camera in my Sony DCR-TRV25 video camera. I still hadn't learned to stand on the sun side of the train.

I'll take a moment to explain what type of locomotive NBEC 1821 was. MLW produced a series of locomotives designated RS-18 (Road Switcher 1800 horsepower). It was essentially the Canadian version of the Alco RS-11. CN bought the vast majority of the RS-18s (225) and ran them long-hood forward, while CP bought 72 and ran them short-hood forward. The PG and E (which became BC Rail) bought 29 and various resource railways bought a few each. All of these were delivered with high short hoods like CP 8743 here (Greg Brewer slide):

CP 8743 in Fredericton, slide by Greg Brewer

NBEC 1821 was built as CP 8741 in April 1957. It soldiered on for years until 1984 when it was rebuilt, the short hood was cut down, and it was renumbered to CP 1821. It continued in service on CP until the New Brunswick East Coast Railway bought it in April 1998.

OK, moving on. My next photo of NBEC 1821 was from October 6, 2003 in the Miramichi yard. 1821 was paired up with NBEC 1849 and was nicely parked in the sun.

Still only a 1 megapixel photo

I next photographed it down at the port of Miramichi on January 8, 2004, doing some switching with leading engine NBEC 1814.

Note the long string of BCOL and CN boxcars. This was after the CN-BC Rail deal was announced...

Later that month I photographed it and 1814 in the Miramichi yard on January 28, 2004. I was taking some detail photos, I guess.

Note the class lights above the number boards, the bell mounted right in the middle, the red safety stripes (some of NBEC's engines had black stripes) and the "NBEC" painted over the CP in "CP Rail".

On February 18, 2004 she was paired up with NBEC 1867 as yard power in Miramichi. The yard power tended to change fairly frequently as they went back to Campbellton for servicing and reassignment. The only constant seemed to be that black NBEC 1857 stayed close to Campbellton most of the time.

Hadn't really mastered night photography...

My next photograph of NBEC 1821 was taken on March 29, 2006 and here I have a different camera! The Fuji FinePix A210 was/is a 3 megapixel camera and takes decent photos as long as nothing is moving.. kind of like today's smartphone cameras.

So much better quality

Here 1821 was coupled up to derelict NBEC 4219 and 4243, locomotives used for parts. They were apparently moved to Miramichi for final scrapping and languished in the back of the yard for months before finally meeting their doom.

Next we fast forward to May 28, 2007 with NBEC 1821 at the head of an empty ore train in Bathurst, NB. You'll note yard power NBEC 1845 to the left and a string of blue ore cars to the right.

Finally, NOT Miramichi!

By this time I was using my Canon S3.

Here's a video from 2007 featuring three RS-18s including 1821 in Bathurst, pushing some ore cars back across Golf Road.

A few months later I was photographing the loaded ore train in Bathurst from the St. Anne Street overpass on September 14, 2007.

Ready to roll!

I took video of this train leaving. THIS is why people love Alcos... that chugging noise.

I chased this train... I caught it on a curve at Madran on its way to the smelter in Belledune.

A little pop of fall colours..

My next photo of NBEC 1821 was at Belledune on February 21, 2008.. apparently it was cold as there is some fog on the lens.

Note the black box behind the cab. This is new and I believe NBEC 1821 was one of the engines to get retrofitted with smart start but I could be wrong. 1821 was behind two SD40 engines on the main line train. For some reason I was back to using the Fuji camera on this trip so the resolution is not as good.

I saw 1821 again the next day (February 22) in Bathurst by the station.

I didn't know it but NBEC 1821 had less than a year of operation before she would no longer grace these rails. In fact, I would see it only for three more months.

Here's a Bathurst video from the spring of 2008 featuring NBEC 1821 and 1819.

Here it was on May 26, 2008, the last time I saw it. It was on the empty ore train, heading out of Bathurst toward Brunswick Mines.

But 1821's story doesn't end there. My friend David Morris photographed it in Gaspe meeting the Chaleur on December 2008, after CN bought the NBEC and its sister railways back.

Photo by David Morris

Michel Boudreau caught it in Bathurst, NB on February 7, 2009, paired up with a CN GP40, presumably on the ore train.

Photo by Michel Boudreau

But that still isn't the end of 1821.

It was purchased by the railroad of Le Massif de Charlevoix (together with NBEC 1868) and pulls the tourist train in Quebec.

Still operating, after 57 years. Not too shabby.

