Why is it there are so few foreign road engines here on CP in the West? Every major US railroad runs trains with lots of pool and run-through power. Sure, we get CEFX and other leasing companies, ex-SOO units, but I've only ever seen a few UP engines, and none from any other big US road. Where are ex-BC Rail engines, or ex-WC? And why are almost all the engines through here AC4400CWs? They're not the majority of CP's power. CP has about as many SD40-2Fs as SD9043MACs, so why have I seen only one of the former? In fact, I see more SD9043MACs than regular SD40-2s. Where have all the SD40-2s gone? A couple years ago, I'm pretty sure I saw one in purple/silver, though. It was quite dirty; I don't think it was restored. How many engines are currently in purple/silver? I've seen a F-unit/highnose GP9 set a couple times, and a highnose RS-10/RS-18! I've also seen about seven SW10s at once, some in UP colors and some in CP, at Alyth/Ogden. Has CP bought these from UP? I thought only UP had them.
There were only 25 SD40-2Fs built, which I believe are all assigned in the east these days, versus 61 SD90s plus the 4 -H models. The only units currently wearing the old maroon and grey scheme are those in excursion service.
The reason you see so much of the ACs and the CEFX and the UP units is GRAIN. CPR and UP have agreements to run unit grain trains from a connection in Idaho to the Ports on the west coast (Columbia river/Seatac). A lot of this is done with CEFX leaser units which are equiped to run with both the US radio frequencies and the Canadian ones. These trains run primarily with AC power. At least that's the way it was when I saw them regularly in the Columbia Gorge. So, I would guess this is why that's the power you see.
What you said doesn't explain everything, YoHo. My description of the power through Calgary doesn't just apply to grain trains, but stack trains, autorack trains, mixed freights, lumber or ethylene glycol shipments, potash or sulfur... everything. I didn't say I saw a lot of UP - far from it. On the mainline, only one AC4400CW in the 14 years I've lived here! Lenny, you're probably right. That SD40-2F was seven years ago. So, there are SD40-2s and RS-10/18s in excursion service? To anyone in Calgary: I know there's some interesting power here. I just don't know where or when to go to get a view. There are two SD40M-2s that look like SD45s assigned to the Alyth hump. The last Baldwin in Canada has sat unused for years on a siding at Ogden. I've only been in that area a few times. Can anyone with more experience offer some railfanning advice?
The RS10s were all retired in the lates 70s and the RS18s in the late 90s. The excusion engines are what is pictured, FP9A, F9B and GP38-2 as well as the 2816 of course. The reason you probably see so many of the Dash 9s is they are AC, so are the SD90s, and are preferred for the grades in the mountain areas. They are still plenty of SD40-2s running out their last miles around here and a good many of them have been set aside already. The CEFX Dash 9s are usually seen in these parts in intermodal trains. Local and transfer runs usually are powered by rebuilt GP9s or GP38s.
Well, Lenny, does CP still have anything else that looks similar to an RS-10 or RS-18 in purple/silver? I saw it at Ogden not three months ago (from a considerable distance, so I couldn't see small identifying features.) Yes, I still sometimes see SD40-2s, just not nearly as many as six or seven years ago. I do see rebuilt GP9s - there's a two-unit set at Victoria Park and another at Alyth/Ogden. GP38s and GP40s handle locals. I used to see SOO SD40-2s, but not anymore - have they been repainted? I've never seen a SOO SD50 - do they stay out east?
It may be a private industrial or short line loco being worked on in CP's shop. Soo SD60s show up on intermodal trains all the time here and sometimes regular freights as well. Soo SD40-2s are not so common, but I have seen a couple repainted in the beaver shield, some of the Soo SD40-2s are being retired as well. [ June 28, 2005, 08:31 PM: Message edited by: Lenny53 ]
No SD60s either, Lenny. It is strange. And that Alco wasn't industrial; it said "Canadian Pacific" on it, in writing on the silver stripe. Just like #3084 in your picture. There was another engine parked next to it that may have been private - I have no idea what that one was. It was red and gold (I think), with a nose as high as the long hood, but that wasn't very high. It was a foot or two lower that the RS-10/18. Some lettering that wasn't legible. I don't know how many axles it had; the trucks were obscured.
Lots of SOO stuff and AC4400's go by here. There's also a CP engine here that looks like a GP40X but it says GP38-2 on it with the really new paint. Where are all the SD90's, by the way? Last time I saw one was April.
Maybe I get all the SD90s! I've probably seen the whole CP roster of them. Lenny said most of the 90s were assigned to cross the mountains.
Went back to Ogden last week and saw the mystery engine still there. Got a few shots of it: http://www.maj.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=202423 http://www.maj.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=202424 http://www.maj.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=202425 http://www.maj.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=202426 Not very good, I know. The pictures are enlarged from small regions of scanned photos. But you can sort of read the CP lettering in the second picture. Waaait a minute... http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=78107 ...it looks exactly like this! It's not an Alco at all - it's a Baby Trainmaster!
Why would I know the number? I don't have any better pictures. I know fron the Railpictures link that there's one H-16-66 left in Canada, and it doesn't run. That would explain why it didn't move in three months. CP once had Trainmasters, but there's only one left, in the CN Railway Museum near Montreal as of six years ago. [ July 11, 2005, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: Triplex ]
The Canadian Railway Museum here in Montreal has the only surviving H-24-66 Trainmaster that I know of and I saw it a month ago. It has been here for years and is freshly painted and it is housed in a brand new building at the museum. I believe the unit you saw is a H-16-44 from the 85/86/8700 series and it most likely a "heritage" locomotive still own by CP.
