This Time I Was Not Upset

Early in November I saw the Canadian Pacific ES44AC No. 8781 was going to be heading east on CSX. It had recently been given an orange Hapag-Lloyd  Saint John Express scheme.

Ursula and I had stops to make in Willoughby. Around 12:30 p.m. it was reported near Cleveland so I decided to wait in Mentor at the parking lot of the restaurant in the former New York Central passenger station.

The sun was shining in the perfect spot for an eastbound. About 1 p.m. a headlight appeared. I did not have my camera but was going to use Ursula’s iPhone.

By not having it ready to shoot, I did not get a photo. The lighting was ideal and the locomotive was spotless. I think I was upset.

Just before Thanksgiving No. 8781 was leading a CSX train again and I saw a post that it was passing through Collinwood yard in Cleveland.

I immediately hopped in the car with my camera to head to Perry. The post on HU was not close to the actual time it was seen since the train passed me on the way. I think I was upset.

About 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday I saw a post that it had passed through LaGrange as the DPU on the I 166. However, its nose was facing west.

There was no sun, but I did not care. I went to Perry and waited. The only train I saw was the one I wanted. I was not upset.

Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

CP ‘Orange Crush’ Cruises Through Cleveland

On Friday Canadian Pacific ES44AC No. 8781, the Hapag-Lloyd unit – already nicknamed “Orange Crush” by railfans (for the REM song) – came through Cleveland leading the I166 which was formerly Q166.  I caught it at Berea in late morning and at East 361st Street in Willoughby in early afternoon.

Photographs by Todd Dillon

Bright Red in Waterloo

I’m not sure if this is a Canadian Pacific run-through train or a Norfolk Southern train that had CP motive power.

Most of the consist was tanks cars with ethanol placards along with a few cars of manifest freight.

It is westbound on the Chicago Line of NS in Waterloo, Indiana, and was the last train that I photographed on this day before heading home.

I had traveled to Waterloo to satisfy an NS Chicago Line craving that also included two sides of Amtrak and CP. It was a nice feast.

There are a couple of features in this image that I like starting with the bright red and clean CP AC44CW No. 8039. Ya gotta take those when you can get ’em.

I also liked how the light and shadows provided contrast in this scene. The day had started out clear but by mid morning had turned to overcast in weather reminiscent of what I experienced many times over the years living in close proximity to Lake Erie.

By mid afternoon the clouds had broken up somewhat, but as you can see here there was still light and shadows.

In this image, though, the street in town to the left is cloaked in shadows as its part of the train’s consist. But the most colorful aspect of the scene, that bright red CP locomotive, is shining in the spotlight.

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.

Beaver in Berea

Back in February Canadian Pacific announced that it was bringing back its beaver herald although it wasn’t until July that the modified logo began appearing on  locomotives.

CP used the beaver herald, which features a beaver, a maple leaf, a shield, the company name and the date of the railroad’s incorporation, previously, but dropped it for a more contemporary look.

The beaver has a long tradition at CP, having first been used on a company herald in 1886.

Here in the states we might think of the maple leaf as symbolic of Canada, but the beaver is our northern neighbor’s official symbol of sovereignty.

Between 1886 and 1929, the beaver appeared on four renditions of the CP herald, which featured a shield as its dominant element. In three of those iterations, the beaver appeared atop the shield.

The beaver went on hiatus between 1929 and 1946 when the CP herald was, again, shaped like a shield but featured the slogan “World’s Greatest Travel System.”

In 1946, CP brought the beaver back and it sat atop the shield through three generations of heralds. In 1968, CP decided to give itself a more “progressive look” and adopted a triangle C logo.

Other heralds would follow including one that featured the Canadian and U.S. flags. That was an effort to show that CP was a North American railroad and not just a Canadian one.

To celebrate its independent status, which included resuming use of the name Canadian Pacific Railways, CP resurrected the beaver and shield in 1997 in a bid to give itself a retro look.

Some corporations can only sit still with their image for a few years, so the beaver was put out to marsh in 2007.

CP adopted a minimalist approach with only its name “Canadian Pacific” appearing in its herald. Things got even more concise in 2012 when the herald became simply the letters CP.

Now the beaver, the maple leaf and the shield are back. Unlike the most recent beaver herald, the current logo does not feature solid gold shading in the shield. Instead, the shield has horizontal stripes.