User Favourites - Alco chugging as NBEC 587 leaving Bathurst

Here's another user favourite video, with 9,577 views... little Alco power!

I blogged about this one. This was NBEC train 587 taking loaded ore cars to the smelter at Belledune on September 14, 2007.

I love that Alco noise!

NBEC Update

Michel Boudreau reports that Bathurst is back in red with RS-18s.

The yard power is NBEC 1851, and the ore train is powered by 1868, 1821 and 1849.


CN 9452 was on the ore train for a few days, while 1868 was away for servicing.


CFMG 6906 and 6907 were the power on train 403 today (Sunday).

Michel passed along this photo of 1849 from a few days ago. Note the faded patches on the unit.

I wonder if these were parts taken from other units.

All photos by Michel Boudreau.

Action on the Former NBEC

Michel Boudreau caught some action in Bathurst.

Michel shot this quick video of CN 9461 shunting in Bathurst yard as train 597.


Here's Michel's video of Sunday's short train 402 coming into Bathurst, with CFMG 6903 and NBEC 1821 for power. Alcos still run!

NBEC Ore Train

Here are two videos of the NB East Coast Railway ore train.

This one shows the ore train pushing back into the Bathurst yard in the evening of May 1.


Next day, the ore train was leaving Bathurst for Belledune. Unfortunately they had some engine trouble and had to return after this video was taken.

Snow Removal on NBEC

Michel aka NBECMich has a pair of very nice videos of snow clearing in the Bathurst yard on March 3. It includes train 597 moving cars around the yard as a wheeled snowblower gets the snow out.


Part 2, with a cameo by NBEC ore train 587 with NBEC 1821 as lead power.

Day 2 in Northern NB

Bright and early Friday morning, NBEC 1821 was waiting at the Bathurst station.


I headed north from there. As I approached the tracks at Belledune, I saw VIA 14 stopped just north/west of the crossing. They had to stop to reline the switch that the NBEC ore train had left. Within a few minutes, VIA 6406 pulled the stainless steel train past me on its way to Halifax.


Right after that, I heard NBEC 1821 (as train 597) request permission from the RTC to proceed from Bathurst to Nepisiguit Junction.

Later on in the day, I was just approaching Miramichi when I heard someone calling the RTC at about 15:00. I couldn't hear the conversation but I assumed it was NBEC 403 getting clearance to leave. When I got to the yard, I talked to the crossing guard and he said the freight left at about 15:10. I called Chris M and let him know, and Chris was able to catch the train as it approached Campbellton. He wrote about it in his blog.

I also heard the NBEC local train entering the Loggieville subdivision, which explained why there was no power at all in the Miramichi yard. I assume the local was taking the Ultramar tank cars over.

That was it for trains for me on Friday!

NBEC Videos a-plenty!

Chris M, aka clam502, took a video of NBEC 595 with NBEC 1813 returning to Campbellton from Dalhousie. I enjoyed the sound of his child yelling "here comes choo-choos!" Nice to see the kids enthusiastic about trains!


Michel Boudreau, aka NBECMich, took a few videos in the Bathurst area of NBEC 402/403 (the mainline freight) and NBEC 597 (the local shunter).

First, here's NBEC 597 with 1821 as power, leaving Bathurst for Superior Propane in Beresford with 3 tank cars. Poor Michel got a bit shook up by the horn.


Next, NBEC 402 became train 403 in Bathurst. They had no traffic for Miramichi so they didn't need to go there. Power was 6900 and 6904.


1821 came back light from Beresford, just before 403 left for Campbellton.


Thanks for posting those, guys! Someday I'll be trackside again, I promise...

NBEC and VIA Videos from NBECMich

Michel R has posted a few videos from the Bathurst area. Welcome!

Here's NBEC 402 arriving in Bathurst with 6902 leading, on January 30 2008.


This one shows the Bathurst shunter, train 597, moving some cars around in Bathurst with NBEC 1821 on January 15 2008. It's a bit long but worth watching. I like the overhead view.


Next, two VIA videos. This one shows VIA 15 arriving in Bathurst with the Operation Lifesaver unit (6411) leading on January 5 2008.


Finally, VIA 15 leaving Bathurst on December 29 2007. It still seems weird to see a stainless steel train without a Park car on the end. It's like a sentence without a period at the end

All NBEC All The Time

I got up a bit early Friday morning so I could visit the Bathurst yard and see what the yard power was. I snapped the scanner on at 0700 and was surprised to hear that a train was shunting. It had to be 587, the train to the smelter at Belledune. Sure enough, NBEC 1821 and 1868 were doing the final few moves before heading out.

