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Caption: LABRADOR LINESMEN. Following an early morning return run to Emeril Junction to perform some switching and pick up cars that were dropped by a Northbound train from Sept-Iles the night before, QNS&L #516 and her consist are secured in the yard at Labrador City by the crew. Seasoned Engineman Joseph Hynes was accompanied on this particular run by the then Junior Engineman Chris Pike, both of whom are true professionals in every sense of the word, as well as being the epitome real railway men. For Joe and Chris, railroading is not simply just a career but rather a way of life. As for the nearly mint 516, the SD70ACe built in December of 2012 by EMDC along with sisters 514, 515, and 517, was ready to commence her third winter in the sometimes harsh and rugged northern climate of Labrador.
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Ery nice pic ken i am sure i will see a book sometime n the future of quebec north shore and labrador railway
Ya gotta be rugged to live up in that part of our country, and be a railroader as well.
Thank you Joe and Mr. Mooney! The QNS&L is a remarkable railway and no doubt due in part by men like Joe & Chris. I was fortunate in 1993 to ride in a Dome Car (that was once part of the former Wabash Cannonball) out of Labrador City to Sept-Iles, an experience I will always cherish as the passenger train no longer goes to Lab City itself. At the time, my return trip was on a train with two SD-40′s, and seventeen passenger cars, most of which were stainless steel but also included former CN black & grey, VIA blue and burgundy QNS&L. What a colourful consist!
Kenneth,
I’m curious. What is the point of the C Clamp hooked up to the airline on the 516?
According to Engineer Hynes, this was a practice adopted when the QNS&L went to a single man crew in order to secure a parked train. The clamp, also called the ‘Hand of God’, has its glad hand part hooked to the glad hand on the train’s line with the angle cock on the loco opened. If for any reason the train moves, it will go into emergency braking. Thanks Joe, for providing this information!