Canadian Railroads > Leasers on the CP, Portage La Prairie, 1972

During the early 1970's, CP found itself short of power and leased many locomotives. A power consist without a CP unit leading was unusual however.

PNC 122 is an ex-QNS&L GP9 leased from Precision National Corporation. Previously the leasor was Bellequip. When the QNS&L re-equipped with SD40's in the 1970's, most of their smaller power was shipped up river to become lease units.

The trailing unit is a B&O F unit, also a leaser.

The train is shown eastbound at Portage La Prairie, Manitoba having just joined the CP main line from the "Prairie North" line from Edmonton and Saskatoon. The train is carrying grain in 40 foot boxcars.

Portage La Prairie is still an interesting place to visit, as the CP and CN main lines are closely paralell, and both railways have junctions in the area.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/09 15:43 by eminence_grise.

<Portage La Prairie is still an interesting place to visit, as the CP and CN main lines are closely paralell, and both railways have junctions in the area.>

Neat pic - brings back many memories as I have been there many times and consider Portage La Prairie to be one of the premier trainwatching places in North America. I recently released a DVD on the trains through P La P taken a year ago. My first visit to Portage La Prairie was in July of 1984 at the peak of the grain rush - as many as 15 grain trains and the corresponding empties through there a day. Today one is lucky to see one or two on each road. Of course there are many times the intermodal traffic through P La P today versus 1984.

Dick Eisfeller
Greenland, NH
Big "E" Productions
www.trainvideos.com

eminence_grise Wrote:
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>
>
> Portage La Prairie is still an interesting place
> to visit, as the CP and CN main lines are closely
> paralell, and both railways have junctions in the
> area.

I also agree about Portage la Prairie still being an interesting place. It was a good weekend tie up point for the Sperry car. It was the only time I got to see a working F unit on a VIA train, the one to Hudson Bay, still operating in 1998!

Jim

Whoever painted that Geep must have been a fan of the late, great New York, Ontario and Western, which was abandoned in 1957. The O&W never owned a hood unit (other than some switchers), but that color scheme is an EXACT rendition, transposed onto the Geep, of the color scheme worn by the O&W's F units and switchers. As those colors appeared on no other railroad, whoever ordered up that paint scheme must have been a devotee of the O&W.

Art House

aehouse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Whoever painted that Geep must have been a fan of
> the late, great New York, Ontario and Western,
> which was abandoned in 1957. The O&W never owned
> a hood unit (other than some switchers), but that
> color scheme is an EXACT rendition, transposed
> onto the Geep, of the color scheme worn by the
> O&W's F units and switchers. As those colors
> appeared on no other railroad, whoever ordered up
> that paint scheme must have been a devotee of the
> O&W.
>
> Art House

It is QNS&L's first diesel paint scheme which stayed on a few of the GP9's until they were sold. Several of the first generation diesel paint schemes seem to have been designed or suggested by the General Motors design team. (Ontario Northland, Algoma Central). Could it be that after the serious business of placing an order for locomotives took place, that the railroad officials were shown builders photo examples of EMD paint schemes on previously delivered locomotives?. I know that Victorian Railways in Australia directly copied the black and yellow Erie Railroad paint scheme from EMD plans, replacing the black with dark blue.

The QNS&L was and is owned by steel companies. Perhaps when the original order for GP9's was placed, somebody doing the buying had a fondness for the NYO&W.

QNS&L simplyfied the scheme to yellow nose stripes on the SD40's. The mid-grey body colour remains the same.

eminence_grise Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> It is QNS&L's first diesel paint scheme which
> stayed on a few of the GP9's until they were sold.
> Several of the first generation diesel paint
> schemes seem to have been designed or suggested by
> the General Motors design team. (Ontario
> Northland, Algoma Central). Could it be that after
> the serious business of placing an order for
> locomotives took place, that the railroad
> officials were shown builders photo examples of
> EMD paint schemes on previously delivered
> locomotives?. I know that Victorian Railways in
> Australia directly copied the black and yellow
> Erie Railroad paint scheme from EMD plans,
> replacing the black with dark blue.
>
> The QNS&L was and is owned by steel companies.
> Perhaps when the original order for GP9's was
> placed, somebody doing the buying had a fondness
> for the NYO&W.
>
> QNS&L simplyfied the scheme to yellow nose stripes
> on the SD40's. The mid-grey body colour remains
> the same.

Thanks for the correction, Phil. QNS&L's paint first paint scheme somehow escaped my attention.

Art House

eminence_grise Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know that Victorian Railways in
> Australia directly copied the black and yellow
> Erie Railroad paint scheme from EMD plans,
> replacing the black with dark blue.


AFAIK, it was inspired by a Director who had visited the Erie.

Rick