Nostalgia & History > Didn't even know these existed

While doing a search for a friend, I found these shots, very cool indeed. Care to guess the road, and if that is too easy, the location?

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And one more

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These are the ALCo demo PA's that were in a sort of CN paint. You can also see the caption
info at the bottom. Too bad they didn't produce an order for the beauties. Not a lot of
shots around of them. I don't know where, but that is one heck of a roundhouse. If the
location is in the caption, I can't make it out.

Keith A

Those are Alco-built MLW PA1 demonstrators in Canadian National colors. None were sold in Canada, and the demos went to the Katy, I believe. CPR ended up buying E8's for compatibility with B&M's E unit fleet on the Boston-Montreal pool trains, but it's interesting to contemplate what CPR PA's would have looked like.

I'd guess that the location is CPR's Glen roundhouse in Montreal, with the approaches to Windsor Station above.

Update. . . after doing a Google search, it could be CN's Turcot roundhouse. Can't find a good steam era map of Montreal, but a photo on this page http://railfame.ca/2002/honour/Montreal shows the Turcot turntable was very similar, and the roundhouse was, too.

Walt

The location was the CN Turcot Yard in Montreal. It later became a major intermodal terminal, but was closed a few years ago. Now it's just a big empty area waiting to be redeveloped.

Up on top of the "falaise" (as the embankment is called), the CP Glen Yard was also closed, and is currently having contaminated soil removed in preparation for the construction of the McGill University Health Centre, a major hospital complex.

Train watching here is not quite the same...

Ray

It's a provocative picture. Why is this photo of a dual unit diesel with cab at both ends being taken on a turntable that is obviously too short to be able to turn the pair together? And why are almost all of the roundhouse doors closed? Where are the steam locomotives? I see some smoke coming out of the roundhouse chimneys. Did Alco/MLW take the picture to suggest that the PA's have vanquished all the steamers? Maybe this is an ad photo?

Ray, I have these identified as Lachine, not Turcott

That may be, but the location is just below where Decarie Boulevard ends at St-Jacques (and 100-200 feet east of where the Decarie Expressway now overflies the whole area). It's several miles from Lachine!

Ray

Another view on p17 "Alco FA's"

Bob Jordan

look at the passenger train above in shot 2