Caption: It's been noted that the reliability of many of Amtrak's P42DC's seems to be starting to go downhill. Granted there's been numerous occasions recently in which the Maple Leaf has seen a helper Amtrak unit. Amtrak 121 led the Toronto bound Maple Leaf last night, but was unable to get going in the morning to take it back to the U.S. It left Toronto over four hours late, and spent another hour at Aldershot. Where the Via F40PH-2 was placed on to lead is unknown to me. A rare occasion at best, the last time I remember seeing a Via unit on the Maple Leaf was about eight years ago. Multiple occasions were also noted in February 2011 requiring a Via helper, although if it has happened since then, it has gone under the radar.

Via 6419 was called to aid the Maple Leaf on this day. With Via no longer a regular visitor in Niagara, this was a treat. By the time the mess was sorted out, the sun had long since moved into the west, meaning a nose shot was not an option.

6419 was taken off on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, and Amtrak 110 backed across to take 121 and the Maple Leaf to Albany. 6419 would be placed on the rear on Via 98 with Amtrak 100 leading. The Maple Leaf ended up leaving Niagara Falls almost seven hours late. And yes, it did have passengers on board. Not fun... Word was it got into Penn Station in New York City around 5am.

Most of Amtrak's P42DC's got a mid life rebuild after 10 years, meaning the majority are overdue for another or retirement. Amtrak has stated intentions to purchase new locomotives, but that would mean deliveries are at the very least a couple years away. Until then, the increasingly ailing P42's may draw more frequent interesting lashups onto the Maple Leaf. Dual Genesis lashups started to go from rare to occasional last summer, and the P32AC-DM units started to reappear on the Leaf after being mostly absent for a few years. Amtrak 514 also paid quite likely the first visit of a P32-8BWH to Niagara recently. A typically mundane train might be worth keeping up to tabs with for the next little while.