Canadian Railroads > Switcher Saturday in Orangedale

The museum in Orangedale, NS has a number of interesting items on display, including this GE 50-tonner that once worked at the Georgia-Pacific gypsum mine, which once operated at River Denys, west of Orangedale.  There are a number of gypsum deposits in Cape Breton which at one time sustained several mines, although I think River Denys was the only one served by rail.  It ceased production before RailTex took over the track from CN in 1993, but according to the Trackside Guide the GE was stored at the mine site for a number of years before the museum acquired it.  This slide was taken August 20, 2003 and the unit is wearing paint which I presume is similar (if not the same) to what it wore when it worked at the mine.  It has since been painted into a pseudo CN green and yellow scheme, even though CN never owned any 50-tonners.

GTD

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I did find another image which didn't need to be scanned of the "new" paint job, this time from June 4, 2005.

GTD

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I like this post; I can offer a few possible corrections or notes, based on 5 slides from 4 photographers. Georgia Pacific operated at what is identified on one slide as Grand Denys (6/81), the other as River Denys (6/87), and the locomotive there was a GE 45 ton, side-rod connected. The GP GE 50t was at the Point Tupper operation (7/78, 6/87, 9/87), and is almost certainly the one at Orangeville. The TSG does identify it as the former Point Tupper unit. In all five slides, the G-P paint scheme is dark blue up to the bottom of the cab window line, and very light blue above that. It may well have been repainted into a uniform light blue scheme as in your first shot, prior to donation.
Fred