Caption: Meeting at Malton: After departing Bramalea GO station, our eastbound GO train on the main (#260, Bramalea-Union) overtakes CN #577 running along the north service track near Malton, which had departed Malport Yard not too long ago and is seen making its way down the Weston Sub to interchange traffic with CP at West Toronto. Even though we have two stops to make at Malton and Etobicoke North, our GO train will easy outpace #577, and it'll likely stay on the north service track until Woodbine East before taking the main and making a run for the CN-CP connecting track at West Toronto (CN Keele). CN #577's real treat was it usually pulled a pair of GP40-2LW's as power, which were becoming difficult to find at the time as CN's once mighty fleet of 278 units had been whittled down to just 60 or so, with many in need of an overhaul and new paint. Sister units 9411 (in ratty zebra stripes) and 9410 (in fresh zebra stripes) handle the usual CP-bound traffic, including a cut of red CP boxes at the head end. GP40-2LW 9410 was the prize unit to catch at the time: for some unknown reason it had been repainted in the long-dead zebra stripe livery at Transcona Shops almost a year earlier, and this fresh repaint was hanging around the Toronto area working freight and local assignments.

Even though Metrolinx had not yet bought the line, the local Weston Sub switcher (CN #579 IIRC) was a night job and the only other freight the line saw was #577 making its daily run down to West Toronto and back to interchange traffic with CP (MacMillan Yard via Malport to CP West Toronto and back). #577 usually ran in the afternoon as passenger traffic was at a minimum, with the exception of the afternoon GO "Bramalea Flip" runs which were easy enough to avoid. However if things got delayed, the CN RTC would have his work cut out for him trying to fit in #577 just before or during the PM GO rush and get it out of the way before anything got delayed (and things could get really FUBARed for Georgetown line commuters if it were to break down and stall on the single track section between Rexdale and West Toronto, which it occasionally did).