CANADIAN RAILWAY OBSERVATIONS Updated Version 04/15/07 _______________________________________________________ By William Baird MAY 2007 CANADIAN NATIONAL CN Locomotives Retired in March and April: IC SW14 1507 on March 20th, DMIR SD38-2 209, on March 26th. CN C44-9W 2540 on March 29th, WC GP40 3005 on April 3rd. DMIR SD40-3 418 on April 10th (Note: This is not an SD40T-3, as there were two ex-CSXT units included in this rebuild with the Tunnel Motors). CN SD50F 5439 was released from NRE-Dixmoor in March 2007. This unit has received a Tier II zero emissions compliant engine, and new yellow frame striping. Photo - Ken Lanovich http://csxchicago.gotdns.com:6003/CN_Trains/SmallPicsRoll57/0024025-R1-059-28.jpg In late March, CN GMD-1 1436 was placed in the storage lines at the Woodcrest shop. 1436 arrived on March 19th from Toronto, with fire damage. This unit joins CN GMD-1’s 1414 and 1443 which have been in storage at Woodcrest for almost two years. When 1414 and 1443 first arrived they were to have truck change outs. Both units have had their trucks removed, but have never been replaced. Over the last year they have had quite a few parts removed, so it is unlikely that these two will ever run again. CN GMD-1 1436 appears to have suffered a main generator fire. Safety conscious CN has modified CN SD70M-2 8020 at MacMillan Yard shop on 3- 27-2007 with new bright CN orange steps / grab irons on the rear of the raised walkway behind the cab. I assume others are to follow? http://mail.google.com/mail/?attid=0.1&disp=inline&view=att&th=111a5f081741be61 Ex-DMIR SD40T-2 406 is now sporting a fresh coat of CN paint. http://hostovsky.com/~WDM/20070407-DMIR406-Paris.jpg Former IC SW14 1203 is rebuilt, and now sporting fresh coat of CN paint: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=182586 In early April, CN announced that they intend to close the hump at Winnipeg’s Symington yard in favor of flat switching. Comment was made that flat switching was better for train destinations in yards and terminals down track. However, CN is also reportedly installing a new hump yard in Memphis. TN. A safety audit of CN prompted by two separate train derailments uncovered a long string of problems, which included faulty equipment, improper safety procedures and a high rate of safety defects on locomotives. It was officially released on March 2 after CBC News filed an access to information request. The audit said that CN has completely co-operated with Transport Canada and has improved some practices, but that it must move forward. Transport Canada made 11 recommendations for changes and the railway has already moved to work on eight of the areas. In the first incident during August 2005, a CN train derailed and spilled oil into Alberta’s Lake Wabamun. Two days later, a second train derailed into the Cheakamus Canyon in British Columbia, dumping caustic soda into the river. The econd section of the report discovered that many CN employees said they feel pressured to get their jobs completed. It also said current practices allow units with safety defects to continue in active service. However, CN rejected that allegation. In an e-mail to Transport Canada obtained by CBC News, a CN official said the report had several inaccurate or misleading findings. The official attributed that on what he called the unstructured manner in which employees were asked questions. On March 1, CN train 120 derailed 32 cars at Pickering Jct., Ontario on CN’s Kingston Subdivision. This is the railway’s mainline between Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. Powering the train were SD75I 5646, SD40u 6016 and SD75I 5700. There were no injuries in the derailment, but chemicals did escape from some of the derailed cars. However, no evacuation was required. The incident heavily effected the operations of Toronto commuter agency GO Transit and buses had to be sent to transport the stranded morning commuters between Oshawa and Pickering. Crews had hoped to have the tracks re-opened by the following morning. The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the derailment. Then on March 3, CN train 307 derailed roughly 20 cars on the CN Napadogan Subdivision near Summit, New Brunswick. There were no injuries in this incident. Also in the early morning hours of March 12, CN train 362 derailed 35 cars on the Kingston Subdivision at Kingston, Ontario. Luckily, no chemicals leaked from the derailed cars. The train was powered by CN SD40-2 5387, BNSF B40-8W 544, CN SD40u 6020 and CPR SD40-2 5720. The derailment