Canadian Railroads > CMQ SD40-2F Blue Barns return to CP's BC mainline

Thirty years ago,
CP's SD40-2F's were the pride of the heavy haul fleet.
Now, they have returned in blue paint,
and instead of hauling export coal
they are hauling ballast in company service.

The end of last week, two of them were photographed running empty across CP's Shuswap Sub,
heading for the company pit at Walhachin, BC.

1. Not a priority train.  Waiting for four trains at Malakwa, BC.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/20 23:07 by Marcus.

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2. Leaving Cambie, BC.  Must have been alot of telegraph lines.

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3. Crossing the swing bridge at Sicamous, BC.  Houseboats keep the bridge very busy in summer.

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4. Along Shuswap Lake, the train passes the mill at Canoe, BC.

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5. Leaving Salmon Arm, BC, the train crosses the Salmon River.

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Ascending the North Track up Notch Hill.
6. The lower loop passing under the road.
7. Ascending around the loop.
8. Up and over the road.  The lower loop passes under where the automobile is seen in the distance.

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9. Reaching the summit at Notch Hill.

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After loading at Walhachin (32 miles west of Kamloops), this train arrived in the Vancouver suburbs on Tuesday afternoon, spent the night tied down on the mainline about 10 miles east of Coquitlam Yard, and then laid ballast between Mile 109 and 82 of the Cascade Subdivision on Wednesday.

The photo below shows the Barns making a smoky start to the day's work in fog at 09:45 at SNS River Road in Maple Ridge, where they had spent the night.

Good to see them back on the coast.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/20 23:07 by railsmith.

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Nice series. Hopefully their second life on the CP will be a long and productive one.

Nice locations, surprising to see them out on the main, also surprised to see them all the way out on the west districts.
t4p.

Great shots in this series.  These locomotives were my favorite to see when I was younger.

Thanks for the pics...