CN 3120 arrives on My Hanley Spur Layout

Ordered way back in 2018, Rapido Trains' RS18's were finally constructed in China and shipped in the first full 40-foot container-load of product shipped across the Pacific. RS18's, Tempos and tumblers, oh my! One of these RS18's would eventually find its way to my basement. Way back in 1976, the prototype CN 3120 trailed CN 6533-6863 on a westbound passenger train at Kingston (top photo). My CN 3120 will be used mainly in local freight service:

Due to the number-specific choices on the Rapido webpage, there were no 3700's available. While some of the other number ranges in CN's 225-strong fleet, i.e. 3600's and 3800's spent time in the Maritimes, it was 3700's that trod the Kingston Sub. These are the units I would see operating between Toronto and Montreal, and between and around Belleville and Kingston. My notes contain sightings of 3706, 3708, 3742 and more. Not available. Next best choice was a 3100. Since these units were seen on CN and VIA passenger trains and CN local and road freights, they would fit my Hanley Spur roster just right. In fact, this unit would be the nucleus of my CN Hanley Spur roster!

Modelling the pre-freight-stripes era, a black wet-noodle unit would be the scheme of choice. When the long wait finally came to an end on September 24, and the well-packaged Rapido package arrived, the van-borne postal worker exclaimed that for once, a package was for me, not my wife! Now that's rare mileage! In these first three photos, the new unit is unboxed and working the Outer Station yard.

Reading the accompanying owner's manual, there were many LOL moments. Several pages on DCC stuff was not relevant to this DC operator. This is no 'traditional' unboxing video, but there is a video of the unit on its break-in run. As noted therein, conversion to X2F couplers was relatively easy! Just remove a coupler pocket screw, take out the pocket, open it and remove that troublesome Kadee-type coupler and replace it with a shiny, beautiful black X2F, pocket back in place and ready to couple!

Road-tripping! Letting 3120 traverse the layout! Emerging from under the River Street bridge.

Up-close and personal. The train is moving away from us, so the directional headlights and number boards are unlit in this photo (below). I will do some light weathering, but even my daughter was horrified that I would besmirch its black beauty with ruffinous road grime!

Down by the freight house.

At this point, I got to thinking there was NO bad photo angle for this unit, and NO way that even I could take a bad photo of it!

Leaving the freight shed and heading back to the Outer Station (below). Rapido Trains is to be congratulated (and has been!) for producing these ubiquitous units, these roadswitcher representatives, these MLW marvels!

Graphics guru and faithful Trackside Treasure reader Randy O'Brien sent two creative graphic greetings to commemmorate the first run. Thanks, Randy!

Running extra...

Rapido loves Canada and Canada loves Rapido. Except when they don't! If you have even a passing knowledge of Canadian character, in the arts, politics and even model railroading, it always includes 'eating our young' and having to 'go elsewhere to make it big'. 

There are Rapido boosters (and I don't mean B-units!) and Rapido detractors. And they often espouse polar opposite opinions about a topic in which the truth lies somewhere in-between. Hence this meme.

The pro- and anti-Rapido forces get exactly nowhere. So why do they keep doing it? Because they love doing it! And it's their right to do so.

Whether it be cost, production, ordering, quality, quantity, timeliness, delays, off-shore production, responsiveness, too much humour, etc. there are lots of points to argue. But why argue when none of us owns Rapido, very few of us work there, and many of us have already bought their products?

I enjoy slagging Rapido as much as I enjoy praising them. So I am in my own personal stalemate! I am not a 'Shronian' who maddeningly defends Rapido at all costs, as many do on social media. But I believe in giving credit where credit is due. 

And nobody, NOBODY, but Rapido got an RS-18 on my front step for me.

Early-1960's Canadian, Part 2

The second post in this series comprises images, courtesy of Reg Aitken, showing the Canadian operated by CP from Alberta west, into the Mountains. Part one has brought us into Alberta. We'll start with Medicine Hat, where a Dayliner is waiting on the station tracks:

Could this be Medicine Hat? The slides were not labelled nor received in order. Update: Yes - thanks to Jason Paul Sailer for the confirmation!

Clouds gathering at Banff as the tourist shuttle buses gather at trackside. Porters and the sleeping car conductor or trainman are attentively waiting at each vestibule:

Lake Louise, where a maroon heavyweight consist can be seen on the adjacent track. Hey Junior, get behind the line! Banff Park is the Park car.

Lake Louise's log-cabin station presents a healthy hike for those sleeping car passengers:

People pictures! Taken at a station stop, these kids are under Mom's watchful eye in what looks like a sleeping car:

"Let us out!", or "Look at those mountains!"

Hand-made signage showing the Spiral Tunnel trackage. Was this on a bus tour?

Details that will interest some readers. Canadian Pacific did not spend a lot of money adorning their stepboxes...

