Caption: GR12-x 946 (GMDL 1-1960 #A1842,) the newest locomotive on CN's Newfoundland roster, bears down on Dannys Road as it approaches the scheduled stop in St. Georges, Mileage 459.7. It's near the scheduled 1.23 p.m. on October 8, 1968, the Sunday of the Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend. With friends Ted Wickson and Terry Thompson, I had driven overnight from Ontario in Terry's new Volkswagen to catch the ferry to Port Aux Basques and begin several days of chasing the Caribou and other trains. Our successful chase was delayed without apparent reason that afternoon. Thirty years later, I learned during a slide show in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the train's engineer, Kevin Bourne, in attendance that they had paused to conduct a runpast for a visiting vice-president of General Motors Canada. Only in Newfoundland! Also on board that day was a large railfan tour group organized by the Scotian Railroad Society of Halifax. Train 102, the Caribou, would pass this way until Wednesday, July 2, 1969. Locomotive 946 was trailed this day by the 931, heater car 2951 and 13 cars, including the business car Avalon. Terra Transport sold the 946 sold to the Ferrocarril de Nicaragua as their 907 "Diriangen" in June 1989, becoming the "Cocafer" in 1991 and moving to the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia in Chile as their 1426 in May 1994.

Barely visible in the background is the overhead tramway of the Atlantic Gypsum Company, which from 1952 to 1990, transported gypsum from the mine near Flat Bay to the trans-loading point on St. George's Bay. For more views of this train and others throughout Newfoundland during the years 1967 through 1988, please contact me at bill.linley@gmail.com about my Morning Sun book: Trackside Newfoundland. As St. George's is home to many pleasant train watching memories and the grandparents of renowned author Ken Pieroway (Rails Across and Around the Rock,) this one's for you, Ken.