Western Railroad Discussion > BC Rail Alcos

Can anyone tell me if BCR ever had any Alco C628s or C630s...or were they all MLW430s and such? Are any Alcos left on the roster? By the way, where can I find a historical BCR roster?

Thanks a bunch to all who answer!

The BCRy never had any C-628's but they may have demoed up there. They had 4 C-630's numbers 701-704. These were built in Montreal and had Dofasco trucks. They then bought 18 M-630's numbered 705-722. These had a Canadian designed air intake. The last of the big Alco's/Montreals were 8 M-630-W's numbered 723-730. All these units have been retired

They never had any C-430's but bought 12 used C-425's of EL origin numbered 800-812 and two used L&HR C-420's which became 631-632.

There were 8 M-420W's and 8 M-420B's. There are RS-3's and RS-18's inherited from the PGE as well as switchers.

Two great sources of information are the full color book "British Columbia Ry" by John Garden and the recently published soft cover "BC Rail Motive Power Review & Equipment Pictorial" by Duane Karam, Jr. and Jeff Ainsworth. There is also a BCRy Historical Society.

BC Rail had four C630M's but no C628's. They also had M630's, M630W's, M420's, M420B's, C420's, C425's, RS-18's, RS-3's, RSC-3's, and S-13's. The RS-18's have been re-powered with Caterpillar engines. They still have a pair of ex-Lehigh & Hudson River C-420's and one RSC-3 has been preserved. Anumber of the RS-3's were cut down to slugs. All other Alco's have been disposed of.

Just out of curiousity, did they ever retrieve that C630/M630 that wound up a couple hundred feet down in Seton or Anderson Lake?

Nathan
http://www.drgw.net

The 711, an M630, hit a rockslide in February 1980, and plunged into Seton Lake along with C425 808, killing the brakeman. The 808 was recovered 16 months later and rebuilt in Squamish, emerging as 800. The 711 was recovered in October 1988, 7 years and 8 months later, and sat on the beach for two years until it was cut up for scrap in December 1990.


Mark

There were two 4-axle Aclos switching Prince George when I was there in February. One in green and gree, one in red, white and blue. Great smoke, good throbbing.

The folks on the Railswest listserv (who helped me out with my PG trip) talk about currently rostered Alcos periodically, there were some still working log trains on the Takla Sub (up to Chipmunk), but I haven't kept up on whether they're still around or not.

Ted in BC

Here is a sample of the last order of M630.

I caught this at Prince George in July of 1987.

cheers,

Daniel

and here is the last M630W also shot at Price George in July of 1987.

Many of these went to Mexico after BCR traded them on the initial order of C40's.

Shed a tear for these fallen heros.

enjoy

Daniel

finally, one of the ex-EL C425s.

where, you guessed it, Prince George again, but a year earlier in July 1986.

bye,

Daniel

My complements for starting this thread Sasquatch.
It is always interesting learn about the locomotives and railroad operations in Canada, particularly the Alco/MLW locomotives still in use.

Thanks for the images 251F, very nice photos.


RosevilleBill

There are four of the M420's still on the property - 641, 644, 646, 647. The 641 is out of service and the other three are stored serviceable. There is always talk of them being fired up for use on the Takla Log Trains, but not so far this year.

Here's a shot from a better day in Dawson Creek, BC 1994


Brian A Elchlepp

CNMark - thanks for the answer. Didn't realize there was a fatality in that particular wreck, sorry to hear that.

I actually got to see BCR's Alcos still in action on the north end in the mid-eighties while travelling north with family to Alaska. The crews and other employees were some of the friendliest railroaders I've ever encountered in my time, and have plenty of fond memories from that trip, including my first cab ride. I had hoped they'd last longer, but when I returned in the early nineties most of them on the south end were gone, and I didn't have the luxury of travelling to the north end.

As an example, here's one of the better photos I took on the first trip of a northbound freight preparing to leave the yard in Ft. St. John and head north. Six units - M420, C425, M420B, C425, and two more M420s. Sure miss these guys, at least I had the opportunity to see them at that point, and then back home again when Iowa Interstate picked up three other M420s (not from BCR).

Nathan
http://www.drgw.net

Many thanks for the excellent info, guys, and especially for the great shots, Daniel and Brian! BC Rail just keeps getting more and more interesting. Some folks rag on Dale and Brian up at CTC Board for their interest in BCR, but I--for one--am very glad they continue to give this great mountain-to-sea railroad such good coverage.

I just got an old tape on BCR that has a neat flick called "Milepost 63.5", which shows the recovery operations for three locomotives that went off the rail and slid down the slope at this location...very cool footage. Can someone tell me which sub this milepost (MP 63.5) is on?

Again, many thanks to all who have provided answers on this subject!

Happy Railfanning.

Well sure!!!

MP 63.5 is one the Squamish Subdivision. All mainline mileage on BCR is measured from North Vancouver (branchlines are measured from where they leave the main).

The three engines wrecked were SD-40-2's 751 and 761 along with M630 705. They were all rebuilt and returned to service eventually - the 751 probably should have been scrapped as it cost them a bloody ton to rebuild. The 705 was retired along with the rest of the MLW 630's. 751 and 761 still work for the railway. The 761 holds the distinction of being the only 751 series SD-40-2 painted in the "Hockey Stick" scheme. (763-767 were factory painted in "the stick).

Just for fun, try
http://home.ix.netcom.com/~elclip/_uimages/704s.jpg

Every now and then everything would come together for a great shot and a cold 28 February 1987 morning was one of those moments.
Check it out as #18 (of 02/27) departs Squamish for North Van with C630M 704 and M630W 727 on the point.
MY GOD Do I ever hate the BCR GE-8's that killed the Alco/MLWs!!!
Regards

Brian A Elchlepp

Holy Mackerel Brian, what a killer shot! The best I've seen, EVER, of a BCR train in the mountains.

Hats off to you, and thanks for sharing that one with us!
And thanks too, for all the great info. Did you notice that Kato did an HO model of the #751?...I love knowing it's history now.