Two Trains Over Two Subdivisions (Guest Post)

This is a guest post by photographer Ken McCutcheon. He participated in my 10 Questions series a while ago. Recently he shared a pair of emails and I asked permission to share them with you as a guest post.

Last week on Thursday and Friday [June 16-17]  the Great Western Railway ran a couple of interesting trains.

Colour Me Green

GWRS 2000 and 2001 prepare to leave Shaunavon, SK. Ken McCutcheon photo.
The yard is full of stored empty tank cars.

Thursday's movement from Shaunavon, Saskatchewan to Assiniboia, SK featured MLW M420's 2000 and 2001.

I had made a comment on Facebook regarding this train. Next thing I know, Trevor Sokolan was on his way down from Edmonton to photographically record
the event.

There was really nothing out of the ordinary with this operation other than: GWR have the M420's for sale. There were two operating Alcos this day. How much longer will they be in service?

So there was an urgency to have one more experience with the M420's.

Approaching Admiral, SK - Ken McCutcheon photo

After driving through a monsoon enroute from Assiniboia to Shaunavon early Thursday morning, I hooked up with Trevor, chatted and waited for the "chase" to begin.

During this time a minivan with Ontario plates rolled up with a couple more railfans. Ted and Robin from Cobourg, Ontario just happened to be in southern Saskatchewan and on the GWR this day. I'd say they were blessed.

At 1015 Thursday June 16th the chase was on.

Approaching Pontiex, SK. Ken McCutcheon photo.

Trevor Sokolan shared a photo of the units switching the Admiral elevator here.

Colour Me Orange

Leaving Rockglen, SK. Ken McCutcheon photo.

On day two, GWR ran a potash car storage train down the Fife Lake Sub to Coronach. (The Fife Lake subdivision is used mainly now for storage of railway equipment)

Under a clear dome the two B40-8's 563 and 575 (handled 67 empty potash cars going into storage. Once again the four photographers had a great day of chasing.

Approaching Lisieux. Ken McCutcheon photo.

Trevor Sokolan shared a photo near Bexkill, SK.

For me the chase was bittersweet.

I found out the following Monday that the locomotive engineer for both these trips, Doug Knuff, had pulled the pin.......retiring from the GWR.

Doug was a gentleman and a blessing.  He was always friendly, with a wave from the cab; he shared whatever information I requested; and he will be sorely missed.

All the best, Doug, in your retirement and THANK YOU for the memories. Be blessed and enjoy your free time away from the railway.

Ken McCutcheon

Approaching Scout Lake. Ken McCutcheon photo.

Thanks for the post, Ken!

Here's a photo of Ken enjoying the GWR's Alcos in July 2015, by Trevor Sokolan.

Further reading:

• Ken's 10 Questions
• Jeff Robertson's Great Western photos
• The Great Western Railway's site

Yet More on 6765

Continuing my fascination with CN/VIA 6765, here are two more slides I purchased recently.

First, CN 6765 in May 1974. This slide was taken by Jean Patenaude and was probably taken in the Montreal area.


Next, VIA 6765 and 6860 at Brockville, Ontario in July 1981. There is no photographer credited on the slide.


Here are the various paint schemes I've seen for CN/VIA 6765 so far:

1. 1974/02/21 - CN black and white stripes with red nose
2. 1976/07/24 - CN black and white stripes with red nose
3. 1977/03/24 - VIA blue and yellow with red CN on yellow nose
4. 1979/10/19 - VIA blue and yellow with red CN on yellow nose
5. 1980/04/27 - VIA blue and yellow with red VIA on yellow nose
6. 1981/07 - VIA blue and yellow with yellow nose
7. 1988/10/16 - VIA blue and yellow with yellow nose
8. 2005 - CN green and gold

I've never seen a photo of it in CN green and gold but I have to assume that it wore that sometime between 1958 when it was built and 1974 when I first have proof it was in the sergeant stripes. If Exporail repainted it in green and gold, it must be true!

