Occasional Canadian photos, mostly from Vancouver area

[pH]

Just to finish the discussion in posts 53 to 59 above, the City of Vancouver have finally bought the Arbutus line from CP for C$55M. Their first offer had been 22M, CP's asking price had been 100M, though a value of 400M for housing had been suggested. http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-cprail-arbutuscorridor-1.3479343

 

It's now the City's problem to decide between the various possibilities for future use, and to placate those groups that don't get what they want.

 

While it was always obvious that it would be settled by a compromise, I'm a bit disappointed that CP didn't have to push any harder than they did. I was quite looking forward to seeing 'training' trains simultaneously blocking several major commuting routes at rush hour.

[pH]

Almost 3 years ago, “alastairb” of this parish posted a picture of CP’s Port Coquitlam diesel shops, taken through a chain-link fence on a new road overpass which crosses the railyards (post#13 above). At the time, I said I would have to try taking some pictures there. Well, today …

 

Here’s a general view of the shops. Mostly GE AC units, but there’s one GP38-2 and a CN unit lurking in the left background.

 

 

All the switchers I saw working in the yards were ex-SOO non-dynamic GP38-2s. Here’s one of them, set up for “beltpack” operation:

 

 

One of the advantages of the viewpoint is that you get to see the roofs of locos, which is a bit unusual. However, the gaps in the chain-link fence are pretty small, and you can’t angle the camera very much, so it’s difficult to photograph things near the bridge. However, I thought these two were worth showing. First, GP38-2 #4435 with a light orange stripe down the centre of the roof:

 

 

Remember steam locos with the chimney ‘bagged’ for storage? (Well, some of us do.) Here’s the diesel equivalent on AC4400CW #9531 – plastic sheeting over the exhaust stack:

 

 

At the other end of the Port Coquitlam yards, a Loram Railvac was cleaning ballast on one of the yards tracks:

 

 

And a long eastbound train of coal empties passed. ES44ACs #8813 and #8791 on the headend, ES44AC #8829 as mid-train helper and AC4400CW #9759 as rear pusher:

 

 

 

 

 

[alastairb]

Brings back memories. Yes the chain link fencing makes photography a bit tricky but it is an interesting location. I was there in 2010 and there wasa varied selection of locos including GP9s and a couple of end cab switchers.

[AndrewC]

Ok, lets throw in a few from YYC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blackthorn]

Great pictures....I'm currently sitting on a balcony in North Vancouver overlooking the bay getting a sunburn (I didn't think that was possible in Vancouver!). Maybe I should move my backside and go exploring before I go home. Although I did go to the railway museum in Squamish yesterday with my girlfriend, its a very a hands on museum, meaning you can go into/onto many exhibits and they didn't charge any admission fee as they aren't open yet for the summer season.  That was great for me as I think we were the only ones there!!

 

Edited for typo......

Edited April 1, 2016 by Blackthorn

[pH]

Great pictures....I'm currently sitting on a balcony in North Vancouver overlooking the bay getting a sunburn (I didn't think that was possible in Vancouver!). Maybe I should move my backside and go exploring before I go home. Although I did go to the railway museum in Squamish yesterday with my girlfriend, its a very a hands on museum, meaning you can go into/onto many exhibits and they didn't charge any admission fee as they aren't open yet for the summer season.  That was great for me as I think we were the only ones there!!

 

Edited for typo......

Great weather, isn't it? Breaking temperature records every day this week, apparently. Are you going to be back in Ontario in time for the minus temperatures and snow next week?

[Blackthorn]

Great weather, isn't it? Breaking temperature records every day this week, apparently. Are you going to be back in Ontario in time for the minus temperatures and snow next week?

Yes....Yes I am.......not happy about that.........We're here visiting my girlfriends Mum and thoroughly enjoying ourselves, if there was much call for what I do for my job I would seriously consider moving here, and if I could afford the house prices.

 

Cheers.

 

Mark.

[pH]

Brings back memories. Yes the chain link fencing makes photography a bit tricky but it is an interesting location. I was there in 2010 and there was a varied selection of locos including GP9s and a couple of end cab switchers.

