MEC407 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 30, 2022 2:07 pm
Thanks! Glad to know I wasn't imagining it.
You definitely weren't imagining it! I remember seeing spanking-new SD75s and Dash 9s in the late 1990s running past where I lived in Waterville, QC.
I didn't start taking pictures myself until after the SLQ M-420's arrived (I was only 12 at the time) but was brought back to that era this fall after receiving a huge batch of photos from local railfan George Matheson, largely from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Just about every road unit in CN's fleet at the time made an appearance on 393/394 at some point, including Dash-2W units, newly remanufactured SD40u's, SD50-60F's, SD70-75i's, Dash 8-40CM's and Dash 9's. (I've posted several hundred of George's photos on my own website).
The prospect of seeing SD70MAC's is quite exciting as those are among the only modern common EMD or GE units that I haven't photographed myself. The stability of the fleet - with many of the same 40-series units running for the last 20 years - contrasts against how variable it was at the beginning: CN units before 1999, M-420's and the two GP11's from 1999 to 2001, the LLPX "yellowbird" GP38-2's in 2001, the fleet of former Rock Island GP40's (half in yellow, half in orange) in 2002-2003, then the road slugs in late 2003.
CN9634 wrote:Fun fact, CN provided them an option for those of GP40s but budget won out and they got the Alcos which lasted til GWI takeover.
Interesting! I know the GP40-2L(W) units were a common sight on lease in 1999, but I didn't know they were an option as opposed to the MLW's. Ironically, one of the regular units now seen on 393/394 is a former CN GP40-2L(W), which very likely ran on the line in CN paint 25 years ago. Not many of the MLW units left running anywhere at this point!