Johann Marsbar Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 12 minutes ago, The Lurker said: And here is 6213 from our 2017 trip to Canada Only thing visible there when I was last in Toronto, which was in 2007, was this .... ...though the Brewery did have a rather interesting selection of vehicles... Can't say I was impressed with the beer though! 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdvle Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 As the picture posted shows 6213 is still exposed to the elements. The Railway Museum has had lots of drama and betrayals, largely by the City of Toronto I think (a planned connection to the rail lines got blocked by something, and and most of the roundhouse has ended up leased out to others - initially a furniture retailer, currently I believe a restaurant/gaming operation. The good news though is that the area is much better now - the turntable was fully restored and operates and the museum does the best they can with the little space they have. (interesting side note - underneath the area in front of the roundhouse (including underneath the turntable) is an underground extension of exhibition space and parking for the Toronto Convention Centre which is primarily on the other side of the tracks at Union Station) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 As I found that I preferred Canada to the USA (certainly at that time) I kept my eye open for any organised trips that were heading there and which went to areas other than where I had already been. As I was on the Ffestiniog Travel mailing list by then, a trip in September 1995 looked sufficiently interesting, so I duly booked on it. We flew out on an Air Canada 767 from Heathrow to Halifax, NS, and had just under two days there before catching VIA Rails Ocean onwards to Montreal. Halifax looked deserving of more time - as did Nova Scotia in general - than we had on the Tour, but I've not made it back there as yet! Rail traffic in the docks area wasn't easy to get to, but a trip on the ferry over to Dartmouth ..... ....gave access to some rail operations, such as this CN GP40-2LW/M-420W combination... The local Fire Department produced these Fords as well...... As Halifax is a tourist destination, at that stage the local sightseeing was being operated by a variety of Bristol VR's, some of which were certainly ex Lincolnshire Road Car, but I'm not sure of this ones provenance.... VIA Rail were using this Trackmobile as their shunter in the station area..... ...and our train is seen awaiting departure..... After departing, this CN MLW S13u was a lucky catch through the train window..... ...and we then settled in for the overnight run to Montreal. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 After our overnight run from Halifax we arrived in Montreal early the following day and remained there until the evening of the following day. The Deux Montagnes line had shut a few months previous so that wasn't an option, but whilst using an AMT bus rover ticket on the second day I decided to head out to Dorval station to see what activity there was on the main lines to the west. It turned out to be a fairly busy location and one I would return to in 2007, but 1995 produced the following.... AMT #1301, an ex CP FP7A on local services... Plus a number of CN Freights, including this autorack with a mixed bag of traction, including #9603 (GP40-2L(W) ) and #5022 (SD40) ...and this SD40-2W which was the first that I had seen in the CN North America livery... That evening we departed Montreal and headed more off the beaten track on the the overnight VIA service to Senneterre, where we arrived the following morning. Our traction, VIA FP9Au #6307, then being used for the fairly infrequent VIA service between Senneterre and Cochrane, which, from memory consisted of a baggage car and one passenger coach..... The service didn't last much longer after we took a trip on it, and as we left Senneterre, PQ , this pair of CN GP9RM's were passed in the yard..... There wasn't a lot of habitation along the line and I think this photo out of the back of the train was taken when passing Lake Abitibi.... After arriving in Cochrane, ON, we had a break before continuing our journey by Ontario Northland motor coach. This former Canadian Northern Railway 2-8-0 dating from 1913 forms part of the local rail museum.... ....whilst this ON GP38-2 + GP9 combination passed through on a freight whilst we were there.... ...before we boarded our coach 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendell1976 Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 On 12/01/2022 at 01:31, Johann Marsbar said: Only US photo was in the "how to identify landmarks from several thousand feet" category.... Nice picture of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Johann. Wendell Idaho, USA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 From Cochrane our hired coach took us west to Hearst, ON, where we stayed overnight before catching the passenger service from there southwards to Sault St Marie. Wisconsin Central had taken over the Algoma Central earlier in 1995, so the older locos had been renumbered and several WC locos had been drafted into the area as well. At Hearst that morning, examples of both ON & AC/WC power were in the yard - WC #1502, a GP7L-m and ON #1603 a GP9 dating from 1957 As we arrived into Sault St Marie, we passed this WC SW1200.... We stayed in Sault St Marie overnight, so the following morning I headed to see the activity on that mornings passenger service - which was the Algoma Canyon tourist service, from memory - including this totally anonymous AC liveried unit.... ...and a couple of their ex ATSF SD45's..... Not a lot of other rail interest around on this visit, but I did find this rather lost ex Thames Valley Bristol K... And the 1950 built vessel "Norgoma" which, at that time, was the SSM Maritime Museum. It closed a few years back and is currently stored seeking a new buyer. Then it was off to SSM Airport for a flight to Toronto on this Canadian Regional ATR-42, C-FNCP, "Spirit of Sarnia"..... 