Railroading In Atlantic Canada (Branchline & Way Freight Operations)

Alco/MLW diesel locomotives have until recently done much of the branchline work in Atlantic Canada. By 1998 all had gone and GP40-2Ws and sometimes SD40/-2s were seen.

Today there are fewer of these types of operations since many branchlines have been abandoned or sold and where necessary a mainline freight unit may stop to pickup loads. However there is still regular service between Halifax and Dartmouth with train 505 using yard locomotives or sometimes mainline power.

Atlantic Canadian "workhorses" were the RS10 (built 1954-6) & the much more numerous and longer lived RS18 built between 1956 & 1960 by MLW. Here we see CP RS10s 8599 at the Saint John shops on 9 October 1977. All CN RS10s were retired by 1970 but the last unit survived on CP until 1984.
CP operated with short hood forward and here we see the rear of RS10 8570 on the same day and at the same location but in the "pacman" livery. Note absence of hood-mounted bell on both RS10 units.	Here we see the front (note bell) of CP RS18 8763 at Fredericton on 18 August 1985. Many of these units were later rebuilt and chop nosed
Rebuilt RS18s 1820 & 1818 (formerly 8759 & 8735) haul empty Ashley Drew Northern boxcars destined for Calais ME through Upper Milltown NB enroute from McAdam to St.Stephen where they are shunted onto the international bridge for collection by the paper mill's switcher.	For comparison we see the rear (no bell) of Canadian National RS18 3684 switching Ocean Terminals in Halifax on 8 August 1990 when it was 32 years old.
Two RS18s (3675 & 3663) and an RSC13 (1730) are at the head of a freight to PEI approaching Sackville NB at 10:30 am on 24 February 1974. Most of the wagons are empty potato reefers and 1730 is returning to the island after attention at the Moncton shops.
Here Canadian National RS18 3624 switches container flats (COFCs) at Ocean Terminals in April 1973. Note the bell on the front of the long hood of the RS18 indicating that this is the front of the CN unit (in contrast to CP units). Also note the roof details - radiator fan, turbocharger exhaust and raised central cover (not on all units) triple horn and radio antenna. Also in the picture is an S12, an outside frame boxcar several wooden cabooses and the grain terminals with the flour mill.
This RS 18 - 3834 - is fitted with a winterisation hatch that keeps snow out of the exhaust fan and allows some of the warm air to be recirculated. Several RS18 had these hatches applied. This unit was also fitted with dynamic brakes as shown by the numerous grills on the left-hand side of the short hood. It is seen at Rockingham yards in March 1986.
The CN branch lines with lighter track were serviced in northern New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island by six axle RSC13s and in Nova Scotia with RSC24s. To the right we see CN RSC13 1703 with a local freight leaving Chatham, New Brunswick on 3 September 1974. The last of these was retired in 1976. Below we see one of the four RSC24s - 1803 - outside the Bridgewater NS shed in July 1973.
They were replaced by RS18s which had received the six wheel A-1-A trucks from the retired RSC13 & RSC24 units. These locomotives are often called RS18Ms or RSC14s since they were derated to 1400hp from 1800hp. Here we see RSC14 1754 shunting potato boxcars at Summerside PEI on 9 June 1982. 1754 is preserved in operating condition on the Salem & Hillsborough Railroad in New Brunswick . 13 years later, RSC14 1750 is in Dartmouth on 28 April 1995, shortly before its retirement. Note the dynamic brake grilles. The last units survived on CN until 1997 and two were sold to Acinox in Cuba.
M420Ws initially assisted on mainline freights and operated in multiple on many branchlines. Here M420W 2550 is paired with M636 2334 hauling a string of new grain hoppers westbound through Bedford NS at 1:05 pm on 7 February 1980.
Canadian National's M420Ws were built between 1973 & 1976. Here we see 2570 - one of the last batch to be built - at Fairview in July 1982. By 1981 MLW had stopped producing M420s and had introduced an improved version called the HR412. The units looked very similar to the M420Ws but on the rear of the long hood the radiators were larger and more like those on an RS18.
Here we see HR412 2582 at Fairview on 17 September 1984. Only 10 of this model were ever built - all for Canadian National. They were retired by 1998 but some were sold to shortlines.
As the RS18s were retired or rebuilt, M420s and HR412s, appeared as road switchers (for which the driver's side window was extended outwards and the fuel capacity was reduced to lighten the locomotive - they were renumbered from the 2500 series to the 3500 series by changing the 2 to a 3). 3539 with its extended side window is at Fairview roundhouse - note turntable on left - at 12:30 pm on 10 April 1987. Six years later the changes to 2555 are clearly visible at Truro NS on 16 October 1993. The filler around the window is a different shade of orange as is the paint underneath the 3. Note also that the twin headlight fixture has been changed but not repainted and that this unit has had ditch light added.