Caption: ST. JOHN'S SCENE - Travelling with four University of Toronto friends - including the late James A. Brown - to celebrate Canada's Centennial by riding Newfoundland's endangered passenger train 'Caribou', John Freyseng of Ontario was able to capture some amazing narrow gauge images. From high atop the South Side Hills, he photographs a downward view of the busy St. John's yard and the colorful homes after disembarking from a 22-hour overnight journey on CN Train No. 102, the eastbound 'Caribou'. The NF210 diesels are mostly repainted in the new noodle image but yet a handful will still remain in the old green and gold paint for another two years. The much smaller G8 to the right will have at least two of her five sisters wear the olive green until late 1978. The yard contains a mix of standard steel 'Mainland' 40-foot boxcars and the smaller narrow gauge outside braced ones, built specifically for Newfoundland operations. The Victorian era station, built with granite from the famous Gaff Topsails, opened in 1903 in an area that was reclaimed from the headwaters of the Waterford River and the St. John's Harbor. Once again, his friend Jim who while standing alongside him, captured pretty much an identical image. Today, nearly all is gone and the Pitts Memorial Highway Overpass intersects this scene but the station survives as the Railway Coastal Museum. The last scheduled train to pull into this yard was Terra Transport Extra 944 East on September 29, 1988. More of 1967 John Freyseng photos can be seen in my upcoming TRAINS OF NEWFOUNDLAND, to be released by Flanker Press on September 9, 2022.
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Just amazing. It really is.
Thanks Arnold. None of these great images would exist if not for the dedication of men like John and James A. Brown. My hat is off to them.
A fantastic scene. Nice work John.
Wonderful. Great work.