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH-UK Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Johann Marsbar said: Not a lot of other rail interest around on this visit, but I did find this rather lost ex Thames Valley Bristol K... The bus just wanted to stop and smell the flowers. With the speed the world was moving at pre-pandemic it's something we should remember to do ourselves. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 3 hours ago, ChrisH-UK said: The bus just wanted to stop and smell the flowers. With the speed the world was moving at pre-pandemic it's something we should remember to do ourselves. I've had a few holidays like that.......!! Worst one was the 3674 mile solo drive round the Mid-West in a period of 23 days - but that one is still a way off in the story as yet..... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH-UK Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 29 minutes ago, Johann Marsbar said: I've had a few holidays like that.......!! Worst one was the 3674 mile solo drive round the Mid-West in a period of 23 days - but that one is still a way off in the story as yet..... Luckily I've not done that kind of thing for that many days, but one "why did you do that?" sticks in my mind - Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon to Monument Valley to Four Corners to Gallup in the same day, I was glad to get to my bed that night so I could sleep there, rather than while driving to Gallup. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 After spending a night in Toronto, we caught the Amtrak "Maple Leaf" to Niagara Falls where we stayed one night before returning to Toronto and then flying back to the UK. On the outward run to Niagara, this pair of CN switchers (SW1200RM #7305 & SW1200RS #1383) was photographed trough the train window at Hamilton.. It wasn't until I stayed in Niagara Falls that I realised just how "tacky" the place is once you get away from the falls area - like a UK seaside resort at its worst! The weather was fairly gloomy the whole time and there wasn't a lot of rail traffic in evidence either, though by having a wander around I did find some activity... Another CN SW1200RM with caboose.... and a pair of GP9RM's...... The only freight that I saw moving was this one headed by a SOO liveried SD40-2 and a Morrison Knudsen SD40M-2...... Whilst this Is our Amtrak service back to Toronto arriving at the station from the USA.... The trip had been quite useful for covering some passenger lines that were a bit more "difficult" to cover without a lot of work with Travel Agents, so I continued to watch what other trips were on offer, duly returning to Canada with Ffestiniog Travel again in 1997. In addition, 1997 saw the shift to more "Enthusiast" orientated visits as far as I was concerned, so the US was visited in 1997 as well - though the trip was actually nothing to do with trains whatsoever!! 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH-UK Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 18 hours ago, Johann Marsbar said: It wasn't until I stayed in Niagara Falls that I realised just how "tacky" the place is once you get away from the falls area - like a UK seaside resort at its worst! It surprised me that the Canadian side was so very tacky especially compared to the US side, it's like someone on the Canadian side said "the Americans are known for being tacky" and someone replied "hold my Labatts" and the US saw what was going on and said "whoa, that's too far, we're not even going to try to compete with that. 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 During the 1990's my interest in Aviation had been rekindled, so when I saw a tour to the USA advertised in one of the aviation magazines for April 1997 which tied in with the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the USAF at Nellis AFB I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss, so I booked on it. I didn't quite know what to expect, but it encouraged me to go out and buy a telephoto lens for my camera, which proved a wise investment over the coming years, even if the number of photos I took increased significantly! The tour was organised by an operation called Midland Aviation Tours and was basically an aviation version of the Travel Bureau Railtours "van" trips, which will feature a few times later in these reports. The trip lasted just over 2 weeks, the first week consisting of just one van load of participants, though it eventually increased to 4 or 5, from memory, with the first week being the most "flexible" and relaxed part of the programme. I duly flew out from Heathrow on a United Airlines 777 to San Francisco, where I met up with the other members of the initial group, most of who had actually flown out a few days earlier to cover another airshow somewhere in California, and we soon departed soutwards towards our first port of call which was Castle Air Museum, Atwater, CA. As we were driving along, we passed an SP hauled freight, so I asked the tour leader if there was any chance of making a stop so