The train had two open hoppers filled with some kind of blue gravel, one tank car, and 15 blue NBEC ore cars.

They left at 07:10 and I was able to get ahead of them to catch them at Beresford at 07:20, although I only had time to videotape them hand-held.

Then I caught them at Madran coming around the bend at 07:40.


I gave up the chase after that. Later, I was out route 430 when I heard train 597 (the Bathurst shunter) working at UPM Bathurst on the Nepisiguit sub at 10:00.

As I left the Bathurst area at 11:55, I heard NBEC 6903 East getting clearance to leave Bathurst. As I approached Miramichi, I planned to get some lunch at DQ, grab a few shots of the yard power and then hit the road for Fredericton, as I was short on time.

With lunch in hand, I was heading back to the yard when I heard 6903 East call the Miramichi yard limits. That was a fast trip! I managed to get to the VIA station, get my video camera out of the car, and shoot them as they passed the station. CFMG 6903... CFMG 6902... 86' boxcar... WTF? That was it - NBEC 402 had one car in their train.

Oh, NBEC 6900 was in the yard and 1814 and 1818 were the new yard power. I took this well-lit shot that Railpictures liked.

Northern New Brunswick

Today I went to the Bathurst area, and fortunately saw a few trains along the way.

CFQC 3000 and NBEC 1819 in Miramichi

In Miramichi CFQC 3000 and NBEC 1819 provided the yard power, while NBEC 6900 sat at the back of the yard.

I had just exited highway 8 onto route 360 when I heard VIA 14 tell the RTC that they just arrived at Bathurst. I stopped here where the railway crosses 360 and waited a few minutes until VIA 14 showed up. It passed at 09:14 with VIA 6400 and 6417 leading a Renaissance train, with Revelstoke Park bringing up the rear.

VIA 14 at the route 360 crossing, September 2007

By the way, what's up with the weird lettering on Revelstoke Park? Did VIA run out of lower-case stencils?

ReveLstoKe Park at route 360

Later, I heard NBEC 403 arriving at Bathurst at 17:00. They did some shunting, then left quite quickly at 17:35 or so. I handily beat them to Beresford and taped them there at 17:43. They had NBEC 6901, CFMG 6907, CFQC 3000 and NBEC 1819 as power. I guess 402 must have brought a new pair of RS-18s down to Miramichi.

NBEC 6901 leading train 403 through Beresford, NB, September 2007

The train had the usual mix of boxcars, tank cars, wood chip loads, loaded lumber cars, covered hoppers, CN covered gondolas, and the inevitable 17-car ram of Ultramar tank cars for a total of 63 cars (33 loads, 30 empties).

CN tank train in Beresford, NB

Back at Bathurst, NBEC 586 was ready to go to Brunswick Mines by 18:40 with MLW RS-18s 1868 and 1821 on the point. Since I was going that way anyway, why not do a little chase?

They crossed route 430 the first time at 19:00. You can see the shadows were getting really long. I really like this shot - I just wish it was brighter tonight.

NBEC 1868 on the Nepisiguit Subdivision

I got them next at 19:05 at Sewell Road, although I think the video turned out much better than the stills did.

NBEC 1868 and 1821

A quick run down the road got me to the next highway crossing just before the train did, so I just took stills at 19:10.

NBEC 1868

My last catch was a few km up the road, at a private crossing just before the track and the road part ways. At 19:18 the sun was pretty much below the horizon.

NBEC 1868

Train 586 had 15 blue NBEC ore cars, 26 covered CN gondolas, and 5 AOK covered hoppers.

Here's a short video of the train.

In case you feel nostalgic, you can read about my last visit to the Nepisiguit on July 17, 2006.

Just One More Thing

A few Alco/MLW books:

• Alco Official Color Photography
• The Diesel Builders Vol 2 - Alco and MLW
• Alco Locomotives

NBEC sightings, 2004/01/28

That's right, January 28 2004. I thought I'd write about a few old sightings for a change.

I passed through Miramichi at about noon on the 28th and saw NBEC 403 pulling up to the crew shack. The power was CFMG 6902, NBEC 4214, NBEC 4210, and CFMG 6909. The rumbling as the engines passed me was quite impressive, as you can hear in this video.


NBEC 1821 and 1814 were idling in the yard as train 578. CFMG 6903 was idling away.



When I passed through again around 15:00 train 403 was gone, and CFMG 6903 was making up its train to take to Moncton.