Canadian Railroads > GP38s in Halifax

CN has been using pairs of GP38-2s or GP40-2s as yard power in Halifax since the demise of the MLWs almost 30 years ago.  Generally one pair works Dartmouth, 505 in the morning and 509 in the afternoon and evening, while another looks after Pace (formerly Rockingham) Yard, the Fairview Cove container pier and HIT.  A pair of big 6-axles does transfers between Pace and Ocean Terminals and switches downtown.  4905 (still in blue leaser paint) and 4772 had been assigned to Pace Yard, Rockingham Switcher Gets Out on the Road , but they've been sent to Dartmouth and replaced with the rather poor looking set of 4707 and 4806.  And since these pictures wee taken, 4806 has been replaced with 4720, which I saw on my trip to Moncton last week.

On February 28, 4707 and 4806 were at the Birch Cove switch, taking headroom before shoving some cars to the container pier.

Two days later they made a rare trip downtown with some export containers.  They had just run around their train and would pull forward before shoving the cars into the PSA container terminal out of the frame to the right.  They might have been used for this job instead of the 6-axles because the grain elevator on the left must be switched with 4-axle power (or use reachers).  But I didn't stick around to find out if that was the plan or not.

The next day, March 3rd, 4905 and 4772 were shoving a string of cars including LPG, up track DW40 in the Burnside Industrial Park.  The hi-cube boxcar may have been going to a building supply dealer on that spur, but the scrap gon ahead of it was most likely going to another track.

GTD

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Nice trio and info. I remember looking across the channel from the ship trying to figure out the layout on last years visit.
JB

Nice  picture.

Chris

CN 4905 was GTW 6216 built as DT&I 216.  CN got a bunch of GTW's back that it once let go.

Bill Miller
Galt, ON

I like Pic 2!!