Caption:
Any Sunday,
Walk into the office,
On the counter was a basket with paper work for Visitors: Sign the Release, grab a hard hat,
Then stroll around...
...like you own the place....
MLW 1959 built FPA-4 VIA #6773 awaits some attention,
in the background a MLW 1960 built RS-18m, permanently assigned & painted for CN Tempo service CN #315x, and leased to VIA.
Inside the CN Spadina roundhouse – indeed a hallowed place – January 23, 1983 Kodachrome by S.Danko.
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Great memories of the “good old days”. I did that many many times.
That is an incredible backstory to this great photo
Is that a white swither in the middle between the tempo RS18 and 6773?
Nice photo thanks for sharing.
The cabs of the RS-18m, Tempo service units 3150 – 3155, were paint off white.
sdfourty
That’s a great photo, wow, and brings back memories too. My uncle, Cecil Preston, who spent many years with the CPR designed the pain scheme for VIA’s fleet. One day in about the same time as this photo was taken I too visited this same shop with a train buff friend who was a teacher from my school. You’re absolutely right, you just signed the waiver and wore a blue helmet and freely saw everything. I recall standing in the cab of an LRC which was relatively new at the time, plus many other pieces of equipment. I’ll never forget it!
The workers there were really friendly and quite relaxed, especially when we visited (on Sunday). They would talk to us, offer a cup of coffee and answer questions. They even gave my friend an old Bombardier LRC engineer’s operating manual as a souvenir before we left.
What a difference compared to today! Now that lawyers got involved, it’s razor wire fencing, cameras, and a keep out sign. We were lucky to have experienced those wonderful times!