Canadian Railroads > SD40-2 7232 on the CBNS

The Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway has operated a number of different 6-axle locomotives since the road was spun off from CN in 1993.  First were some ex-CN C-630M MLWs, no doubt the fan favourites, even if they only lasted 4 or 5 years.  After a brief fling with some GP50s, a quartet of leased SD45-2s showed up and handled the road freights until the mid 2000s.  At that point 4 ex-BN SD40-2s were leased from Helm, with some other G&W owned SDs operating for a while too.  Although all four are now owned by Genesee & Wyoming, and three have been repainted and renumbered, 7232 is sill hanging on in blue Helm lease fleet paint.  According to the TSG it has been assigned road number CBNS 3363, but the crew identified themselves as "HLCX 7232" on the most recent day I saw them, Oct. 1.  7232 is also somewhat notable for being built in Canada by GMD (6/1980, long before the FTA), even though it was sold to BN and presumably spent most of its previous life working in the US.  CBNS  3365, the former BN 7172, is also a GMD-built unit.

While looking for some other images, I found a few of 7232 (back when it was still leased) leading CBNS train 306 at Brierly Brook and then at the short siding in Monastery, back on June 16, 2009.  For contrast, here is 7232 (now owned by CBNS) with the ballast extra on October 1, 2020, also at Brierly Brook, but heading west instead of east.

GTD

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