Ed, I actually heard less of the trains when I was right beside the tracks than I do now a mile away.
Charlie

Here's some more action on Hamilton's CP mainline taken from the backyards along Lawrence Rd. and Maplewood Ave.

That's a rainbow of power on the point.. Looks like it could be a D&L train with all the different paint jobs.

Happy Easter everyone---on such a beautiful day I guess I should have been working in the backyard but I couldn't resist getting in some railfanning instead

Hello Everyone---my good friend Charlie sent me an e-mail last evening to let me know that the Lackawanna Heritage unit was spotted in Woodstock Ontario heading west towards Sarnia---to my knowledge this is the first time one of the heritage units has ventured this far into the Great White North.Unfortunately I did not see the locomotive but it gave me hope that it or other heritage units may head this way again.Interestingly though I met a fellow railfanner today at Bayview who did see this locomotive as it passed through Hamilton last evening---he was unable to get any pictures due to the poor lighting at that time.I did find a picture of the locomotive on another web-site (canadianrailwayobservations.ca) taken in Toronto <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/s403x403/10288741_10152334307660758_4954580066756922019_n.jpg">https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 2019_n.jpg</a><!-- m -->

Even though I didn't get any heritage unit photos,I did manage to catch some local action

Great pictures Ed, lots of variety too.
Charlie

Like Elvis,the Lackawanna heritage unit has left the building.Earlier this morning I heard that this locomotive (Lackawanna 1074) was heading north on CN train 382 which originated in Toledo OH and ended in Mimico Ontario which would have brought this train through Bayview Junction.I had no idea what time this might happen and I do not have a scanner so I headed out around 2PM,optimistic and determined to see my first heritage unit.I left around 5:30 and even though I saw some CN and VIA action,no heritage unit.When I got home,I checked my computer for messages and found out that this diesel made it to Sarnia Ontario (west of Hamilton),was separated from the train and was heading back into the States.Looks like I'm going to have to go with Doctor Wayne to visit Charlie again to catch a heritage unit.I would gladly trade some of our local GMD-1's or GP9's that I saw today for any of the heritage units.

Ed, you will catch one sooner or later.
Charlie

A cold and wet day but it didn't stop me from getting out for a couple of hours to watch some trains.I was a little late arriving at Bayview as a fellow railfanner who was there informed me that I had just missed one of the EMD demonstators that CN had recently purchased (#8100),still painted in the blue/silver livery.After missing the Lackawanna heritage unit last week I was beginning to think my luck was running out when I noticed a signal light turned green indicating a train was due shortly---turned out the day wasn't bad afterall as some of CN's secondhand power were on call.



My next stop was Howard Rd. in Aldershot where I spotted this train





Sitting in the Aldershot yard I spotted an IC SD70



To end my day,I drove past Kinnear Yard just as a CP freight was heading west through the yard

Ya done good for a rainy day outing.
Charlie

Another good day for railfanning---I started a little earlier than usual and was lucky as there was lots of steady action and variety during the morning

Train 148 is one of CN's priority freight trains which passes through Bayview on a regular schedule.Being a first class freight,one would expect to find some of the railroad's finest high performance locomotives as the power for this train.Today's lead locomotive was SD70M-2 8800 together with two other diesels---the third unit really surprised me---GP38-2W 4768.No doubt this locomotive is in excellent mechanical condition but she could sure use a trip to the paint shop---this has to be one of the saddest looking diesels on the CN roster :oops:





Here's a few more pictures taken this morning

Hi nutbar, just some thoughts about your photos;
CN 1437 really looks funny like it was made of parts from someones scrap box. Whats its model designation?

IC 1037 I thought that a lot of the "Death Stars" bought it during the GFC sidelining?

CP 5927 also has a lousy paint job.

CN 4768 your right that is a very lousy paint job are they trying to save on paint stripper?

CN 2677 what's that white stuff on the roof around the exhaust stack?

Is the greater variation in weather temperature in Canada responsible for the greater wear on the paintwork of locos there?
Or is it from the use of de-icing solutions?
Mark

Mr Fixit Wrote:Hi nutbar, just some thoughts about your photos;
CN 1437 really looks funny like it was made of parts from someones scrap box. Whats its model designation?

IC 1037 I thought that a lot of the "Death Stars" bought it during the GFC sidelining?

CP 5927 also has a lousy paint job.

CN 4768 your right that is a very lousy paint job are they trying to save on paint stripper?

CN 2677 what's that white stuff on the roof around the exhaust stack?

Is the greater variation in weather temperature in Canada responsible for the greater wear on the paintwork of locos there?
Or is it from the use of de-icing solutions?
Mark

Hi Mark---thanks for responding.#1437 is a GMD1---here's some info. on this locomotive
The GMD GMD-1 is a diesel locomotive originally produced by General Motors Diesel (GMD), the Canadian subsidiary of General Motors Electro-Motive Division, between August 1958 and April 1960. This switcher locomotive was powered by a 12-cylinder EMD 567C diesel engine, capable of producing 1,200 horsepower. The GMD-1 was built on either Flexicoil A1A-A1A (for light rail prairie branchlines) or Flexicoil B-B trucks. 101 examples of this locomotive were built for Canadian railways. 96 went to Canadian National Railway and the remaining 5 went to Northern Alberta Railways (that later became part of CN's fleet when they acquired majority interest in NAR).

According to original blueprints of the locomotive from GMD, CN's own equipment diagram books, and the original GMD manual for this locomotive, it is consistently referred to as a GMD-1 rather than a GMD1. "GMD1" has been a common misnomer since the 1970s.

Contents [hide]
1 Original Owners
2 Rebuilds
3 Second Hand Users
4 References
5 See also
Original Owners[edit]
Road Quantity Road numbers Notes
Canadian National Railway
78
1000–1077 A1A-A1A trucks
Canadian National Railways
18
1900–1917 B-B trucks; fitted with steam generators
Northern Alberta Railways
5
300–305 A1A-A1A trucks (to CN 1078-1082)
Rebuilds[edit]
CN upgraded a number of their GMD-1's in the 1980s, as 1400-series units (B-B) and 1600-series (A-1-A). A number of 1600's were later retrucked with B-B's and renumbered as 1400's.

1100 series units are 1000's retrofitted with Flexicoil B-B trucks in place of their original A-1-A's.

Second Hand Users[edit]
A number of GMD-1 units have been sold off in the 1990s and 2000s to rebuilders, leasers, regional and shortline railways. A few were acquired by Ferrocarriles de Cuba. Oregon Pacific Railroad acquired Canadian National #1045, and is now numbered OPR #1413.[1]

Regarding the rough looking paint jobs,let's just attribute this to age and natural weathering giving the locomotives a typical Canadian look

I'm not sure but I think the 2677 may have suffered some fire damage resulting in the whitish/grey colour on the roof

Can't we just say that 4768 has been through the wash track too many times?

We drove by the Burlington track today and there was a 3-unit consist with an IC in the middle.