Caption: Where Alco’s once roamed. Ottawa is a far cry these days as far as the railway city it once was. I have fond memories of the few trips I made here years ago to photograph Ottawa Central’s former CP MLW’s. Deep regrets that I never chased them along the Ottawa River valley as well. Sadly OC’s parent company Quebec Railway corporation suffered financial woes many years ago and CN took back what it leased out. The MLW’s were retired and the line through the valley ripped up. What remained was a few local customers and some trans loading at Walkley yard. Work that a lone GP38 can handle. Back in 2010 some remnants of the OC still remained here in the form of signage, but not much else. The engine house still stands but sees little use. CN GP38 4799 sits with a few cars awaiting the next call to duty but other than that all is quiet and the yard is fairly overgrown and empty. I believe today a single unit is still enough to handle Ottawa's freight traffic.