The latest version of the beaver herald is expected to become widespread as CP ramps up a program to repaint its locomotive fleet. The herald will also adorn rebuilt locomotives.

AC400CW No. 9817 wore the previous beaver herald. It is shown leading CSX train Q166 through Berea this past Sunday sporting the new herald.

The Q166 and its counterpart, Q165, are CP run-through trains that use CSX between Chicago and Buffalo, New York.

Just over two hours after the Q166 passed by, the Q165 came rolling through Berea. It is always a good outing when you catch both CP run-through trains on the same day.

And the cherry on the top of this treat was the eastbound “salad shooter” with its usual Union Pacific motive power, shown in the bottom photo.

Pair of Canadians in Berea

Motive power from Canadian National and Canadian Pacific is not rare in Berea, but it is not a given, either.

CP has a pair of run-through trains that use CSX between Chicago and Buffalo, New York, and it is not unusual to see them in Berea during daylight hours.

Given how the North American Class I railroads share motive power, seeing a CN unit is not an unusual thing on either CSX or Norfolk Southern.

But what was a out of the ordinary during a recent railfanning outing in Berea was seeing two westbound NS trains with Canadian motive power on the lead as shown above.

Photographs by Craig Sanders

I Just Felt Like Shooting a CP Unit

 

I don’t know why, but I just felt like photographing this Canadian Pacific locomotive at Berea.

It’s not leading and there is nothing special about this unit. But it was the first thing I saw when I arrived to spend a few hours on a Sunday morning.

It was a day of sun and clouds and sometimes you got the sun and sometimes you didn’t. Also shown is the eastbound Q158 and the eastbound Q090. In both instances I tried to emphasize the clouds and sky, which were nice on Sunday.

The Q090 is a train that I haven’t seen for awhile. It was also the first time I’d seen it since UP and CSX began teaming up to offer express produce service from Washington State.

Photographs by Craig Sanders

Back When the Summer Was About to Begin

As I write this, summer 2015 is in its waning days. Already, I’ve seen some leaves turning colors. Fall is nearly upon us.

I ran across this photo that I made back in mid May of eastbound CSX train Q166 in Berea. It is one of two — the other being Q167 — intermodal trains that run on CSX between Buffalo, New York, and Chicago that are actually Canadian Pacific trains.

I’ve seen Q166 and Q167 several times and they boasted a solid motive power consist of CP power. But not on this day.

What is that CSX unit doing here? What about that lease unit in the middle? At least it doesn’t look like a rent a wreck.

The lighting is a clue that this image was made in the afternoon, just after 2 p.m. to be precise, and the sun had already begun to shift northward.

May is the gateway month to summer, which never seems to last long enough in Northeast Ohio. The fifth month of year is a time to make plans for summer activities.

It is time, to borrow a line from the song “The Boys are Back in Town” by the British rock group Thin Lizzy, “The nights are getting warmer, it won’t be long. It won’t be long til summer comes.”

But that was then. All too soon, summer 2015 will be another memory.

Article and Photograph by Craig Sanders

 

The Reds and Golds of Spring in Ohio

NS 8104 sits at Klines (Bellevue) next to a multi-level train.

I headed to Bellevue last Saturday to possibly catch Norfolk Southern No. 8104, the Lehigh Valley heritage unit. It had been a middle unit and normally that is not something that I would travel very far to see.

But there was a slight chance it might be made the leader so off I went. Luck was with me as I arrived just after it had been turned and made the leader of a grain train, the 42G.

Traffic through Bellevue was heavy and caused a delay in the 42G’s departure. But some other good photos of other trains were to be had before the 42G finally got the railroad.

I chased it to Attica Junction (Siam) where I let it go and made some photos on CSX before heading home. All in all, there were some nice springtime photos with locomotives and trees sporting red and gold colors.

Article and Photographs by Roger Durfee

Departing Bellevue.

Coming through the signals at Shriver.

Just above Attica Junction.

A colorful NS train No. 234 passing some “red buds” in Bellevue.

Roadrailer at Bellevue.

CSX Q166 at Attica Junction.

Q166 passing a flowering tree near Willard.

Two detail views of the CPR 9815. I had wondered what those “marks” around the perimeter of the unit were for. Turns out this unit was the Christmas Train unit a few years back.