GALLERY
Every once and while I come home from Vancouver through the Fraser Canyon as far as Spences Bridge and then take Hwy 8 to Merritt and the Connector to Peachland. Not as fast as ‘The Coq” but a whole lot more interesting. A stop at Boston Bar found a work train heading south powered by a SOO Line SD40-2. It had been a long time since I watched one of these back in Moose Jaw. Nice to see that old paint scheme again.
And speaking of SD40-2’s. This is my all time favourate engine. (With the basic, unchopped GP9 coming a close second). That long front porch and the big, three axel truck, always make it look like it’s reaching out, grabbing hold, and pulling itself along the track. Model or prototype, it’s a beautiful design for what was to be a utilitarian workhorse. Now she’s relegated to yard work and the few branch lines so you can still use some of that fleet you bought back in the late seventies.
Keep an eye on those filters and radiators though. Pretty much always black no matter what colour scheme was used and no matter how long they’d been on the road. Those US style, high mounted headlights must have been hell in the rain or snow. I wonder if the crew shut them down and just used the ditch lights when no one was looking?