...perhaps to ensure the stepboxes matched the stainless steel on car exteriors and in vestibules.

The craggy precipices of Mount Dennis and Mount Stephen always provide an impressive backdrop for any CP train. Not the least of which of would be The Canadian in any era, replete with Chateau Jolliet, Manor and Chateau sleeping cars behind a diner:

Travelling near the tail-end has its advantages. Mount Burgess and Mount Field are to the northeast of the Park car at the east end of Field yard. Waterton Park is the Park car:

Mystery (to me) yard in mountains. Standard high-switchstand at left with oval CP mainline switch target and kerosene switch lamp!

Low clouds among the mountains at Revelstoke. Chateau Latour is behind the diner:

Details. Car number and beaver shield:

Running extra...

You like Classic Consists? Check out these CPR - Consist Pattern Records from the Streamliner/late steam era.

Six-month anniversary of starting my retirement adventure and loving it! Six months ago today I had our tickets in hand for our Western Swing. So many times since then I have found myself saying, "I wouldn't be doing [activity] right now were I still at work." Blogging always did fit in around the work schedule, however! Retirement 'gift' (as if it's not enough of a gift on its own!) arrived yesterday:

In an online Classic VIA Rail group to which I belong, there's an ongoing discussion about what constitutes the now-viewed-as-classic era of VIA. We ain't in it, but here's a classic look to a current scene. Today at Belleville, it's VIA No 51 Eng 6402:

Early-1960's CP Canadian, Part 1

It's been two years since I redneck-scanned the images in this two-part post. When I say redneck-scanned, I mean projecting the image on our hallway wall and taking a photo. These were not scanned in a proper slide scanner. OK, full disclosure over. These slides were shared with me by Reg Aitken. Three Kodak carousels, in fact. These images represent a two-way trip across Canada in 1962-64. The uncaptioned slides were given, by a lady who took them so many decades ago, to a photography club to which Reg belonged, and he knew I'd like to see them. More about Reg below. For now, we're crossing from Ontario into Quebec at Ottawa (top photo, likely taken from the Park car). Notice the road traffic in both directions on the bridge! This Part 1 post will take us from Ottawa to Calgary. Part 2 is Alberta into the Mountains! 

Many stops along this trip were documented with interesting platform views of the train, stations and servicing. A white-jacketed porter stands by on the eastward leg at Chalk River (above) as a passenger pays absolutely no attention to any approaching movements on the station track!

Sudbury's water tower looms on the lunar horizon as head-end traffic is handled on an adjacent track by fire engine-red CP baggage wagons. Manor and Park cars bring up the rear. There is a lot of boxcar red in these photos! Westward, the drumhead has some steamy subterfuge as stepboxes and porters line the platform.

Around Lake Superior. This westbound consist has two baggage-dormitories and three former U-series 14-section tourist sleeping cars on the head-end. Use of the U-series cars in the June-October high season lasted into 1965.

This is always the first glimpse of mighty Superior, and I had the same impulse in 1986, taking a photo of VIA's Canadian on this same curve.

 Thunder Bay/Fort William window-washing (above) and platform view (below).

Ignace, probably:

Cleaning the dome windows. No scissor-lift in use here (above). Winnipeg window-washing:

The train has been cut. Power is at right (above) and left (below). Looking west at Winnipeg, Park car and a couple of sleepers are in the distance:

Portage la Prairie, eastbound:

Calgary westbound, the sky filling with Dayliner smoke:

I had to wonder if the nuns make a habit of walking on the platform...

 Calgary, eastbound train view with Palliser Hotel in the background:

The oft-photographed Robin Hood Flour view to the west of the station. Forty-foot boxcars and Geep-led freight frame the scene:

  Sleeper views with Chateau Radisson in foreground:

One more tail-end glint view:

Reg Aitken was known in Kingston as a photographer, artist, and generally a gregarious guy. Reg died unexpectedly last week, and this post is some small tribute to his generosity. This was not the first time that Reg gave me photos to share on my blog. I published his photos in previous posts from 2015 and just last year. He also sent me a steady stream of those humorous emails and images - the last a mere five days before his untimely demise.

Years ago, Reg worked at the local Robinson-Holder photofinishing outlet - the one we patronized when it cost probably $25 to develop 24 prints. We were regulars. The staffers were John (Donovan), Terry (Gretzky) and Reg (the Explorer). John resembled the Donovan character on the Lou Grant TV series; Terry in a way, The Great One; and Reg with his ample frame and ample beard some early-Canadian explorer of Canada's Northwest. Or so we thought. My wife inadvertently called Terry by his nickname once, unwittingly thinking his surname was actually Gretzky!

Reg invariably ended his emails with four words. In some way, they still apply to Reg and I'll close with them, 

Keep well. Talk soon, Reg.