I could photograph it, so we did, and that then established a pattern of the van stopping whenever a train was sighted!! The freight in question at Turlock, CA, headed by SDM-40-2 #8593...... A bit further along we came to this ex SP Alco S6 #1204 at Keyes, CA....... .... and a bit further along we found a stationary freight headed by an SP SD40T-2, and which also included a UP SD40-2 which had been converted to a B-Unit, although it retained its cab. I can't recall coming across one of those aat any other time on my travels. We did eventually arrive at the air museum..... ....but there was a line running past the site, so I was interrupted at least once to dive out and get a (poor) shot of passing traffic, such as this pair of ATSF Dash8-40CW's The next place that provided any rail interest was Beale AFB, home of the U2 Spyplanes. This was by far the best visit of the trip and we ended up staying there several hours longer than planned. Opportunities were even given to sit in the cockpits if you wanted, and we were given a full tour of the high altitude/spacesuit department where a helmet was passed around with the casual mention that we should try not to drop it as they cost something like $150,000 each!! At this time, the U2's were in regular use over Bosnia due to the ongoing conflict there, so we saw quite a bit of activity whilst we were there. The USAF Officer giving the tour was rather surprised when I asked if the tour bus could stop while I photographed this though.... A GE 80T switcher dating from around 1954 and used on the branch serving the base. From there we headed over into Nevada and a rather truncated visit to NAS Fallon, home of the "Top Gun" training school. Most of the visits seemed to have been arranged through individual personnel at the bases rather than the Base Public Relations, and as we were running late after the extended Beale visit, we turned up the next day at Fallon rather than later the same day. The contact wasn't about (allegedly), so we didn't get the promised tour, though they did let us in for some photos on the apron.... From there we headed back towards San Francisco and south down towards Los Angeles visiting various museums/bases on the way, finally getting to Los Angeles where I got this rather grabbed shot of the LA Green Line LRT out of the window as we drove along I105 near LAX airport. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 From the LA area we headed south, calling in at MCAS El Toro and then MCAS Miramar which was another very good tour of one particular squadrons facilities.... ....before we arrived in San Diego, where the van parked up under the approach to San Diego International Airport for a photo session. The location of the airport, close to the City Centre, enabled me to make a quick escape from the group and following a very brisk walk along the waterfront I reached the Maritime Museum where this former Southern Pacific San Francisco area ferry, the "Berkeley" is preserved. The sailing ship visible - the "Star of India" - was built in the Isle of Man in 1863. From where I continued to the Station where I was able to get some photos of rail traffic before walking back to rejoin the group, though I didn't have much time at the station..... From San Diego we headed east over to Tucson which is where the group started to increase in size which made any rail photography more or less vanish - other than in Las Vegas itself when we were there for the big airshow. For anyone interested in aircraft, we did a visit to the AMARC storage facility in Tucson and also had a flight over it..... ....plus a visit to the local ANG squadron.... along with Marana airport where some of the local "fire bombing" aircraft were based.... By this stage I had realise I was getting through slide film at an alarming rate with the main airshow still to come (plus another one back in California), so I started to cut back on the number of photos I was taking. Still got through about 390 photos on the trip though, which was a record for one holiday - until digital photography came along, that is.... There is one more instalment to come from this trip before we get back to a "pure" rail based one that took place later in 1997. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 From Tucson we headed via Phoenix into Nevada to reach Las Vegas ready for the USAF 50th Anniversary Airshow at nearby Nellis AFB, staying in this rather OTT "pile" on the Las Vegas "strip".... It's the only time I've been to Las Vegas, though someone I used to work with went there every year at least once! To be honest I wasn't exactly enamoured with the place, but some of the architecture along the "strip" was interesting, to say the least. New York, New York did have a rather nice 1/3rd (?) scale replica of a tug/fireboat in the pond out the front..... I skipped a day of the main tour whilst they all went to look at stored airliners out in the desert so that gave me a day to see what Las Vegas had to offer. I walked the full length of the strip into the old City Centre area which was rather more down at heel, but at least I did see some rail activity there, including Amtrak that ran through the City at that time.... I had done the usual routine of checking the local Yellow Pages (an education in itself when you saw some of the adverts in there for various "services" ! ) for any Hobby Shops around so picked one at random and caught a bus out there - discovering they were having a day of free travel on the network - and was pleased to discover that they had a good stock of N gauge at discounted