I have omitted some dates from the above list, where the paint scheme did not change between the dates listed. I'm trying to nail down when it changed liveries.

This Day, 32 Years Ago

CN 3104 (and I think CN 3112) were shot in Toronto on April 6, 1980. Presumably this is at the Spadina shops downtown, as a VIA "B" unit is clearly visible as well. The photographer is unknown.

CN 3104 was an MLW RS-18.

This Day, 30 Years Ago

Here's a little slide showing CN 1758 in Moncton, NB by Gary Zuters. I'm guessing this is in Gordon Yard but I could be wrong.

This Day, 27 Years Ago

Greg Brewer took this slide of CN 2338 in Moncton, NB on June 17, 1984.

CN 2338 has had a bit of a charmed life. It is an MLW M-636 (class MF-36b) built in 1971. It was retired on June 4, 1996 but unbelievably was un-retired twice in 1996 before finally being retired on January 23, 1998.

It was configured in 1999 to be an emergency generator for the MacMillan Yard diesel shop in Toronto, Ontario as part of CN's Y2K preparations. It was not needed, but remained in the yard for years afterward. There was a lot of railfan discussion about what would be done with CN's last big MLW unit.

Amazingly, CN 2338 was sold in late 2010. It was sold to Railroad Power Leasing and became RRPX 2338. It arrived in Buffalo, New York on November 9, 2010. RRPX already had three other M636s among other Alco products. I believe RRPX 2338 is going to the Claremond Concord Railroad in New Hampshire but I could be mistaken.

The new CN 2338 is a GE ES44DC. I haven't had the pleasure of shooting it yet, as it is pretty much brand new. Here is the new CN 2338, photographed on July 31, 2012.

Kensington PEI

Back in 1998? I toured Prince Edward Island with my future wife. We spent a couple of days driving around and enjoying the beautiful scenery on this island jewel. One of the places we drove through was Kensington, and I was amazed to see the unique station building there.

This station was constructed in 1905, Kensington's third and final station. There is a great history of the station online. The stone on the outside of the station is from New Brunswick, embedded in stucco. They used New Brunswick stone because the PEI sandstone is not durable enough.

The station served passengers from its construction until the end of railway passenger service on the Island on October 25, 1969. The station was designated a National Historic Site in 1978. It was officially closed by CN in 1983 and became the town tourist information centre in 1984. It is currently the home of the Island Stone Pub.

When I visited, MLW RSC-14 CN 1762 and caboose CN 78431 were located a little ways from the station, and looking pretty shabby.

It seemed like kind of a dumb location for them, several hundred feet away from the station. I understand CN 1762 has since been moved up to sit beside the station. I'm not sure if the caboose is there too.


CN 1762 was built as RS-18 CN 3859 in 1960 by the Montreal Locomotive Works company. It was rebuilt as an RSC-14 in 1975 and became CN 1762. It was one of the diesel engines on PEI. It spent a little while sitting in Summerside after its retirement, before being moved to Kensington. There's a great story of the move of 1762 from Summerside to Kensington, over the remaining rails (and even bridging a gap or two).

CN 78431 was originally a Grand Trunk boxcar, 19908, built in December 1911. It Became CN 342608 and was rebuilt into a caboose by the CN Pointe St. Charles shops into CN 78431. It graced the McDonald's in West Royalty, PEI for a short time before being moved to Kensington.

Follow the link for a tremendous amount of interesting PEI railway material.

To finish, here's a photo of CN 1754 (now at the New Brunswick Railway Museum) rolling past Kensington station in 1987, two years before the end of rail operations on PEI.

Alco Withdrawal

I sure miss those MLWs. The smoke, that distinctive chug-chug-chug.. they were unique.

This Day, 16 Years Ago

Here's a slide by David Stowe from June 26, 1994. It features CN 3578 on point with fellow MLW unit 2307 and SD40 5071 trailing. The slide was taken in Hamilton, Ontario.

