Caption: TH&B Rock Train bound for Port Maitland, seen from the Mountain Brow, as it approaches the underpass at old Hwy 20 on its climb to Vinemount. TH&B 74 leads the usual assortment of power.....namely whatever is available. The GP7s (72-77)and 9s(401-403), acquired by CP in 1987, underwent conversion to the CP roster, emerging as 1682-1690 in 1988. I believe this rock train was a regular unit June of 1984.
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Beautiful Arnold.
Would of been a great catch at Dewitt Rd and Vinemout. The sound show must of been great!
Thank you. Bill
For some forgotten reason I did not chase this train over to Vinemount. But did see numerous others during this time frame. The roar of a Rock train straining to reach the summit was unforgettable, and to this day seeing those CP ACs climbing with ease just doesn’t do much for me. Glad you like this image.
Another great Mooney-On-High shot.
Caboose and everything.
Man, that is cool! Great photo, Arnold.
Neat vantage point. Those two SW’s would be, I believe, 52 and 57(?). They were the only two to go through the TH&B’s rebuild program before CP canned it on them, and had MU installed so they could work with other units on freights.
Thanks, Mr. Encyclopedia. I will be pouring over my other Rock Train photos to see which switchers were involved as almost every move had them. I do recall #57 on most.
I was just thinking what you wrote about them straining to make the grade. Great capture.
NW-2 #51 and #52 had MU Control.
SW-9 #57 also had MU Control.
#52 was out with a main bearing failure in 1980.
Units had rear MU receptacle only as done by the TH&B shops.
After the CPR takeover. Units #51 and #57 were sent to CPR in Toronto to have the receptacles added to the front of the locomotives to make them more flexible.
Bill.
Thanks for your input, Bill. Information provided copied on the back of my 4×6 print.
Gave up trusting my brain……..
Would’ve enjoyed hearing the sound of the struggle up to Vinemount! Living near this now, between the Hwy 20 Overpass and New Mountain Road, I rarely hear any rail traffic when I am home.
The whole train in a single shot, not often possible, and from an elevated viewpoint, marvellous.
That’s a fantastic and likely impossible shot to get today. I count 65 cars plus a van. Very likely they were around 1hp/ton, maybe less. The sound would’ve been memorable.