prices. The next day was our airshow visit, the temperature getting into the mid 90's F by mid-morning, which was rather a contrast to the temperatures experienced in the wilds of Northern Canada later the same year. "Its the Blimp, It's the Blimp, Frank...." It turned out to be a fantastic show - as one would expect for such an anniversary . It was nice to see these A10's flying again, 5 years after our local ones at Bentwaters/Woodbridge had departed when the bases closed... ...and vintage aircraft were a significant element of the show... ....and these are still the only "modern" Japanese aircraft I've seen - flown by the JDF "Blue Impulse" display team... After the airshow we headed off to the LA area again - where we had the "pleasure" of experiencing an Earthquake overnight - before flying back to LHR late the following day. All in all a very good trip and the first of 5 aviation based tours that I would go on in the next few years, though only 2 of the others involved visiting the USA. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 20, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 20, 2022 Was this before they put much of the UP line through the city underground?. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mike_Walker Posted January 20, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 20, 2022 24 minutes ago, jamie92208 said: Was this before they put much of the UP line through the city underground?. Jamie I think you a re confusing LV with Reno where the line was dropped into a trench to elliminate a large number of level crossings. As Google Earth shows, through LV it is still above ground. I seem to recall some mention of a planned realignment but I'm not sure if that happened - I've lost touch a bit in recent years. My only visit was on the old Amtrak 'Desert Wind'. It passed through northbound after dark and my abiding memory is of the blackness of the desert being punctuated by a glow on the horizon which gradually got bigger. The train made an extended stop so that passengers could (were expected to) go to the casino in the station building - operated by UP of course! Having departed blackness returned. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 20, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 20, 2022 43 minutes ago, Mike_Walker said: I think you a re confusing LV with Reno where the line was dropped into a trench to elliminate a large number of level crossings. As Google Earth shows, through LV it is still above ground. I seem to recall some mention of a planned realignment but I'm not sure if that happened - I've lost touch a bit in recent years. My only visit was on the old Amtrak 'Desert Wind'. It passed through northbound after dark and my abiding memory is of the blackness of the desert being punctuated by a glow on the horizon which gradually got bigger. The train made an extended stop so that passengers could (were expected to) go to the casino in the station building - operated by UP of course! Having departed blackness returned. Thanks for that. It must have been a scheme that got dropped. Thanks. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 20, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 20, 2022 45 minutes ago, Mike_Walker said: I think you a re confusing LV with Reno where the line was dropped into a trench to elliminate a large number of level crossings. As Google Earth shows, through LV it is still above ground. I seem to recall some mention of a planned realignment but I'm not sure if that happened - I've lost touch a bit in recent years. My only visit was on the old Amtrak 'Desert Wind'. It passed through northbound after dark and my abiding memory is of the blackness of the desert being punctuated by a glow on the horizon which gradually got bigger. The train made an extended stop so that passengers could (were expected to) go to the casino in the station building - operated by UP of course! Having departed blackness returned. Yes, I had a similar experience as we approached Wendover on the California Zephyr. I couldn't sleep and was looing out of the dutch door downstairs. The absolute blackness of the desert and then signals would suddenly appear as they approach lit, then the glow on the horizon of the casinos at Wendover. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted January 20, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 20, 2022 On 24/12/2021 at 11:17, Johann Marsbar said: I went on an Aviation Tour to the western USA in 1997 (which will feature on here in a minor way..) and we got away with various things which you certainly couldn't do after 9/11 - i.e. get permit for vehicle at Main Gate to visit Museum on the Base, and then the notice would "fall off" the windscreen after visiting the Museum whilst a full tour of the Base was undertaken to get the aircraft serial numbers, before replacing it and leaving the site in the normal manner..... Just found this thread. This and Jamie's previous exploits make me want to just a rail based trip there. Although We are booked on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Flagstaff in a few months time and later calling in at Tehachapi as part of a mostly road trip. We were in Virginia in 1996 and they had public bus tours around Norfolk Naval Base, which we partook of. We found out that it was a open base so we drove our car in the next day without any checks, quite happily taking pictures of USS Enterprise/America/John Stennis and nuclear subs! We were back there a few years after 9/11 and the barrier around the base is now akin to the Berlin wall! 