Caption: Brand new CP Rail SD40-2F units 9000 and 9001 lead SD40 5410 and SD40-2 5945 on eastbound train #904. It has just departing CP's Toronto (Agincourt) Yard, and is heading down the connecting track from the northeast end of the yard (Tapscott) to enter the Belleville Sub (Staines), about to cross Neilson Road (this connecting track didn't historically appear to have an official name, but shows as the "Staines Cross Connection" in more recent timetables).

The new cowl-bodied SD40-2F's, CP's last new SD40-2 model (built with 645 engines at CP's insistence, well after EMD moved on to the 710-engined SD60) may look nice but were plagued with teething problems. They would go back to GMD London a few times due to engine wear issues (high silver reading in the oil from internal wear) until the problem was narrowed down to issues with the defective manufacturing of rocking wrist pins in the then-new E3B power assemblies in their 16-645E3B engines. The experience didn't seem to endear CP into placing any follow-up orders, and their next new locomotives would be GE AC4400CW's in 1995.

Reg Button photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide.