Canadian Railroads > Forty Friday Westbounds in Nova Scotia

Reaching back to August 30, 2000 to present these examples of F40, SD40 and GP40 locomotives near Truro, NS.

First image is the westbound Bras d'Or, slowly pulling through an empty track in the Truro Yard, a bit after 17:00.  There was once a bypass track on the south side of the yard, but when VIA pulled the Railiner service in 1990, CN pulled up that track, and movements had to proceed the two miles or so at restricted speed in yard limits.  The Bras d'Or is westbound here (train 619), but will be eastbound for the last leg to Halifax on the Bedford Sub (crews usually identified the train as 618 on the Bedford).

After shooting 618 at Hilden, I waited a short while in Brookfield (the next town towards Halifax) for 137, which probably met the passenger train at Alton.  They were climbing towards mile 57 here in the second image.  I hadn't made a note of the second unit's number, but by counting handrail stanchions, I'm pretty sure it's a GP40-2 of some flavour or another.

137 was the junk train out of Rockingham, although it usually had containers too.  The open hoppers are most likely gypsum loads from the Windsor & Hantsport, while autoracks from Dartmouth can be seen farther back.  In the last image, taken at 18:40, the train is climbing away from Truro on the double track OCS of the Springhill Sub.

GTD

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