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted January 20, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 20, 2022 (edited) On 19/01/2022 at 08:18, Johann Marsbar said: From the LA area we headed south, calling in at MCAS El Toro and then MCAS Miramar which was another very good tour of one particular squadrons facilities.... O/T I was lucky enough to visit NAS Miramar when it was still the Top Gun base - during their annual airshow. I was working in San Diego on a planned week long trip - that very quickly turned into 2 weeks after I got there and found out they were well behind with work that should have been completed before I got there. Whilst out on a lunch break on the middle Friday, I saw this strange triangular thing in the sky and quickly realised what it was and went back to work all excited. The guys at the factory took pity on me and two of them took me to the airshow the day after for a bit of a break from the machine installation. This would be in 1991 - just after the first Gulf War and these things were well into the public domain by then. There were two barrel/rope circles around the F117. Patrolled by guys in Aviators and black t-shirts with large weapons giving it "No photographs!" but not really meaning it, as they were eager to show off the Nighthawk that had proved it's worth in the early days of the war. I was amazed at how small it is and how it flies with nary a curved panel on it. Again - pre-9/11. And no rail pics on that trip! Edited January 20, 2022 by newbryford 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 (edited) In October 1997 I went on another Canadian tour that was operated by Ffestiniog Travel, this mostly covering new areas of the Country for rail travel, though one line from the 1995 trip was repeated - the Algoma Central. After flying to Toronto and an overnight stay there, we had a free morning, which enabled me to get a photo of The Canadian sitting in Union Station... ...followed by a shot of the arrival of the train that we would be catching north to Cochrane..... The ONR loco was a rebuilt FP7A that had been fitted with a Caterpillar 3516 engine during 1994 and it was trailled by a B unit for HEP supply for the train which consisted of former GO Transit commuter cars that had been rebuilt by ONR. This service was withdrawn in 2012, though they are now talking about reintroducing it again. The train ran along CN owned tracks to North Bay where it joined ONR metals up to Cochrane. Despite being well into October it was rather warm for the time of year, and some remains of the fall colours were in evidence as we headed north... We arrived at Cochrane after dark and spent the night at the hotel located in the station building ready for our continuing journey northwards the next day. This pair of GP38-2's were switching in the yard the following morning when we boarded the mixed train service to Moosonee, located on James Bay and adjacent to one of the original Hudsons Bay Company trading posts at Moose Factory. A shot from the passenger accomodation looking towards the rear of the train showing the freight stock trailing behind..... .....and we finally arrived in Moosonee late in the day where we were transferred to what I believe was the only hotel in town! We didn't really have a lot of time to explore the place, and certainly not to get by boat to the historic Moose Factory settlement over the river, as we returned on the following days mixed train. Temperatures that evening were still in the mid 60's F and it seemed to be odd walking about in shirtsleeves - though that would change rapidly later on the tour! Beautiful Downtown Moosonee.... A shot of the HEP providing B Unit...... #204 was actually originally Milwaukee Road F9B #89B. The writing on the water tower is the Cree for "Moosonee" Once we arrived back at Cochrane, this GP9 dating from 1956 was found to be switching the station area..... ....where we boarded an ONR road coach for the journey south to Timmins for the overnight stay. . Edited January 21, 2022 by Johann Marsbar wrong info... 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 On 20/01/2022 at 08:35, Johann Marsbar said: these are still the only "modern" Japanese aircraft I've seen - flown by the JDF "Blue Impulse" display team... They remind me of the old Red Arrows Folland Gnat!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 23 hours ago, newbryford said: Just found this thread. This and Jamie's previous exploits make me want to just a rail based trip there. Me too, but I would need to borrow Jamie's Tardis for what I want to see. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 On the way from Cochrane down to Timmins, we stopped off at Iroquois Falls where this Lima built 3-Truck Shay dating from 1926 was on display..... It was originally new to the Talahassee Power Company before gravitating north to Canada. After an overnight stop in Timmins, where the local transport operation seemed to be only operated by "New Look" GM vehicles..... ....we visited a mining museum before heading off to Hearst for our next overnight stay, ready for the Algoma Central trip. En route we stoppped at Kapuskaming where this rather well kept CN Pacific (MLW 1919) was on display..... ....and on arriving in Hearst, this pair of AC/WC locos was parked in the yard - #6003 was an SD40-2 (ex AC #185) and #6531 was an ex BN SD45u...... The passenger service from Sault St Marie had not arrived at that time and I didn't bother wandering out of the hotel to see it as it was dark, but whilst we were having breakfast the