 

Alastair, I wrote a fairly long reply to your post last night. Right at the end, I had finger problems and deleted almost all of the post. So I said 'Oh dear!' and went to bed. This is a second attempt.

 

Your pictures show just how much has changed in a pretty short time. There are no GP9us around here now, and I haven't seen an 'end cab' switcher for a while, though I did see a 'slug' a couple of weeks ago (1020 in your pictures is a slug) on a local switch job. All the switchers I saw at work in the yards this week (4 of them) were those ex-SOO GP38-2s without dynamics. Interesting to see a Saint Lawrence and Hudson geep in your pictures - I only ever saw one SD40-2 in that colour scheme.

 

I was disappointed that there were no GP20C-ECoS or SD30C-ECoS around when I was there. I still haven't managed to photograph a SD30C-ECO yet, though they've been here for several months. They appear to be slowly replacing SD40-2s on transfer jobs between PoCo yards and downtown Vancouver. These used to be hauled by a pair of SD40-2s. The last few I've seen have had one SD40-2 and one SD30C-ECO.

 

(Going much further back, when we arrived here, 34 years ago, the transfer jobs were worked by high-hood GP9s, and SD40-2s were CP newest road power, and were still being delivered!)

Edited April 2, 2016 by pH

[pH]

This afternoon, I went looking for a CP train that I’d seen earlier today and found it in one of the two places I knew it would be. It was switching inside a private industry, so I had to wait for it to come out to take pictures. While I waited, there was traffic passing on the CP line into Vancouver. (Unfortunately, all pictures had to be taken against the sun.)

 

Having said at the end of last week, that I hadn’t managed to photograph a SD30C-ECO yet, two went past on a transfer of grain cars to the elevators in Vancouver docks. Here are #5014 and #5016:

 

 

I believe these units are major rebuilds of SD40-2s. Some of the later ones were to use SD40-2Fs (“Red Barns”).

 

Then a very long stack train came east, with CN power – SD70M-2 #8011 and C40-8W #2718 (sublettered for Illinois Central):

 

 

Finally, the train I’d gone to photograph came out of the private yard on its way back to Port Coquitlam with GP38-2 #3026 and “control cab” #1126. 1126 was built as a GP35 and converted in 1996.  

 

[alastairb]

Yes lots seems to have changed. Even the paint scheme of 3026 and 1126 was different in 2010. They seem to be a permanent pair.

[pH]

Yes lots seems to have changed. Even the paint scheme of 3026 and 1126 was different in 2010. They seem to be a permanent pair.

It seems to have been a bit of a surprise that 1126 was repainted. It was expected it would be scrapped before that happened. Yes, they do seem to go around together. 1126 needs something to move it, and I suppose there are non-standard connections between them, with 1126 being unpowered.

Edited April 15, 2016 by pH

[40019]

This afternoon, I went looking for a CP train that I’d seen earlier today and found it in one of the two places I knew it would be. It was switching inside a private industry, so I had to wait for it to come out to take pictures. While I waited, there was traffic passing on the CP line into Vancouver. (Unfortunately, all pictures had to be taken against the sun.)

 

Having said at the end of last week, that I hadn’t managed to photograph a SD30C-ECO yet, two went past on a transfer of grain cars to the elevators in Vancouver docks. Here are #5014 and #5016:

 

IMG_0217.JPG

 

I believe these units are major rebuilds of SD40-2s. Some of the later ones were to use SD40-2Fs (“Red Barns”).

 

Then a very long stack train came east, with CN power – SD70M-2 #8011 and C40-8W #2718 (sublettered for Illinois Central):

 

IMG_0229.JPG

 

Finally, the train I’d gone to photograph came out of the private yard on its way back to Port Coquitlam with GP38-2 #3026 and “control cab” #1126. 1126 was built as a GP35 and converted in 1996.  

