Caught some luck and found this old unit in high, but nice light. Click the pic for a larger view.
Wow…that’s amazing that she hasn’t met the scrapper’s torch yet – especially when scrap steel prices were at crazy levels a couple of years ago.
Fresh lube and a little paint - we’ll have 'er back on the rails in no time…
They’ve stored it for 34 years? How many beehives does that thing have in it?[:O]
Matthew, are you ready to send back your namesake for the new logo and a fresh coat of paint??
Whatever their drawbacks, the Opposed Piston units could really pull and, thusly, were assigned to the hardest drag service on the System.
Awesome find Mathew! I am suprised that she hasent met the torch yet. Especially when thay are cutting up SD40-2’s. I bet there are sevral critters in the seats,engine compartment,exust stacks etc.
Hold onto that and charish it! Good to see an old engine like that though!
The Canadian Pacific Railway has been almost legendary in the way they hold on to their equipment. There are pictures in J.F Garden’s “Nicholas Morant’s Canadian Pacific” of large numbers steam engines standing ready in Winnipeg’s Weston Shop’s yard with coal in their tender’s and canvas cover’s over their smoke stack’s in the early sixties waiting for a call that will never come. It almost brings a tear to your eye.
I become increasingly amazed over the year’s to think I had the chance to see pre WWI and 1920’s era rolling stock actually operate when I was a child living in the station at Irricana AB. With the Internet, pictures of that type of equipment are available and it is fascinating to hear people’s comments and reactions to it.
On thing Kootenay Central’s comment’s above made me think of is also mentioned in the book I noted above. There had never been a diesel before the arrival of the FM’s, and for some time after they left the mainline service, that could lift trains like they could from the siding’s on the EB climb up the Kicking Horse Pass from Field to Stephen, BC. You normally never put an EB train in the hole unless you had time after the meet for him to double himself up the rest of the climb.
Thanks for a sad but wonderful picture Matthew.
AgentKid
Glad to see a carcass…hopefully it will remain with us for possible refurbishing and preservation even without engines.
And who the acsch eeeeeeeeeee double hockey sticks would be named Beloit?
The 8554 (H-16-44) in the picture was originally set aside by CPR as part of a heritage collection, along with the 8000 (BLW DRS-4-4-1000), 4065 (CPA-16-4), 8900 (H-24-66), 7010 (S-2) and 4090-4469 (FA,FB2). The only part which progressed was the repainting of the 8000 into her as-delivered paint scheme. She was then hauled around the country for a few years in company of a couple of display baggage cars. For a short time the rest were stored indoors, but soon lost that protection. For quite a few years they were available for donation, but the policy was the recipient had to agree to keep them under cover. While in theory this made sense, since outdoor equipment soon gets ratty without lots of upkeep, by not immediately dispersing the collection CPR proved its point.
All except the 7010 (CP’s first production diesel) still survive. The 8905 is at Exporail near Montreal, repainted and on display inside the new exhibit building. It is the only one in presentable shape. The 4065 is at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa and probably hidden. The A-B of FAs are at Cranbrook, BC, in primer paint with rust holes in the plymetal sides. The 8000, after years of neglect following her few years of touring, is about to head to the West Coast Railway Museum at Squamish, BC.
The 8554 came to the Calgary area to form part of a museum project at High River, just south of town. Municipal budget cuts meant that project was aborted but ownership actually rested with another society. Obvious alternate display locations have not yet materialized although there is now one promising prospect. Until there is a firm plan in place, however, fundraising for a cosmetic restoration is impossible. A coat of paint will work wonders, but a number of door hinges will need the attention of a welder first.
John
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Great story KC. Thanks for posting.
All kidding aside…is there a marine or anyother FM engine avaialbe that could be put inside that caracass to make it whole again?
What is that engine behind the FM? It looks like a SD40-2 with some weird cab. I can’t tell but it looks like it says CPII 353. Do you have any pictures of that one?
It still has its FM prime mover, although some bits may have been removed by souvenir hunters over the years. The traction motors are missing, since they were the standard GE752 motors and could be used on CP’s MLW fleet that continued active for another 20 years or so. Originally it had a steam generator in the short nose but this was replaced by a concrete block some years before retirement. The cab has been thoroughly trashed, and finding correct seats, gauges and such may be a challenge.
While in theory it would be nice to return it to operational condition, in practice a cosmetic restoration is more realistic. To actual run it as a locomotive will require a host of modifications to meet current regulatory requirements, the electrical wiring (insulation) has probably deteriorated significantly, and finally, it is not obvious that it would have a place to actually operate.
While museums and historical preservation are culturally directed, you can’t ignore economics. The money to pay for restoration has to come from somewhere, and that pot is tragically small. If one project consumes a large amount with a gold-plated restoration, many others may fail and be lost forever.
There is also a pair of former C-line B-units in the Calgary area that had a second career as robot control cars. The carbodies became empty shells, inside and out, so an FM block could be useful if there was any prospect of cosmetic restoration. But that is mostly wishful thinking at this moment.
John
There is a Yahoo group dedicated to FM…is anyone here also there? Will you please comment.