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Caption: I am still having trouble coming to grips with the fact these F40s are now over 25 years old. To me, they are still the "new junk" that came along to knock off our beloved F units; so popular that hoards of American fans came to pay us a visit in order to spend a day shooting them before they were gone. Here, late train #75 spots two new units at the beginning of their life; VIA 6443 and 6445; plenty of power for this train. This replaced the A-B-B-A setups we were so in love with back then. When this train came by; I wondered why they were not consecutive numbers........well, the next westbound, #77, had the 6444 as power. The 6444 was wrecked in that horrible accident in Burlington in 2012, but these two units pictured soldier on.
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I remember seeing 6444 go through Merriton half an hour before the crash…came home and was in shock to see it on CTV news.
They looked much better before the “Canada” decals and certainly better than the advertising wraps.
Docta: That must have been a real eye-opener!!Myself, I drove Hwy 403 right by the incident probably just minutes after it happened, around 1545, as I always look over that way. Saw flashing red lights and thought perhaps it was just a cop with a speeder. Didn’t have scanner or radio on; heard nothing about it until the 6PM news.
I agree, CdnTPhotog:…the plain and clean original paint style was very striking compared to the cluttered look it became.
While no doubt we all miss our beloved GMD F/FP’s, please don’t slag the F40′s. Reason? Compare the classic EMD angular geometry to that of VIA’s newest power: Homely, God Awful sounding GE P42′s. God Willing, the rebuilt F40′s will out live the P42′s!!
Ih yes, Stuart: The ungawdly ugly things the locals around Bayview refer to as the “Mud Missiles”. I don’t even bother to photograph them. Just barely better in appearance, and only because of their paint, than those rolling wrecks called Amtrak that I see most mornings.
Before someone starts jumping up and down, we are referring to these units strictly regarding their photogenic side, not their actual performance.
Indeed your comments were right on the money.
They look like they are fresh out of Oxford St.