Strangely enough, 3578 was the newest of the three units shown. CN 3578 was an M-420(W). It was originally built as CN 2578 in 1976, but along with many M-420s it was renumbered to the 35xx series when it had its weight and fuel reduced for branchline service. CN 3578 found a new life on the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad in 1998, then was sold to the Southern Railroad of New Jersey in 2003 (CN Lines web page). There is a photo of it here showing it with SRNJ lettering but still in CN stripes.

CN 2307 suffered a worse fate. It was an older unit, an M-636 built in 1970. It was retired on January 31, 1995 and scrapped just over a year later.

CN 5071 was an SD40 built in 1968. It was retired on November 27, 1998 and was sold to National Railway Equipment. It is apparently still in operation today, in Union Pacific colours.

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!

Leslie Main and CN 3624

tjmfishing sent me some great photos of his grandfather's retirement in Campbellton, NB. Leslie Main retired on June 9, 1982 and appears to have had a good sendoff.

They are standing in front of RS-18 CN 3624. Note the CN transfer caboose in the background on the left. Leslie is the one in the blue hat looking down at the papers in his hand.

Leslie at the controls. Note the data on the side of the locomotive.

CN 3624 was built between 1956 and 1958 by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) as class MR-18b. The 18 indicates 1800 horsepower. The data 75-65/18 indicates that the maximum speed was 75 MPH and 65:18 indicates the gearing on the traction motors.

David Othen shot CN 3624 in Halifax several times in 1973.


Ron Leblanc indicated that 3624 was involved in an accident shortly before the 1982 photos were taken and was repainted. CN 3624 was leased to CP Rail between April and July 1987, and was retired on July 30, 1992.

Thanks for those photos!

CP 4563 at Work

CP 4563 is preserved at the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, Quebec. I had the privilege of seeing her back in 2005, and again in 2007 when she was run to McAdam for the CP Pensioners gathering.

mygirl22ward posted a video of a CP single-stack container train near Chicago featuring 4563 as the second unit (and MLW C424 CP 4215 as the third unit). Enjoy.


The same user posted a video of the big Alco units that CP ran. This video was shot on May 26, 1993, as the MLW units were fast being retired from CP. Great Alco sights and sounds!

CN 1774

CN 3875 was an RS-18 built in 1960 by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). CN classified it as class MR-18g.

I don't have a photo of CN 3875 but it was on a couple of train orders. It was on two detoured CN freights through Mattawamkeag, Maine (CPR line). The first recording I have was on May 1, 1973 with a westbound extra - CN 3875, CN 3843, CN 3687. Those engines returned at 23:05 on May 4, 1973 with CN 3875 leading and 3687 and 3843 trailing.

CN 3875 was rebuilt in 1975 in the RS-18 to RSC-14 conversion by replacing the B-B trucks with A1A trucks* and reducing the horsepower from 1800 to 1400. It was renumbered to CN 1774 and became part of class MR-14c. Here it is shortly after the rebuild in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia on May 31, 1976 (photo by Walter Matuch. Walter is the owner of Ready Made Trains).


Sometime between 1976 and 1984, CN 1774 was repainted and received the CN sergeant stripes. This slide by Glenn Courtney was shot in Halifax on October 13, 1984. Note sister CN 1782 behind her.


CN 1774 was retired before 1996 and presumably scrapped.

* B-B trucks are four wheel trucks, all powered. A1A trucks are six wheel trucks with the middle pair of wheels unpowered. The idea was to spread the weight of the locomotive over more wheels to allow them to operate on lighter branchline tracks.

CP 8800

Today's slide is a well-lit shot of MLW RS-18 CP 8800 in Fredericton, New Brunswick on August 29, 1981.

CP 8800 was built in July 1958 as the last number in the MLW RS-18 series for CP. As part of CP's RS18 rebuild program in the 1980s, it was rebuilt in 1985 and became CP 1831. Apparently something happened to it in the mid 1990s, as it was shown stored unserviceable in the 1997 Trackside Guide and it was retired on March 20, 1997 and scrapped.

