Canadian Railroads > 25 Years Ago in Halifax

September 28, 1997 turned out to be a busy day for me, shooting slides at Rockingham and the Fairview shop.  Here are three of the more interesting ones from that day.

I was thinking that the MLWs were all shipped off to Toronto in the Spring of 1997, but if that was the case, M-420Ws 3505 and 3501 made a return visit, probably to work trains 505 and 507 out of Rockingham.  They were tied up outside the yard office for this picture in the early afternoon.

Also near the yard was this van, 79918, typically used as a shoving platform on the Chester Spur with those autoracks seen in the background, to serve the Volvo plant.  I think this PSC-built caboose ended its days in Truro before being scrapped a few years ago.

Over at the Fairview Roundhouse, NRE 882 was reposing on one of the radial tracks of the turntable.  CN was leasing and borrowing power from all over the place at the time, as the SD75Is were starting to be delivered.  With no dynamic brakes, this SD40 was right at home on CN.

GTD

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Picure #2, The W after the number on the van meant what?

PHall Wrote:
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> Picure #2, The W after the number on the van meant
> what?

Maybe somebody else knows for sure, but I assumed it meant "Work", as in for use on work trains.

GTD

Nice pictures Geoff.

I believe you are right about the W being for Work, older Trackside Guides list the W cabooses as "engineering work car" but by the time I paid attention they were used on local freights for backup moves.

As for the MLWs being shipped off to Toronto, the Gordon Yard diesel shops were closed on July 1, 1997 and I think it was shortly after that the MLWs left the Maritimes. I suspect you photographed some of the last M-420s to work in Rockingham!

Andrew C