Welcome Visitor. First time here? Like what you see? Bookmark us for when you are bored, and check out 'top shots' and 'fantastic (editors choice)' in the menu above, you won't be dissapointed. Join our community! click here to sign up for an account today. Sick of this message? Get rid of it by logging-in here.



We've all seen our fair share of quick-fix replacement number boards; some are done quite well while others leave a lot to be desired. The classic cardboard and duct tape type come to mind.  CN 4726 has a pretty ugly replacement number board on the conductor's side.  It hasn't inspired me to go out of my way to photograph it until yesterday when I heard 580 blowing for Stanley Street when leaving work.  Upon reviewing those photos I noticed something interesting about that replacement number board.  The "6" looks like the font CP uses on their number boards.  Zooming in on the photo you can see the weird looking "4" was clearly made from a "1", and there's a faded "8" where the "7" is painted.  1800's were CP RS18u's.  So how did a CP RS18u number board end up on a CN GP38-2?  Then I recalled seeing a former New Brunswick East Coast Railway RS18u heading to Woodcrest (IL) for disposition after CN had reacquired the NBEC.  Looking closer at the number board, it looks like "1838" behind the crude "4726".  Sure enough NBEC 1838 was one of the RS18u's that went to Woodcrest and was scrapped!  So a little piece of a CP RS18u lives on.  Now that ugly looking number board is pretty interesting!  And if you're wondering why Woodcrest didn't just make a proper number board (assuming 4726 got the number board there), that's a good question!
Copyright Notice: This image ©Rob Smith all rights reserved.



Caption: We've all seen our fair share of quick-fix replacement number boards; some are done quite well while others leave a lot to be desired. The classic cardboard and duct tape type come to mind. CN 4726 has a pretty ugly replacement number board on the conductor's side. It hasn't inspired me to go out of my way to photograph it until yesterday when I heard 580 blowing for Stanley Street when leaving work. Upon reviewing those photos I noticed something interesting about that replacement number board. The "6" looks like the font CP uses on their number boards. Zooming in on the photo you can see the weird looking "4" was clearly made from a "1", and there's a faded "8" where the "7" is painted. 1800's were CP RS18u's. So how did a CP RS18u number board end up on a CN GP38-2? Then I recalled seeing a former New Brunswick East Coast Railway RS18u heading to Woodcrest (IL) for disposition after CN had reacquired the NBEC. Looking closer at the number board, it looks like "1838" behind the crude "4726". Sure enough NBEC 1838 was one of the RS18u's that went to Woodcrest and was scrapped! So a little piece of a CP RS18u lives on. Now that ugly looking number board is pretty interesting! And if you're wondering why Woodcrest didn't just make a proper number board (assuming 4726 got the number board there), that's a good question!

Photographer:
Rob Smith [379] (more) (contact)
Date: 09/15/2020 (search)
Railway: Canadian National (search)
Reporting Marks: CN 4726 (search)
Train Symbol: CN 580 (search)
Subdivision/SNS: Not Provided
City/Town: Brantford (search)
Province: Ontario (search)
Share Link: http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=42791
Click here to Log-in or Register and add your vote.

22 Favourites
Photographers like Gold.Log-in or Register to show appreciation
View count: 1614 Views

Share this image on Facebook, Twitter or email using the icons below
Photo ID: 41577

Map courtesy of Open Street Map

Full size | Suncalc



All comments must be positive in nature and abide by site rules. Anything else may be removed without warning.

2 Comments
  1. I like the possibility your caption presents. Most interesting indeed.

  2. Excellent sleuthing, Rob!

Railpictures.ca © 2006-2024 all rights reserved. Photographs are copyright of the photographer and used with permission
Terms and conditions | About us