Canadian Railroads > Making a 9500 look good

CP's original AC4400s in the 9500 series are getting very ratty looking. Between the dual-flags paint and CP's policy of not washing power, many of them are so bad you can't even read the cabside numbers. As a photographer, the challenge is to make them look somewhat presentable.

Do any of the railroaders on here have any tales from when these things were introduced? I know at first there were some issues with the Locotrol equipment causing them to be trailers behind SD40-2s on coal trains, and there was a runaway on the Field Hill tied to them, but anything else to share?

Below, CP 9525 leads half of a grain train north over the Aldersyde Sub, just south of Carmangay Alberta. He had the 9525 and 9704 leading 58 cars, and the 9588 on the tail end. He was scheduled to lift 56 cars at Vulcan AB, and, I presume, head for Vancouver. How'd I do at making the lead unit look good?

Darren Boes
Lethbridge, AB

---

Here are brand new CP 9526 and 9527 in the yard at Revelstoke in August 1995.

It was several months until the Locotrol 2 equipment was added to the AC4400CW fleet, and the coal trains operated with the locotrol equipped SD40-2's in the lead, and as the remote receiver.

A southbound coal empties is shown north of Canal Flats BC in October 1995.

There were several glitches to be fixed under warranty during the first couple of years on the AC4400CW's, but GE fixed them quickly.

---

---