There's a nice photo of CP 1831 on Railpictures, leading a train through Quebec in 1993.

CN 8705

Another eBay image for your viewing pleasure. This shows CN 8705 and caboose in the Ocean Terminals area of Halifax, near the passenger station. The slide was taken in September 1987.

CN 8705 was originally built in 1959 by the Montreal Locomotive Works as CN 8609. It was rebuilt in 1978, and became CN 101 for two years before reverting to 8609 in 1980. It was again rebuilt in 1984 and became CN 8705. It was finally retired in 1997 and was transferred to CN's then subsidiary CANAC. It was leased out to a few places and is currently leased to Agrium near Kapuskasing, Ontario. Thanks again to the CNcyclopedia for the details.

CN 3104 in Toronto

Here's a roster shot from a slide I purchased from eBay. This shows CN 3104 in Toronto - not sure where in Toronto but the VIA equipment around it might indicate Spadina.


CN 3104 was purchased as part of a lot of 30 units (3100-3129) in 1959. This series was equipped with a steam line pipe (but not a steam generator) so they could be used in passenger service. (source)

Railpictures.net has one photo of CN 3104, at Windsor Ontario on May 21, 1981.

Alco Fever

I miss the MLW units. I miss the smoke and noise they make. Just to remind myself of them, I uploaded a couple of videos of NBEC RS-18s working in Miramichi.

Here are NBEC 1854 and 1819 working in Miramichi on August 5, 2004. First they push a centerbeam flat into the port area, then they run light through the yard.


This one has NBEC 1866 and 1867 smokin' it up in the Miramichi yard on October 7, 2004.

Update on Former NBEC Units

Canadian Railway Observations noted the following units at or en route to Woodcrest, Illinois in its January 2009 issue:

1814, 1815, 1816, 1828, 1834, 1838, 1840, 1842, 1846, 1854, 1854, 1859, 1866, 4202, 4203, 4204, 4210, and 4214.

1842 and 1859 are reported to be going to the St. Thomas & Eastern Railroad, and CFQC 3000 is to be leased to the Chemin de fer Lanaudière near Joliette, Quebec.

Rumoured to still be at Campbellton, NB are 1813, 1819, 1821, 1845, 1849, 1851, 1856, 1857, 1867, 1868, and 4235.

MLWs in Ontario

Dan D caught the five ex-NBEC C424 units and NBEC 1840 on CN 149 through Brampton, Ontario on December 17.

See the video

The consist of the head end was CN 5769, 2273, and 2401 with NBEC 4214, SFEX 4204, SFEX 4203, NBEC 4210, SFEX 4202 and NBEC 1840. As I reported, they left Campbellton on December 10.

The C-424s Are Gone

Nicolas Kiss reported the five functional MLW C-424s left Campbellton last night on CFMG train 403, for CN's Woodcrest shops in Illinois. Those were CFQC 4202, SFEX 4203, SFEX 4204, NBEC 4210, and NBEC 4214.

The dead units are still in place and are to be scrapped where they are. That includes NBEC 4219 and NBEC 4243 in Miramichi, and NBEC 4235 in Campbellton.

The end of an era... sigh. I remember that there was often one C424 in Miramichi paired with an RS18, working the yard. 4210 and 4230 in particular were regular workers there, and I saw them many times.

Canadian Pacific RS23 Photos

A fellow named Joe sent me a photo his mother took in Saint John in late February or early march 1994. I think it is very interesting.

I reduced the size somewhat to fit on the screen.

The top units are (L-R) 8041, 8023, and I think 8027. The bottom units are (L-R) 8045 and 8046?.

Note the C.A.R. label on 8023, the only unit to wear the label as far as I know. Also notice the CP multimark on two of the units.

I think both photos were taken at Bayshore or the Port of Saint John, based on the shoreline in the background.

Nice to see these units from the past. Many of the RS23s were scrapped by the Windsor & Hantsport last year.