Canadian Railroads > MLW Monday at North Bay Ontario

Well, it probably wasn't a Monday I captured this scene. More likely it was Saturday the 6th of May, that CP 4049-4408-4083 were on the point of this westbound boxcar empties at North Bay Ontario.

After four years at the University of Alberta and three summer's of railway work experience gained clerking at South Edmonton's Yard Office, I was pointed east to North Bay Ontario. Ahead of me was a job prospect with the CPR , and a girl friend about a year into her career as an Officer-dietitian at the NORAD base. Neither worked out, and I should have cut my losses that day I found this perfect lash up (FA2-FB1-FPA-2) and just kept following this train west, instead of hanging around for another week.

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Great photo!.. If you mean hanging around girlfriend wise, I know what you mean, sometimes hard to let go and it can drag you down.

A year would be nice to know. I assume the section of the Canadian was still running then, but at night???

Thanks,

Bob Jordan

Fabulous lashup, all in the script paint scheme.

KG

Sorry guys…..it was May 1972. After all that, and I go and miss the year. Wasn't keeping track of the dates of my photographs at the time. I was still a rookie and didn't know better. Just wrote the month and year on my slides. Bob Loat eventually sorted me out. :-:-

robj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great photo!.. If you mean hanging around
> girlfriend wise, I know what you mean, sometimes
> hard to let go and it can drag you down.
>
> A year would be nice to know. I assume the
> section of the Canadian was still running then,
> but at night???
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bob Jordan

robj Wrote:
. I assume the
> section of the Canadian was still running then,
> but at night???
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bob Jordan

The "Canadian" was through North Bay late afternoon, early evening westbound, and mid-morning, early afternoon eastbound.

The Montreal section of the Canadian was trains 1 & 2, which merged with the Toronto section 11 & 12 at Sudbury. Although the passenger trains made a lengthy stop at Sudbury, North Bay was the Division point and crew change point. The crew runs were Montreal to Ottawa, Ottawa to North Bay, North Bay to Cartier. On 11 & 12, Toronto to Mactier, Mactier to Cartier. The train crews may have had longer runs on the passenger trains.

In this era, the main train was 1 and 2 out of Montreal. The Toronto section had fewer cars and services. One of the oddities was that the dining car on trains 1 & 2 operated solely between Montreal and Sudbury, with the diner on 11 & 12 going through to Vancouver. The ex-Montreal diner was high seniority because the crews were home more often.