Saturday, January 21, 2017

Postscript: Locking the Door at Lachute

After posting photos taken by my cousins of the last Dayliner through Lachute on November 14, 1981, I was happy to hear from Ian Walker. Turns out Ian was at the Lachute station that same morning, returning in the evening for the last Ottawa-bound train.
Before making the Lachute station stop, there was a meet to attend to with daily freight CP No 85. The Dayliner took the siding (above) The MLW-led freight appears (below):
After backing out and taking the main, it was on to Montreal. Engineer Ab Sabouirin takes the RDC-1 through the back streets of Lachute:

That evening, Ab headed back north with 6102, after 6128 was involved in that untimely collision in the morning. Heading back to Ottawa at Lachute:

Conductor Jean-Jacques Sirois worked the morning run (above) and the conductor for the evening run was Robert Charlefour (August 1977 photo with CP hockey-stick face Budd).
Thanks to Ian Walker for sharing these photographs and being there to also document these train-offs. Here's the front page of the Lachute Watchman newspaper as posted to Facebook by Linda Parker: 

Running extra...

VIA has released LRC car 3356 in a Canada 150 wrap, including some online communities in various colours. For some reason, Chatham has always loomed large on VIA's radar! Jordan McCallum photos at VIA's Toronto Maintenance Centre - thanks, Jordan!
VIA 3356 was eastbound on VIA No 668 on January 20, returning on today's No 65.

Robert Ramsay recently posted a couple of intriguing videos to Youtube. The first shows CN's Super Continental at Winnipeg. The second shows CP's (and VIA's) Canadian. Don't you think the Canadian looks the best with a 'one of each' consist?
Malcolm Peakman shared a photo of Toronto's prototype Crosstown articulated car on its way to Bombardier at Millhaven aboard CN Belleville turn No 518. Thanks, Malcolm!

4 comments:

  1. Looking forward to seeing one of those wraps. I was at Ottawa Station this morning but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, sadly. Great postscript. That Lachute train station was a real looker.

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  2. Lachute, Shawinigan and maybe others with that design. Keep an eye out for 3356!
    Thanks for your comment, Michael.
    Eric

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  3. Archives!
    Thanks for posting the link to this article on the Facebook Group.
    My family and I rode the CP Dayliner from Ottawa to Lachute on Christmas Eve 1960.
    My mother's family were the Barrons who lived in a large house near the North River. She recalled many happy Christmases spent there when she was a child so she wanted one last trip before her mother would pass away. My Dad found trying to drive there in a snowstorm too dangerous so we turned around and returned home. However, he was able to book seats on the train to Ottawa and the Dayliner to Lachute. I recall it being bitter cold and snowy in Ottawa. We had a layover in Ottawa and spent the time sitting in the lobby of the Chateau Laurier. It being Christmas Eve, the dayliner was nearly empty by the time we arrived in Lachute. Thanks for these memories Eric.

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  4. And thanks for adding your warm memories, Robert! I had the opportunity to ride in mid-1981 from Montreal to Lachute return. My cousins met me at the station in Lachute and I stayed at their farm on Lachute Road.

    Eric

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