CN Canadian Forces move to Alberta

CN's Counter Street team track in Kingston was the loading point for Canadian Forces (CF) military vehicles destined Rendez-Vous 87 (RV87) in Wainwright, Alberta. On March 31, 1987, 9570-5031-5440 lifted 61 cars of 1 Canadian Signal Regiment (1 CSR) vehicles west, a little after 8 p.m., caboose 79917 tagging along. Two days earlier, vehicles including deuce-and-a-half MLVW's, GMC 5/4-ton signals trucks and trailers were staged at CFB Kingston, arriving via city streets at the team track, waiting in serpentine strings for loading to take place:

It's a Radio Relay truck, part of the LTACS communication system.

Area level communications between brigade and division headquarters 

along with select other organizations like support battalions. Only 

two dozen of these in the entire Forces. Inside the 

canvas portion are 2 gas generators, antennas 

and other support equipment for the detachment. 

In the pod is the comms gear, coffee pot and 

under the pod are the 2 50ft masts.

Circus-style loading at the single ramp meant that cuts of up to 10 cars were loaded at the ramp and pulled (right track, below) before being replaced with cuts of empty cars (left track, below):

GP-9 4506 was on hand to shuffle cuts of cars. When chocked and chained, the cars were shifted to the siding as Queens, where the train was assembled, with final assembly taking place March 31.

Loaded Trailer-Train flats are pulled down the west leg of the wye at Queens. The trucks already have a good coating of mud on their tires, from driving around the muddy team track loading area. Soon it'll be Alberta mud:

Interestingly, 4506 was the third unit on CN train 318, bringing flat cars to Kingston for CF loading. Fifteen of the empty flat cars derailed spectacularly. Read more about the immediate aftermath and cleanup of the derailment in this post.

Here's more information on RV87:

The aim of RV 87 is to exercise selected regular force formations and units of Mobile Command in a general war setting up to and including Division level and in all phases of war: advance, attack, defence, and withdrawal. The exercise will provide the type of intensity of activities which will allow commanders and trooops of all the combat area to confirm their mastery of basic and collective battle skills. Combat service support units will be stretched to the limit to provide the logistic support and administrative serives required/ RV 87 will be conducted in three phases of training:

Phase One: 12 April - 6 May 87

The first phase will be training conducted progressively up to the brigade group level. It will include the armoured corps cougar gunnery competition, artillery and field engineer training, the use of helicopters and combined training of the infantry, armour, artillery and engineers. During this phase, each major element of the brigade groups will learn to work with the others. This phase is designed to instil confidence and perfect the cohesiveness of each brigade group.

Phase Two: 7 May - 12 May 87

Phase Two will be a Divisional level field training exercise called Exercise BOLD WARRIOR.The aim of this phase of training is to practise defence and attack techniques at Division level. To accomplish this, the two brigade groups (1 Canadian Brigade Group and the Special Service Force) will be grouped together against a controlled enemy based on the Canadian Airborne Regiment. The scenario is that the friendly force is in a defensive line against an aggressor force. The attacking aggressor force will be forced to fall back and regroup; the defenders will then take the initiative, thus exercising both sides in attacking and defending.

Phase Three: 16 May - 5 Jun 87

The final phase, called Exercise PRAIRIE VIPER will be a live-fire exercise. Three selected Battle Groups will each conduct a one-week period of live fire training consisting of a series of progressive exercises from troop/platoon to Battle Group. For this purpose, a Field Firing Centre will be established at CFB Suffield from the period 20 April - 15 June 87. This phase of training will emphasize live firing of all weapons available to a Battle Group, battle procedure, all-arms cooperation, advance and attack drills and control and application of fighter ground attack aircraft.

The Battle Group exercised during Phase Three is composed of the following elements:

1 Battle Group Headquarters (based either on an Infantry Battalion HQ or an Armoured Regiment HQ)

2 Infantry Companies

2 Armoured Squadrons

1 Armoured Recce Troop and/or

1 Infantry Recce Platoon

1 Morter Platoon

1 Armoured Defence Platoon

1 Pioneer Platoon

1 Engineer Field Troop

1 Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge

2 Artillery Batteries and

1 Forward Logistics Group for first line support

Here's some of my modelling of CF movements in HO scale using some Roco Minitanks models, appropriately camouflaged and guarded by an HO scale German shepherd:

Kitbashed 5/4-ton trucks:

and this scratchbuilt HOSMTDV (HO Scale Military Train Defender Vehicle) ready to bring its curiously threatening mix of half-track 50 cal. machine guns, APC turret guns and Sea Sparrow missiles to bear on any security threats along the line. Hell on rails!

Running extra...

Interesting discussion on Yahoogroups this week about the LRC operating outside the Corridor. It happened at least once - the LRC locomotive and coach demo'd with two CN coaches as far west as Winnipeg. Early VIA plans were for the LRC to operate on eastern and western services, which never happened in revenue service. The early poor serviceability of the LRC equipment likely accounted for the equipment historically staying close to Montreal and the east, and the use of service reps known as 'train riders'.

'Bus Rider' was a hit for Winnipeg's Guess Who. The Jets are returning to Winnipeg. Maybe they'll be called the Threshers, more agrarian and Canadian than Thrashers, which is the Georgia state bird - the brown thrasher. Maybe they can com-bine the two.

Don Cherry looked natty last night in a blue blazer designed by Leroy's Neon Products of Hamilton. During Coach's Corner, he asked Ron MacLean at least twice an agitated "WHAT?", and Don was his usual irascible self. Could 'Coach's Corner' also have been a part of VIA's Spadina coachyard in its day?