Canadian Railroads > CP at Lachine QC, 1978

CP had a piggyback facility at Lachine, a few miles west of their Cote St.Luc classification yard. Freights set off and picked up trailers. An eastbound freight prepared to make a large set off at Lachine in December 1978. The shadows visible are of a CN freight on the adjacent CN main line.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/20 18:36 by eminence_grise.

Those white flags are really flapping. I'm guessing a very cold day near the St Lawrence. Great locomotive consist.

First-rate image.
Bob

That's my kind of consist!  Great shot!!

In the background one can see the Grovehill commuter stop.  When the CTCUM took over the Lakeshore commuter trains from CP the Lachine stop was closed and Grovehill was renamed Lachine!

My old stomping grounds!

Great clear crisp image.  Bob

The second and third units are M630's. They were originally delivered for coal train service in BC, but had suffered reliability issues mostly related to the cooling system.
CP did a thorough rebuild of the radiators and associated plumbing and they served for another decade or so in eastern freight service.

MLW or ALCO, what brutish machines they were! They represented heavy haul mainline duty. That red paint scheme was simple yet very bold. I’ve tried to enlarge the photo to view the hogger, who appears to be very well dressed,and wearing a very interesting white cap with a dark blue visor. A veteran engineer who had pride in his profession,a man of seniority, a hold over from the age of steam? Is there anyway to find out who he is?

CM80.46

Railroaders in eastern Canada had access to an excellent source of traditional railroad and hunting caps.  A CP locomotive engineer based at Brownville Junction, Maine had a wife who would make him traditional work hats. Very soon, his co-workers wanted hats, and he started a modest business selling the hats his wife made. The popularity of the hats grew year by year, and once he retired from the CPR, he would load up his camper and set out on a trip across Canada. Railroaders would spot his Maine plates in an employee parking lot, and buy hats from him. The engineer in my picture would have been based at Smiths Falls ON, only a few hundred miles from Brownville Junction, so I have no doubt his cap was from Maine. I don't know how far west the hat salesman ever got, but certainly his hats were familiar around Montreal and points west.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/20 19:36 by eminence_grise.

Nice pic!!