Eastern Railroad Discussion > Photographing a GMD SD40-2 in the wild

March 21st, 2024

I posted an image of a CPKC train in the Western Discussion page: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,5836532 showing a CPKC manifest going through Blakesburg, Iowa. Since this is eastern Iowa, I assume these images will fit right in here. There's no "MidWestern" page, so I'm torn between the two. 

Nonetheless, the purpose of my two and half hour trip wasn't for a mainline train, although I appreciated it greatly. My goal was to photograph CP 6017, an all original GMD SD40-2. The unit was originally the second unit on a Herzog ballast train, but once it arrived here in Blakesburg siding, the leader was taken off and added to a road train, thus allowing 6017 to be able to be properly shot. A friend let me know about the move, so I drove down from Davenport to shoot it. 

Image 1: 6017 and all of its glory.
Image 2: CP SD30C-ECO behind 6017 with a beautiful Iowa sunset. 

CP once had one of the largest rosters on SD40-2's, with a number hovering around 500 (486 GMD's to be exact). That number has dwindled considerably over the years and has now dropped to a sad amount of 38 active SD40-2's on the current roster. Thankfully, of those left they are slowly being rebuilt and repainted into CP's attractive "Beaver" paint scheme. 

The 6017 was built new by GMD in Canada in March of 1981. Why the fuss over shooting this unit? I have a soft spot for SD40-2's. Especially those that haven't been altered much. 6017 is all original with the exception of PTC antennas, so for me, it was worth a few hours of my time to photograph something I like. 

Lastly, and on a different note, I want to thank everyone who has reached out to me over the last 7-8 months that I've been away. As you can see, I'm no longer in Meridian, MS. I accepted a job as Conductor with CPKC out of Nahant (Davenport) Iowa and have been focusing on work and learning the ways of the Big Beaver. As much of a bad rap the industry gets nowadays, I have enjoyed my time here so far and look forward to what the future holds. I work with some amazing guys who have been nothing but helpful in helping me succeed. Not to mention it's kinda neat working for North America's first and only "Trans-National" railway. 

Thanks again for your support, and as always I hope you enjoy my images. 

-Dylan



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/24 14:35 by tuxedorailfan.

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Two superb artistic scenes.
Bob

Outstanding images, Dylan.

VR Out
 

Man both are great, the sky is beautiful!

Dan

Posted from iPhone

Great shots , good luck on your new job!

Excellent photos and wishing you the best on your new job.
John

Amazing shots. Congrats on your IOTD! Regarding which board to post on  - some wise person advised once that it doesn't matter, (western/eastern). Someone else said east or west of Chicago. Someone else said east/west of the Mississippi River. See - clear as mud. Again thanks for sharing these beauties.

PCBill

Excellent pair; very artistic. Well done!
GK

Very nice..!!

Really nice Dylan. Enjoy your new assignment in the Midwest!