following morning, one of the other people in our tour group said he had gone out late the previous evening and noted that it had several private cars attached to it. Whilst admiring them, he was accosted by a man walking his dog - who turned out to be Ed Burkhardt! Mr Ed was on his annual inspection tour of his "Empire" and it was the turn of the former Algoma Central at that time. Once he knew there was a party from the UK on board, he made a point of coming down to have a chat with us on the journey down to SSM, having recently bought several UK rail operations at that time. A couple of the private cars were the "Sierra Hotel" which was ex CB&Q, I believe.... and the AC Business Car "Agawa" dating from 1913.... Rather than the expected F Unit on the train, we had two specially painted WC locos, fairly fresh from the paintshop..... Photos of those locos will appear in tomorrows installment. The business cars on the rear of the train...... ...and at Eton, we met the regular northbound service behind an FP7A pairing.... The regular AC services by this time were using ex VIA Rail cars, still painted in VIA livery. This is the Agawa Canyon area which saw regular extra runs from Sault St Marie in the Tourist season.... 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mike_Walker Posted January 22, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 22, 2022 (edited) Ed Burkhardt was (is) a real gent. Many RMwebbers will remember that back in the late 1990s SPV organised several railfan tours of North America led by yours truly. In October 1996 we did one centred on Chicago and during the planning stage, Ian Andrews arranged with Wisconsin Central for us to visit the shops and other facilities at Fond du Lac. The plan was that we would drive up from Chicago for the day in our minivans. About a week before departure, Ian got a call from his contact at WC. Ed had found out about the planned visit and was not happy. Ian’s heart sank! Ed, it seems, did not like the idea of us driving up from Chicago and was offering us the use of the WC executive train for the day, free of charge, naturally. Ian said it took him about a nanosecond to make an executive decision to change the tour itinerary. Cometh the day, 9th October, we arrived at Schiller Park yard in north Chicago to find GP40 3025 waiting for us with Ed’s own personal business car the Prairie Rose and dome car Sierra Hotel which was owned by Quad Graphics, a major shipper situated on the WC. Both appear to have been included in the train Johann travelled on. Ed had intended to accompany us but at the last minute something came up that required his attention but we were still accompanied by a bevy of senior management. Progress north was rapid as the dispatcher had been told to give us maximum priority and all other traffic was holed up to allow us to pass. Not too far into the trip, one of our hosts enquired as to who was the guy in the party who was an engineer (sic) with EWS. Fingers pointed to Brian Daniels of this parish who was promptly escorted to the locomotive (whilst in motion) and told he was driving the rest of the way to Fond du Lac – under the supervision of the assigned WC engineer of course. On arrival we were given the full VIP tour of both the locomotive and car repair shops plus the yards and the control centre. Whilst in the locomotive paint shop, Brian asked if he could have a sample of the maroon and gold paints so he could accurately match them back home. No problem. What Brian had in mind was a piece of scrap metal with a splash of each applied so you can imagine our surprise when the painter caught us up a little later with a large tin of each colour and another of the fixer required for the two-pack Dupont paint plus the WC shield transfer applied to the nose. Brian accepted graciously! Later, a couple of airbrush jars were purchased and a small quantity of each decanted out for the journey back to Blighty. The large tins were discreetly hidden under the back seat of the van and were still there when it was returned to the rental company at the end of the trip. We never heard any more of it so we don't know if they were ever found. Having stuck the shield on the front of a couple of EWS locos at Didcot for photographic purposes, it now hangs above his loft layout – it can occasionally be spotted in the background of his posts. Having got back to Schiller Park we rounded off the day with another visit to Des Plaines Hobbies. We’d been on a couple of evenings previously so the proprietor knew who we were and asked what we’d been doing that day. When told he asked me how much it had cost as he’d an idea to do something similar for his best regular customers and WC had quoted him several thousand dollars. “Yes, that’s right sort of figure” was my reply, not wanting to gloat that we’d had a fantastic freebie! During the Toton open day in September 1998 I was able to meet Ed and thank him personally for his generosity. Having conducted a couple of naming ceremonies, he was besieged by enthusiasts wanting his autograph! I commented that it wasn’t often that you see a railroad president getting the rock star treatment to which Ed replied “It’s not a role I’ve trained for but I’m giving it my best shot”. It was a sad day for the industry when the short sighted investors from Wall Street didn’t share his long term vision and forced him out and sold the company just to make a fast buck. Some of the SPV party and "our" private train at Fond du Lac. Edited April 7, 2022 by Mike_Walker 10 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now