peach james Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Just a teaser photo, taken here in Vancouver, BC on the 31st of Jan. No sign of the other 2, I would presume scrapped offsite. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 No sign of the other 2, I would presume scrapped offsite. Personal view - good business decision! Repainting the third one - waste of good paint! I commuted into Vancouver for over 2 years on the West Coast Express, and used it occasionally after that. I only ever saw one of those Hunslets actually moving cars once in that time, and for a large part of the time at least one of them seemed to be be under repair. The only switching at that terminal (apart from that one time) seemed to be done by CP or CN engines. What are they using now? I didn't see any of the Hunslets there the last time I went past, but I didn't see any other engines, either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
298 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 1, possibly 2 can be seen on Google Earth...!! Any ideas how they ended up in Vancouver...? They were probably too light for switching many cars on that tight radius, and probably lacked sufficient airbrake capacity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 1, possibly 2 can be seen on Google Earth...!! Any ideas how they ended up in Vancouver...? They were probably too light for switching many cars on that tight radius, and probably lacked sufficient airbrake capacity. Believe it or not, I think they were ordered direct - there was a description with drawings in Model Railway Constructor (by Don Townsley I think) back in the '80s - with the intention that they should be used only to 'spot' grain cars for loading/unloading rather than shunting as such. I agree though, it does seem a very strange choice. Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted February 3, 2010 Author Share Posted February 3, 2010 The article on them is in the very last MRC, with the description that they were intended to move grain cars (~100 ton) across a #4 crossover. I'd presume they worked fine for the job, as they ordered 3 of them staggered over something like 10 years. That one has survived at least 23 years since the article was written, so it must work OK for them...I can't see business keeping scrap iron around for 23 years...that photo doesn't show it, but there was a light on in the cab & the engine was plugged in. There is a SW of some sort there as well, I'm not up enough on which of which it is (SW 6,9,1200,1500...) , but a much bigger NA machine than the Hunslet. The trackage arrangements at that terminal appear to have been changed over the last 5 years or less, based on the fresh concrete opposite the break in the elevators- I'd guess there were originally 3 unloading areas, and that has been whittled down to just one & a 6 track storage yard (6 crossing the roadway- I have a legal reason to be in the docks, but not in the job site). It looks to be a still very busy operation, but it was all quiet on Sunday. CP were switching in the yard, both container and veg. oil. I took ~100 photos or so, some are on the flikr account that the Hunslet photo is hosted on. There are a bunch more of the Hunslet, but someone needs to get back to me about them before I post them publicly. James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Janus Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Here's photo of B (ex #2) taken back in 2003 - it's the only one I found on railpictures.net. Acquired new in 1971 as engine #2 and later renumbered to engine B Interesting looking critter. Gil, known as Bill somedays ... B) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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