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| What's a nice lady like you
doing in a place like this?? Along with plentiful motive power,
Smiths Falls was always bustling with railroad people such as
this hapless VIA Rail car attendant. Normally, switch duties
were handled by seasoned conductors, however, on this day it
seems an inexperienced, unprepared car attendant was given the
task. Following a protracted struggle with the switch, the lady
accepted help from a sympathetic CP trainman to get it aligned,
no doubt to the relief of the waiting train crew. Although the
attendant had put her hair up and donned a protective t-shirt,
she lacked gloves and sensible shoes, aggravating an already
difficult situation. The look on her face says it all. The sight
of a car attendant running in nylons and pumps on a rain-soaked
roadbed to catch a waiting train is something not easily forgotten. |
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Best And Worst in Class
The appearance of CP Rail M-630 4572 at Smiths Falls in May
1994 reflected the poor state of many reactivated MLW units.
Due to missing or inoperative cab appliances, CP restricted
nearly all of the resurrected locomotives to trailing positions.
In addition to flaking paint, several units ran without hood
doors and air filters, leaving large openings in the carbodies.
Despite its downtrodden appearance, 4572 operated into the summer
of 1995. Somewhat surprisingly, M-636 #4743 survived in relatively
good mechanical and cosmetic condition and also ran into the
summer of 1995, after which time CP sold it to the Delaware-Lackawanna,
where it runs as their #3643. CP Rail was so short of motive
power that one could expect anything to show up in a consist,
including MLW RS-23 switchers. These diminutive engines shared
the spotlight with their higher-power brethren hauling hot freights
and intermodal trains, perhaps for the first time. In such a
case, RS-23s #8024 and #8035 along with #4743 cheat the scrapper's
torch at Smiths Falls in May 1994. CP retired the last of its
RS-23s in 1997 after reactivating many to help ease their power
crisis. |
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Close up of the cab of M-630 #4572. This
unit has certainly seen better days as CP Action Red gives way
to pale yellow primer! |
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Smiths Falls yard and station, with #8208
leading a train on the far track. |
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MLW's smaller roadswitcher offering,
the C-424, also put in frequent appearances at Smith Falls.
CP rostered units like this model until 1999. Here is C-424
#4227 dragging some cars through the station. |
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The modified air intakes on this M-636
belie the fact that it's not an ordinary unit. In 1988, CP Rail
looked into repowering their big Alco-powered locomotives with
Caterpillar engines, but abandoned the idea after rebuilding
only the 4711. Because the unit carried a relatively new prime
mover, CP ran it until July 1998 when it was sold to the Minnesota
Commercial. |
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Normally relegated to local and switching
service, CP's RS-18s enjoyed a taste of the big time when the
company pressed many into road service, such as 1858. Notice
the Guilford unit tucked behind second back, far from home! |
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Alcos near and far at Smith Falls. |
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"Have telemetry device, will travel."
Not only did crews change at Smiths Falls, but so did EOTs. |
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The control stand... where it all happens!
Notice the unique MLW throttle and meters. |
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View of the Smith Falls yard from the
cab. |
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Desperate for power, CP leased locomotives
from just about every leasing company and even called upon VIA
Rail to provide a few units; as demonstrated by this freight
preparing to leave town. The Union Pacific heritage of the second
unit is obvious. |
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To help relieve its power shortage,
CP put relatively reliable units, including yard and local power,
on road trains while demoting less-desirable locomotives such
as C424 #4217 to switching duties. |
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Some units continued to perform traditional
work such as RS-18 #1851 heading to Brockville on an intermodal
transfer run. |
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Article and photos by Vincent
Reh.
In the summer of 1994, scores of railfans flocked to Smiths Falls,
Ontario to experience CP Rail's big Alco-powered locomotives for the
last time. With trains from the Brockville, Chalk River, Belleville,
and Winchester Subdivisions converging on the town, fans had plenty
of opportunities to admire and photograph these fading giants in everyday
freight service.
Although CP had pulled the plug on its six-axle MLW fleet in December
1993, a severe motive power shortage forced them to reopen Angus Shops
in Montreal to reactivate as many units as possible. By May 1994,
the shop managed to get more than two dozen M-630s and M-636s back
in service, most of which had been destined for scrap.
Due to missing or inoperative cab appliances, CP relegated nearly
all of the resurrected locomotives to trailing status. Several had
cab windows blanked out, while others ran with missing hood doors
and air filters, leaving gaping holes in carbodies that were already
scarred with cracked and peeling paint. To minimize problems, CP tried
to keep the units close to home by running them on freights out of
Montreal, although some made it to British Columbia and back, an assignment
they never received in latter-day, pre-retirement service.
Nearly all freights running to and from Montreal paused at Smiths
Fall's VIA Rail station for crew changes, giving fans a chance to
discuss the big engines with friendly trainmen. Most were dismayed
to see the ramshackle units back in service, however a few admitted
they missed their pulling power. One engineman decried the rough riding
qualities of the six-axle trucks, but liked the quieter cabs: "Those
damned General Motors units have a turbo blasting away right behind
your head!"
Given the poor condition of the 25 year-old locomotives, many failed
almost immediately, although six remained active until August 1995
when CP retired them for good. Despite a bare-bones maintenance policy
for the fleet, M-636 4743 survived in relatively good cosmetic and
mechanical condition--it's now working for the Delaware Lackawanna
Railroad in Pennsylvania--to ensure a dignified end for the six-axle
MLW era on CP. When it was finally over, railfans counted their blessings
in the form of many last-chance photos taken at places like Smiths
Falls, where it was possible to fully enjoy CP Rail's Alco reprieve.
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