Tuesday
After months of my Dad and I pestering my Mom to allow us to go on a “final search for steam”, she finally gave in, as long as Dad gets me home in time to start my senior year of high school. We loaded up the brand new '57 Chevy, and headed up north of the border in search of operating steam.
We didn’t have to go very far over the border, and we spotted an Alberta Pacific 0-8-0 working the Osoyoos yard facility just over the border. This has turned into a very busy railroad border crossing, with the Alberta Pacific running two freights per day each direction on their Okanagon sub. Osoyoos is the interchange point with the Spokane Southern, and carloads of coal from Merritt BC head south, and grain from eastern Washington heads north to the huge grain terminal in Squamish BC.
We checked in at the division office in the station. After getting permission to photograph on AP property, my Dad shot this photo of a USRA 0-8-0 that was purchased by the AP from the Northern Pacific in the early 50s. According to the engineer, this fine ol’ lady isn’t supposed to be around much longer, having been recently bumped off of yard duties in Red Deer, Alberta, where EMD SWs now handle the switching chores. He figures that in no more than two years, she will probably succumb to the scrapper’s torch.
Shot a photo of a couple of plain ol’ boxcars. Dad tells me that these old outside braced cars won’t be around much longer, so I figured I’d shoot them to have something to refer to later in life.
Gotta go