 

IMG_0233.JPG

 

I like the way the  SD30C-ECO 's look like SD45's with the flared radiators

[pH]

Canadian Pacific SD30C-ECoS #5003 and 5002 head east out of Nelson, BC on May 7th. A year ago, these trains were powered by SD40-2s.

 

 

(Edit - I cannot get the editor to allow me to post "E C O s". It insists on changing it to "E C o S" while uploading.)

Edited May 13, 2016 by pH

[pH]

CP track maintenance crew at work with a couple of hi-rails in Coquitlam this morning:

 

 

[DavidB-AU]

2 years ago today I was enjoying a coffee in Jasper.

 

 

Cheers

David

[pH]

BNSF freight waiting to move out of the exchange sidings in Coquitlam this afternoon, (l to r) GP50 #3143, GP60B #326 and GP50 #3120:

 

 

#3120 really looks in need of a repaint - I wonder if it will be withdrawn/sold before that happens?

 

 

(Late edit  - #3143 has been derated from its original 3500HP to 2500 by removal of the turbocharger. BNSF classify units modified in this way as GP25-2s, but this is not an official EMD designation. #3120 has been derated to 3000HP, but is still regarded as a GP50. Information from this site - http://www.thedieselshop.us/BNSF.HTML    )  

Edited June 15, 2016 by pH

[John B]

So refreshing to see some Cascade Green around still, BNSF on the Surf Line is almost exclusively (boringly) Pumpkin colored.

 

I was stupidly thrilled to see a yellow warbonnet (unidentified) Geep outside the Miller Coors brewery in Irwindale the other day.Unfortunately I was doing about 70mph on I-210 at the time..

[pH]

So refreshing to see some Cascade Green around still, BNSF on the Surf Line is almost exclusively (boringly) Pumpkin colored.

 

I was stupidly thrilled to see a yellow warbonnet (unidentified) Geep outside the Miller Coors brewery in Irwindale the other day.Unfortunately I was doing about 70mph on I-210 at the time..

 

Both of the GP50s were 'whitefaces', too. That's what I first noticed as I drove along the freeway in the foreground of the pictures - the white face on #3143. I didn't register at first that there was a 'B' unit there.

 

And I know what you mean by 'doing about 70mph'. I was doing 90kph on the freeway, with no chance of stopping, but about to leave at the next exit anyway. So double back along town roads to the local IKEA and up to the small rooftop parking lot (main parking is underground). As the pictures show, it gives a reasonable view over the freeway, as long as you time it to miss the semis, but unfortunately the sides of the track are pretty overgrown.        

[pH]

Canadian Pacific SD30ECOs #5018 and #5002 rounding the east-to-south leg of the triangle at Castlegar towards Trail on June24. 

 

 

Next is something I've been meaning to take a picture of for some time, but have never been sure exactly where it is on the road and have always had traffic immediately behind me when I did spot it. When many North American railways were being built, they were built as cheaply as possible then, when traffic built up and money was available, they were often upgraded. A common example was that bridges were built as wooden trestles, then were either rebuilt in steel or were filled in as embankments with the original trestle just being buried with fill. 

 

Here is a small example of that (some of the buried trestles can have eight or nine 'decks'). It was a bridge over a road on what was called the Great Northern Railway's "third main line" in BC, between Keremeos and Hedley. The line was abandoned in 1955. Erosion has uncovered the tops of one of the bents of the buried trestle. 

 

 

Here's a view west along the embankment. The sides of these fills are very loose - since the buried trestle continues to support most of the weight of the track, the fill does not need to be compacted.

 

[pH]

I had a couple of hours spare this morning and went to the bulk terminals in North Vancouver and the CN facility which handles the locomotives used on trains to and from these terminals.

 

Here are a couple of shots of the terminals. Neptune Bulk Terminals handle coal and potash. Trains are run round a ‘balloon track (i.e. a large loop) to unload. Here is a coal train (on the inside of the curve) being run through a rotary dumper and 4 potash trains:

 

 

And this is the Cargill grain terminal. The tracks here are often more occupied than this.

