Canadian Railroads > Switcher Saturday - On Track Rail Services GE 40t & 80t

Here's an interesting operation that would gladden the heart of anyone who loves CN rail-mounted cranes. This is On Track Rail Services, at Duagh (correct spelling of location), AB, on the north side of Edmonton on the Coronado Sub. Some issues of the TSG spell it Daugh, and maybe that's how CN has it in the timetable; mile 7.4 from St. Paul Junction. Confused the heck out of me. I never saw it, but among other things heard from someone else that they had some involvement in the eastward extension of the original siding at Ardrossan, before CN eventually twinned things all the way to east switch Uncas.
1. One of two units on the property, when this appeared in the TSG, I phoned up to see about getting in to shoot, and was told that this was in the process of being repainted, and I might want to wait. I seem to recall it was next year that I finally got up there, May 30, 2007. This is apparently (no sign of it on the locomotive) RCM 4060, a GE 40t and I think the only one of these I've ever seen. The "RCM" apparently means "Rail Car Mover", the "40" indicates the weight in tons, if the next unit is a guide, and who knows what the "60" means. It looks like a slightly modernized (in terms of styling) 35t, with its hood all the way up to the cab roof, and maybe beefy side sills/frames to make ballast. The little gizmo ahead of the stack is a crane boom rest (as reported by Jeff Robertson, who saw it in service at Ardrossan). Very sharp scheme on an industrial.
2. No UP right-of-way here, but a classic industrial yard. Their trackage forms a large square, so in this case, the unit is on the east side of the square, facing south, for ideal mid-afternoon light.
3. The other unit is RCM 8060, obviously a GE 80t, formerly Algoma Steel #41 (with those spindly headlight mounts), and absolutely immaculate, as is the 4060. This unit was on the north side of the square, which runs E-W, so the lighting was perfect for it as well. Silvered trucks? Wow! If I'd been up here with a digital camera, I would have blown through the crane fleet, but for me it didn't warrant the K64 treatment. Sorry to crane fans. Almost as soon as I pulled out of here, and was getting things organized for shooting around Fort Saskatchewan, a southbound Lakeland & Waterways freight came through. I'll have to scan and post when I can dig it up.
Fred

---

---

---

Great catch with first-class industrial locomotive photos.
Thanks for sharing these.
Bob

Was the radio control still working on the ex-Algoma Steel unit when you shot it? Do the cranes appear in the back of any of the photographs?

KG



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/18 04:42 by kgmontreal.

On Track now has an ex. DOW, exx. SP Alco S-6 in service on the property.

-Trevor

kgmontreal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Was the radio control still working on the
> ex-Algoma Steel unit when you shot it? Do the
> cranes appear in the back of any of the
> photographs?
>
> KG

Ken,
I can't speak to its status, I'm afraid. Neither unit was busy when I was there, so I didn't see. You can see the bases for lights, but no lights on the cab sides, so it looks like maybe de-activated by On Track, I don't know. The only radio-controlled units we saw at Algoma Steel when we were there in 1987 had the status lights on a bar near the cab roof, on the cab faces by the stacks. No good background crane shots, sorry to say.
Fred

tsokolan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On Track now has an ex. DOW, exx. SP Alco S-6 in
> service on the property.
>
> -Trevor

Trevor,
That explains the Google satellite image, which I looked at before posting to refresh my memory. I could see the 80t, and something else end-cab that is definitely not the 40t unit.
Fred