Canadian Railroads > Tuscan Tuesday Continued - SB RCP on the Red Deer Sub Part 2

Yesterday I started chronicling a chase of SB RCP on Thursday, August 8, on the Red Deer Sub, continuing from the Leduc Sub, at https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,4847809. This set of 11 shots will finish the coverage.
1. You get kicked back onto the #2 Highway at the south end of Innisfail, and although you can regain the tracks readily at Bowden, we opted to skip that entanglement, and took the exit onto the 2A just south of Bowden to make time. We overhauled the train coming up to Netook, so the window rolled down and this shot happened at 1007. The goal was the S-curves on the long siding of Netook.
2. We're set up at the crossing of Township Road 334, I think, signed for the Netook Flying Club, and provided with crossing gates. If I knew what I was doing, I'd love to video a stack or oil train here. The location just gives and gives, but I'll post two of the shots. The distant view is with the lens set at 140 mm, the time is 1021.
3. Still set at 140 mm, the field on the left provided a little colour with its canola crop.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/19 13:51 by feclark.

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4. I really wanted to get a shot at the old, small Pioneer elevator south of Olds, but thought we wouldn't make it in time, what with having to slow down passing by town. So we opted to get Pioneer's inland terminal north of town, still quite beautiful with its orange and yellow accents, plus clear rail head for photos. Even the construction crane fit in nicely; photo at 1026.
5. The traffic lights on the 2A were with us, and we managed to hustle south, then west on Township Road 324 to get the older elevator in view. To our surprise, as the RCP came up on the grade crossing, the photo was pretty clear across the fields (gotta love the Prairies!), so the unplanned shot was taken at 1033. They must have dogged it through town for us to get this one.
6. A co-favourite with the old Niobe elevator, I knew from my last trip down here, over 10 years ago, that the south end of this elevator was really obscured by trees, and was hard to access. Plus time was against us. So we had parked at the edge of Range Road 15 to get this approach shot to the elevator. It's still active and thriving, apparently, so that's good to see.

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7. This was a random curve between Carstairs and Crossfield; initially we scoped the reverse curves at Crump climbing out of Carstairs, but the angles weren't pleasing. So this would do, at 1104. It's maybe a bit vanilla, but the train was too beautiful.
8. The gap in the bushes, plus north switch target for the siding into the Viterra Crossfield grain terminal, presented a nice opportunity. Those Fs really are short units, especially as compared to the new GEs that dominate the railscape these days.
9. Crossfield itself; this would be a really nice shot about 4 hours later, once the sun has swung around. Time is 1112, lens set at 140 mm, my max on this one.

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10. The shot we really wanted at Crossfield, lens set at 66 mm. It's like shooting fish in a barrel. Just behind me is the one standing elevator (UGG) from the old row at Crossfield. On our return trip north, in the early afternoon, we hung out here briefly in a parking lot on the west side of the tracks. This would have been a good shot for a SB freight (hint to anyone making the trip), but none were indicated. We decided at that point to head north, figuring we could chase back south if anything showed up. It didn't. But there's one to go on the "southbound odyssey" (nod to Arlo Guthrie).
11. We passed on trying to beat it to Airdrie or Balzac for example, also with limited prospects for a location. As well, the sun was moving around and getting a bit nose-y for good shots from the usual angles. So we made it all the way into Calgary (not the plan when we started the day), and opted for 16th Ave. north because we'd have an overpass, and were pretty sure we'd find a place to park pretty close by. It took some patience, and we passed the fifth NB freight of the morning on the way in. No shots of any of them, for obvious reasons. It took some time, but finally, at 1215, the RCP rolled past the signal at MP 2.9, and under us. Still laying smoke, and again, for photographic purposes, lucky it was the lead unit doing that.
Once we'd caught up with the train at Morningside for our first photos, the whole thing had unfolded in four hours, with 16 locations. As Langleyrailfan pointed out, "you've to be out there to get lucky", and this day we were. Apologies to anyone suffering from "F-unit fatigue". Maybe the biggest surprise to me was that the remnant elevators after the big clear-out of 1999/2000 were still there to be shot. The train's pace seemed a little inconsistent, but that helped us as it seemed to go slow when we needed it the most.
Fred



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/19 14:11 by feclark.

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mmmmmmmm
I wonder if they can change 1 unit to a ( B ) and make nice set.??

I thought the RCP was to get a full-length dome car? Or are they still working on its rennovation?

See Fred's previous post - Picture #2
In front of Theatre Car... 2nd last in consist .

Great series Fred, really love the one passing the newer Pioneer structures.

Roger Durfee
Akron, OH

Just curious if the CP F units still retain the 567 prime mover. 

ATSF3751 Wrote:
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> Just curious if the CP F units still retain the
> 567 prime mover. 

I'm looking at the 2015 Canadian Trackside Guide, and it indicates that 1401 has a 16-567C prime mover, 1750 h.p., and that 4106 and 4107 have 16-645C prime movers, 1800 h.p. I don't know if that's the reason for 1401 smoking more, but the trio sounded wonderful, absolutely wonderful!
Fred

feclark Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ATSF3751 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Just curious if the CP F units still retain the
> > 567 prime mover. 
>
> I'm looking at the 2015 Canadian Trackside Guide,
> and it indicates that 1401 has a 16-567C prime
> mover, 1750 h.p., and that 4106 and 4107 have
> 16-645C prime movers, 1800 h.p. I don't know if
> that's the reason for 1401 smoking more, but the
> trio sounded wonderful, absolutely wonderful!
> Fred

Thank you. Glad CP didn't try to "improve" them with upgraded prime movers. 
A 567 sounds a lot different from a 645.

feclark Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ATSF3751 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Just curious if the CP F units still retain the
> > 567 prime mover. 
>
> I'm looking at the 2015 Canadian Trackside Guide,
> and it indicates that 1401 has a 16-567C prime
> mover, 1750 h.p., and that 4106 and 4107 have
> 16-645C prime movers, 1800 h.p. I don't know if
> that's the reason for 1401 smoking more, but the
> trio sounded wonderful, absolutely wonderful!

1401 has since been re-engined with a 16-645E, at 2000 h.p. See the 2019 Guide.

The B unit in this fleet, CP 1900, still has a 16-567C of 1750 h.p.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/19 16:38 by railsmith.

Really Cool !  Love those elevators old or new !

ATSF3751 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> feclark Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ATSF3751 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Just curious if the CP F units still retain
> the
> > > 567 prime mover. 
> >
> > I'm looking at the 2015 Canadian Trackside
> Guide,
> > and it indicates that 1401 has a 16-567C prime
> > mover, 1750 h.p., and that 4106 and 4107 have
> > 16-645C prime movers, 1800 h.p. I don't know if
> > that's the reason for 1401 smoking more, but
> the
> > trio sounded wonderful, absolutely wonderful!
> > Fred
>
> Thank you. Glad CP didn't try to "improve" them
> with upgraded prime movers. 
> A 567 sounds a lot different from a 645.

Oh bother. :(
Guest it's better then sitting on a scrap pile