08-02-2009, 08:18 PM
And I always like shots of CP in the east in the 90s. That was the last time CP looked like itself.
It's not that long ago that I realized, though CP retired its last 244-engined power in 1986, apart from wrecks, its 251-engined fleet remained intact until 1991. When I was young, I didn't know about the then-current diesels, because I learned about railroads from old books and magazines. And it happened that CP didn't have any recent designs - except the SD40-2F. Had I seen one, I would've mistaken it for an F45, and since I don't recall ever seeing an "F45", they must not have regularly run in the west in the early 90s. I had no idea what an AC4400 was the first time I saw it. Anyway, I thought of second-generation diesels as "current" power. Later, I learned that most U-boats and Centuries were gone, in many cases before I was born. Then, later, I learned that I was right the first time. In eastern Canada, Class 1 Alcos had lasted into my early railfanning days.
Particularly when I see shots of Alco/MLWs (and EMD/GMDs) on container trains, they seem timeless. Because CP was slow to raise clearances for double-stacks, MLWs lasted so long, and the corporate image didn't change much, a CP container train in the early 90s looked much as it did 10 or even 20 years earlier.
It's not that long ago that I realized, though CP retired its last 244-engined power in 1986, apart from wrecks, its 251-engined fleet remained intact until 1991. When I was young, I didn't know about the then-current diesels, because I learned about railroads from old books and magazines. And it happened that CP didn't have any recent designs - except the SD40-2F. Had I seen one, I would've mistaken it for an F45, and since I don't recall ever seeing an "F45", they must not have regularly run in the west in the early 90s. I had no idea what an AC4400 was the first time I saw it. Anyway, I thought of second-generation diesels as "current" power. Later, I learned that most U-boats and Centuries were gone, in many cases before I was born. Then, later, I learned that I was right the first time. In eastern Canada, Class 1 Alcos had lasted into my early railfanning days.
Particularly when I see shots of Alco/MLWs (and EMD/GMDs) on container trains, they seem timeless. Because CP was slow to raise clearances for double-stacks, MLWs lasted so long, and the corporate image didn't change much, a CP container train in the early 90s looked much as it did 10 or even 20 years earlier.
Fan of late and early Conrail... also 40s-50s PRR, 70s ATSF, BN and SP, 70s-80s eastern CN, pre-merger-era UP, heavy electric operations in general, dieselized narrow gauge, era 3/4 DB and DR, EFVM and Brazilian railroads in general... too many to list!