Edmonton Transit has purchased several “slightly-used” Siemens-Duwag U2 LRT cars from Calgary Transit, I believe they will only be used for parts. They are being shipped by rail from Calgary to Edmonton, a rather short haul.
Calgary plans to retire their remaining U2 fleet in the next few years, which will make Edmonton’s LRT the last North American system to operate them. A fitting end, in the place where modern North American light rail began.
I hope Edmonton Transit sets one aside for preservation when their retirement finally arrives.
Boy have I got to pay closer attention to this forum.
First off, this year our long weekend is August 4, 5 and 6.
And before anybody goes and splurges on transcontinental plane or train tickets, I must say a few things and pour some cold water here. While I like to talk up the place on here we are nowhere close to what a group like the Illinois Railway Museum has managed to create. We are only open on weekends, only have 0.4 miles of track to run back and forth on at 10 mph, have a huge backlog of deferred maintenance and due to a internal personnel issue will likely not be running steam again this year. I was hoping that last issue would resolve itself but so far nothing has happened.
The Alberta Railway Museum is a really neat place but I’m not sure we are worth a transcontinental trip, even for railfans.
On the other hand, if you are planning a western Canadian vacation the Edmonton area has many attractions that are well worth a visit, to say nothing of being on the way to the Rocky Mountain parks. And if you are in Edmonton on a summer weekend the Alberta Railway Museum is well worth a visit.
And if you are dead-set on travelling to western Canada to ride behind steam, both Winnipeg’s Prairie Dog Central and Stettler, AB’s Alberta Prairie Railway have a
Well thats all just too unfortunate. I plan on going, the journey is half the fun, new people to meet, adventure, and get out of Dodge for a bit.
Sorry about the dates mix-up.
Found out from Dude that former Algoma Central car Agawa is there. Met her acquaintance many many moons ago. Also there are a pair of F7’s in the original green, black, gold and of course the Museums F3’s. Steam likely not running but restored and operable and it is there.
Perhaps Forum members could stage a get together one day… that would be something I would not miss. The clock is ticking and time flies especially as one starts becoming a ‘Classic’ guy.
Only 177 more to go! They come with all the bells & whistles, including air conditioning, a hot plate, fridge, microwave, and red marker lights (CN seems to be the last railroad still using them).
And of course (ugh) inside-facing cameras. Oh well, I guess that’s progress.
Ask and you shall receive, this is from a ET44AC but the cabs are identical. The hot plate is on the right side of the Conductor’s desk with the fridge below it, and the microwave is awkwardly located behind the Conductor’s seat (they used to be down in the nose but apparently there were issues with stuff getting spilled on the electronics that are also located down there). The centre Brakeman’s seat is folded up in this photo:
The dual computer screens in front of the Engineer’s seat are for normal operation, and the third one on top of the control stand is solely for PTC. The screen on the Conductor’s desk is also for PTC.
ES44AC’s 2976 to 2999, ET44AC’s 3060 and higher and all the 3800s have two inward-facing cameras, one on each side of the cab:
“Fifi” came through Richmond about 20 years ago, and let me tell you, that is one BIG airplane, although not as big as it looks on film. Does that make sense?
One of my uncles who flew in WW2 as a radio operator on C-47’s was called back for Korea and flew on B-29’s, I got to see where he used to work.
And don’t any of you think those B-29 missions over Japan were a cake-walk, they were anything but. Those Superfort crews had two implacable enemies to deal with, the Japanese and the Pacific Ocean.
SD70Dude - Thanks for sharing those! Wow - that’s quite the interior, looks more comfortable than my office! In the Flickr.com one, I like the “420,000 lbs.” hand-written with a marker above the engineer’s window.
Not to impose, but someday it’d be nice to know what all the controls and other gadgets are.
NDG - You’re welcome, look what SD70Dude shared from that request!