Two for Tuesday: Getting CP Heritage, Sort of

Canadian Pacific’s maroon and gray heritage locomotives have been around a while but I’ve had no luck in seeing one, let alone photographing it. When it comes to CP heritage units, my luck has been so bad that I haven’t even had a near miss in getting one.

Everyone and their brother, it seems, has photographed a CP heritage unit, but I haven’t.

My luck changed dramatically last Sunday. I was standing on the platform of a railroad park by the former New York Central depot in Chesterton, Indiana, next to the Chicago Line of Norfolk Southern.

An eastbound was approaching, which turned out to be the 34J, a manifest freight that comes off the Indiana Harbor Belt in Blue Island, Illinois, and runs to Elkhart, Indiana.

From a distance I could tell the lead unit was not a run of the mill NS locomotive.

It was a clean Canadian Pacific locomotive. That in and of itself is nothing out of the ordinary. But as the train bore down on me I suddenly noticed there was something different about the trailing unit. It wasn’t run of the mill CP.

It was maroon and gray with block lettering No. 7016. And with that my CP heritage drought abruptly ended. Well, sort of.

My find comes with a few caveats. The 7016 was trailing and not leading. That is at best a consolation prize.

Second, the weather was far from ideal for photography. It was a cloudy day with flat light. Many rail photographers would not have bothered to have gone out under such conditions.

Third, seeing my first CP heritage unit caught me off guard. I’m amazed I was able to get what I did of this unit. But, hey, I got it.

I just hope that I don’t have to wait several years to catch another CP heritage leading in better light and for which I am better prepared.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

CP to Field 10 Heritage Units in Tuscan Red, Gray, Gold

Canadian Pacific released this photo of the first two SD70ACU units to wear the Tuscan red and gray livery.

Although Canadian Pacific owns no track in Ohio, its locomotives do make regular appearances in Northeast Ohio, particularly on intermodal run-through trains Q165/Q166 on CSX between Chicago and Buffalo, New York.

So you might want to be on the lookout for one of the 10 heritage units CP will be putting on the rails.

The carrier said this week that it is repainting 10 rebuilt SD70ACU locomotives into its former Tuscan red, gray, and gold paint livery.

The first units to receive that treatment were Nos. 7010 and 7015. The heritage units will be in the 7010 to 7019 series.

The remaining eight heritage locomotives will painted by the end of this year.

Trains magazine reported on Monday that the heritage units that Nos. 7010 to 7014 will have script lettering on the long hood while Nos. 7015 to 7019 will have block lettering.

CP has ordered 60 SD70ACUs, which will be rebuilt in Kentucky by Progress Rail using stored SD9043MACs.

The first four rebuilt units, Nos. 7000-7003, recently entered revenue service in British Columbia.

The first two heritage units are expected to be moved from Kentucky to Canada within the week.

It is the second time that CP has reached back into his history when repainting its locomotives. In 2017 it revived its beaver logo.

Trains reported that the heritage units are primarily expected to see duty in western Canada so they might be rare visitors in Northeast Ohio.

CP in the early 2000s painted GP38-2 No. 3084 into the Tuscan livery and the FP9s used on business and excursion trains also wear that scheme.