blocked both mainline tracks and VIA Rail passengers had to be bused, until the line was eventually re-opened. On March 9, CN operated train 350, which was a loaded military train destined for Valcartier, Quebec. This military base is located just north of Quebec City. The equipment was returning from Fort Kileen, Texas. This train was led by Union Pacific SD70MAC 4337. A second 350 followed on March 11, also loaded with military equipment from Texas and destined for Quebec. During January, CN had operated two separate 351’s to transport the equipment from Valcartier to Texas. The Village of Homewood, Illinois announced in April that the Railfan Park and Equipment Display are now open. The railfan park is located on the east side of the Canadian National (ex-Illinois Central) / Amtrak / Metra right of way in downtown Homewood IL. Including Metra trains, train counts at this location routinely exceed 100 per day. Action includes plenty of CN/IC, Amtrak, and Metra trains, along with UP and NS run-throughs. The viewing platform is located just south of one of the few remaining steam-era Illinois Central multi-track signal bridges on the railroad, which makes a great prop for southbound traffic. The south throat of Markham Yard is just a few hundred yards north of the platform site, so something is always happening here! Be sure to park in a municipal lot-- the pay/permit lots immediately surrounding the Metra station are NOT free, and you will get towed if you park in them without paying, or displaying the proper permit. Plenty of free space is available, however, including a lot right across the street from the platform. The Equipment Display is located on the west side of the right of way (which is 8 tracks wide through downtown Homewood). The display includes Illinois Central GP10 8408 in the 1990's "Deathstar" scheme, and IC caboose 9426, in the 1960's orange "I-Ball" scheme. Both units have been freshly restored and were successfully moved onto the site on Sunday, 25 March 2007. CANADIAN PACIFIC CP Locomotives Retired: CP SD40-2’s 5584, 5639, 5646, 5655, 5666, and 5815 on March, but the exact date has yet to be determined. RAILPOWER (RPRX) has directed the last of the ex-CP GG20B’s as follows: 1702 will go to the US ARMY as USAX 6004, RPRX 1704 (which is currently at CAD) will go to BNSF, and RPRX 1701 and 1705 will become RPRX demonstrators. Due to an extreme motive power shortage, CP has arranged for up to 40 units to be on the property on Horse-Power-Hours from US railroads. On April 15th a “snapshot” showed the following 32 units working on CP, mainly in Western Canada, and on the SOO LINE: 14 CEFX SD90MAC(U)’s, (on H-P-H to UP ), CEFX SD40-2’s 2815, 3161, 3171, 3180, and 7108 (7108 is ex-BN in BN paint), UP SD40-2 2928, C40-8 9073 and 9435, FURX SD40-2 7252, (Ex-BN), NS SD70 2606, NS C40-9W 9405, CSXT C40-8 7328, and 7587, CSXT SD40-2 8210, KCS SD70ACe 4001 (H-P-H from UP), BNSF SD40-2 6814, 6919, 7001, 7014, and BNSF SD75M 8204. (Note: The numbers and models will be constantly changing.). D&H GP38-2 7304 had its repairs completed in Winnipeg on March 30th, and the locomotive worked its way back east via Chicago, and arrived in Binghamton on April 7th. http://mail.google.com/mail/?attid=0.2&disp=inline&view=att&th=111d42537708cec6 STLH GP9u’s 8205 and 8206 were repainted CP in late March. This leaves only 11 units running with STLH initials: STLH SD40-2’s 5560, 5593, 5615, 5651; GP9u’s 8212, 8223, 8225, 8245, slug 1001; yard GP7u 1502, and yard GP9u 1625. CP has donated BALDWIN DRS4-4-1000 #8000, built in 1948, to the WEST COAST RAILWAY ASSOCIATION museum at Squamish, BC. During the 1980’s the locomotive was stored in Montreal at Glen Yard, then was moved to Calgary in the 1990’s, where it was stored outside. On March 6th, CPR announced the retirement of Neal Foot, who was the executive vice-president of operations. His retirement will be effective as of July 1, 2007. Foot’s career with the railway has spanned more than thirty-five years and included a large range of operating and executive positions throughout the company. Brock Winter, who is the railway’s senior vice-president of operations will take over Foot’s duties effective April 3, 2007 after he starts pre-retirement leave. Early on March 8, eastbound CPR train 104 derailed an AC4400CW and seven cars near mileage 77 of the Heron Bay Subdivision, which is near Coldwell, Ontario. Hulcher crews from White River, Ontario were sent to the derailment scene. The CPR Thunder Bay Auxiliary were on stand-by, but were not dispatched.