 

 

Neptune use genset/TEBU (Tractive Effort Booster Unit i.e. slug) combinations. Here are a couple of them. The gensets are National Rail Equipment 3GS21Bs – the TEBUs are also built by NRE.   

 

 

As far as I know, grain cars are run through unloaders at Cargill using some type of chain system. However, there was this thing there, which I would guess would be used to move the odd car around.

 

 

A pair of CN locos were switching cars outside the terminals. They are (l to r) CN SD40-3 #6023 and SD40-2W #5326.

 

 

And here’s the engineer handling them by beltpack remote control. He also sets switches at the front of the train.

 

 

A six-loco consist moved off westwards. Right-to-left they are CN C40-8Ms #2415 and 2434, CP ES44AC #8707, CEFX AC4400CW #1045 (on long-term lease to CP), CP ES44AC #8771 and CP AC4400CW #9826.

 

 

I had taken a couple of pictures of engines in this group earlier. #s 2434 and 2415  

 

 

and CEFX #1045

 

 

Finally, there was a loco in the yard that just looked unusual. I had no idea what it was, and it wasn’t easy to get reasonable pictures from public property, but I took a couple anyway. Turns out it’s an ex-EMD demonstrator SD70-ACe-P6. It was one of four prototypes of EMD’s ‘one inverter per axle’ arrangement (previously EMD had used only one per truck). EMD sold the prototypes to CN.

 

 

 

[pH]

Some pictures taken in southeastern BC over the last week. I’ll do a separate post on the exhibits at the Revelstoke railway museum.

 

CPR SD30ECO #5007 and GP20ECO #2291 eastbound out of Nelson:

 

 

CPR SD30ECO #5013 and GP20ECO #2326 on the same train a couple of days later:

 

 

CPR V-4-A #6947 ‘stuffed and mounted’ outdoors at Sandon. This was built in 1908 as a 2-8-0 road engine, but converted to a 0-8-0 switcher in 1928. Part of the conversion was the simple removal of the pony truck, as is quite obvious!

 

 

CPR AC4400CW #8536 leading an eastbound at Revelstoke:

 

 

A very unusual arrangement on this train – a midtrain helper (ES44AC #8770) only 12 cars back from the headend. The first 12 cars were gondolas and 2-bay covered hoppers. The rest of the train appeared to be made up of 3-bay covered hoppers (grain empties). Perhaps the first 12 cars were going to be dropped off somewhere enroute, but then #8770 would be heading the train running backwards, which is very rare on CP.

 

 

Two of the three units heading the eastbound ‘Rocky Mountaineer’ at Revelstoke. Second unit is GP40-2 #8016. It was built in 1968 as a Penn Central GP40. The leader is an ex-CN GP40-2LW - I think #8013, but I’m not sure. The third unit, not in the picture, was another GP40-2.

 

 

CPR SD30ECO #5002 in Revelstoke yard:

 

[pH]

Earlier this week, I visited Revelstoke railway museum. Here are a few of the photos I took.

There are two locomotives in the collection. The first is P2k 2-8-2 #5468, built in 1948 and retired in 1954 (shades of BR Standards). It’s inside the building, and it’s difficult to get a picture without part of the structure or another exhibit getting in the way. The only shot I could get with nothing in the way was this head-on picture:



The other loco is the first SD40 (straight 40, not Dash 2) built for Canadian Pacific, in 1966 - #5500. It is stored outside and is looking a bit sorry for itself:



There are several pieces of snow-fighting equipment in the yard – appropriate for Revelstoke. First is a conventional wedge plow:



then a Jordan spreader:



and a flanger. It’s difficult to show, but there are two blades across the full breadth of this car just behind the trucks, each set at about 45 degrees to the body, but one angled to each side. This means that it can plow in either direction without turning the car.



The most unusual piece of snow-fighting equipment is this double-track plow. When used on right-hand running double tracks, the snow is thrown to the side of the tracks, not on to the other line, as would happen with some of the snow moved by a wedge plow:



There are several ‘speeders’ (track inspection/maintenance trolleys) in the museum, including this fully enclosed one:



and I had to look carefully at this Trackmobile to make out how it worked.



