Canadian Railroads > Q's on Kingsgate/Creston JT and #5010

Hi there fellow TOer's

Just came back from a wonderful but too short trip to N. Idaho and Cranbrook area, and ran across a couple of items I didn't understand.

First, just behind the really great Rail Museum in Cranbrook, sitting by itself in the middle of the yard was an SD45, I think #5010 (didn't want to trespass so I am not really sure of the number). A supposed local fan mentioned to me, just before his wife hauled him away, that it was going to be restored. Guess my question is by whom will it be restored and when? Local or some other group? It is really in good shape from what I could see so I immediately thought that perhaps the local Museum group would do the restoration since they obviously have a handle on restoration as it pertains to vintage passenger cars.

Secondly, on our return to Eastport late afternoon, there were two eastbound trains (at least the first with a mid-train DPU), moving rather slowly towards the junction where one line peels off to the left for the States and the other continues westerly towards Creston, Nelson and beyond. We were in a hurry to get back for dinner but it appeared that they were both headed to the right, the first in fact was well on its way that direction around the junction....the second held much further back on single track well east of Yahk. Another TO member remarked his confusion as to his knowledge, there was only a local that made the run in that direction over to Trail....which I seem to recall as well. It could be that there was some sort of set-out going on but my quandary is that they were both merchandise trains with CP power and we saw neither of them pass by our place which is just three miles south of Eastport on the Moyie River and 200 feet from the mainline. In fact, in the early morning the next two southbounds were not merchandise trains but a loaded grainer and a loaded potash. Soooo....where did the two trains go if not towards Nelson.We left for our home in Spokane that following afternoon so I suppose that they may have been sitting at Kingsgate but I was curious as to whether or not CP ever ran anything other than a local westerly through Nelson and beyond.

Really weird for someone who doesn't get to that area very often. Any thoughts? Am I missing something?

Thanks for any thoughts you might have,

BB

The 5010 is an almost new EMD SD30ECO rebuilt from an SD40-2.   The SD-ECO units have flared radiators making you think it was an SD45.  It is certainly not for preservation.

KG

5010 was rebuilt from CP SD40-2 #5728

 

Going north (railroad east) from Eastport you come to the junction with the former Kettle Valley line, the former southern route towards Vancouver.  The junction is at the town of Curzon, this is not a wye connection and a train coming from Eastport cannot take a left towards Nelson or Castlegar. The only way to head west on this line would be to proceed further east to the siding at Yahk and then run around the train. Going east from Curzon you eventually reach Cranbrook and then the junction at Fort Steele. The junction at Fort Steele is a wye connection and an Eastbound train can take a left and head NW to the mainline connection at Golden or take a right and head towards the Crowsnest Pass crossing of the Rockies. Virtually all Eastbound traffic at Cranbrook will take a right at Fort Steele and head for Crowsnest Pass. 

Thanks to you all.....obviously I was a bit confused on both issues but you definately illuminated the motive power question as well as any routing related to the junction at Curzon.

BB

SOO6617 Wrote:
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> Going north (railroad east) from Eastport you come
> to the junction with the former Kettle Valley
> line, the former southern route towards Vancouver.
 head for Crowsnest Pass. 

The Kettle Valley Railway, later the Kettle Valley Division of CP operated from Midway BC to Hope with a branch to Spences Bridge BC and was headquarted at Penticton.
The lines east of Midway were CP proper, headquartered at Nelson and known as the Kootenay Division.