I thought there would be some mechanism to turn the body through 90 degrees once the rail wheels were on the track, to allow the road wheels to propel the vehicle on the rails. But no, there is no such mechanism. The rail wheels are powered separately from the road wheels, and are actually coupled together in a 0-4-0 arrangement:



A small exhibit is a cab seat from a ‘Selkirk’ 2-10-4, with this description:



(Edit - I don't know my right from my left.)

Edited July 22, 2016 by pH

[pH]

These pictures aren’t of railways, but they are of transportation past and present in the West Kootenays of BC.

 

Canadian Pacific operated a network of sternwheelers, barges and tugs on lakes in the BC Interior to connect with their rail lines. As their lines were extended, roads built, then rail lines closed, these services were gradually withdrawn with the last barge service, on Slocan Lake, being withdrawn in 1988. Two of the CP sternwheelers are preserved – the S.S. Sicamous at Penticton on Okanagan Lake and the S.S. Moyie at Kaslo on Kootenay Lake.

 

Here is the Moyie:

 

 

As you can see, these were very shallow draught vessels. They could be run inshore very close to sandy beaches.

 

This is the Historic Sites and Monuments Board information plaque:

 

 

The lowest deck was for ship’s machinery and cargo. The boiler was at the front, and steam pipes ran overhead from it to the ‘engine room’ at the back of the deck. Here’s a view through the deck towards the stern. I’m standing with my back to the boiler and the yellow pipes overhead are the steam pipes.

 

 

These are the engine controls, looking forward. The yellow structure on the right edge of the picture is the starboard cylinder.

 

 

And here is the sternwheel. It’s difficult to see, but the rudders are low down, immediately in front of the wheel.

 

 

Passenger accommodation was on the next deck up. Forward was the Smoking Cabin:

 

 

And the Ladies’ Saloon aft:

 

 

Between the two was the Dining Room, which you can see in the background of the picture above. The small white rooms off the Ladies’ Saloon are ‘staterooms’ i.e sleeping cabins. As you can see, the restoration has been done superbly.

 

There are still ferries on several of the lakes in the Kootenays. They are considered to be part of the provincial road network and are therefore free. (The few RMwebbers who live on Vancouver Island will not be happy to be reminded of that!) Here’s the newest boat running what is claimed to be the longest free ferry service in the world – a 35 minute sail from Balfour to Kootenay Bay across Kootenay Lake:

 

 

And this is pure nostalgia for someone who grew up on the Clyde and remembers travelling on the chain ferries at Renfrew and Erskine – the Harrop cable ferry across the west arm of Kootenay Lake. Much quieter than the Renfrew or Erskine ferries, though – instead of the loud clanking of the chain, all you hear is a hum as it zips along the cable (the orange lines are cables):

 

 

(Edit - confused left and right again!)

Edited July 25, 2016 by pH

[pH]

A couple of pictures of a CN container train on CP tracks at Port Moody this afternoon:

 

 

There were 5 locos on the train, all running. The tracks to the left are the new Evergreen Line of Translink's Skytrain (rapid transit) system. The latest date for this to open is just before Christmas this year (having varied from Spring 2016 to Spring 2017).

 

 

Port Moody West Coast Express station on the right.

 

I never used to see CN running on CP here in Port Moody, but it's not unusual now. I wonder if CN are going to give up (or already have given up) use of the BNSF tracks into Vancouver beyond the junction of the line to the Second Narrows bridge over to North Vancouver, using CP as the alternative route.  

[pH]

CN grain loads westbound in New Westminster this afternoon, coming down off the swingbridge over the Fraser River. ET44AC #3068 and ES44AC #2923 leading (ET44AC #3036 was pushing):

 

 

and a mixed CN freight going east at the same place. SD60 #5447 and C40-8M #2400 leading:

 

 

There's graffiti and then there's graffiti. Here is an autorack which has had a complete repaint. (Not approving - just recording.) Again, New Westminster this afternoon:

 

Edited October 31, 2016 by pH