Caption: High over traffic on the Paterson-Trail Highway below, Canadian Pacific H24-66 "Train Master" 8905 passes above on the Rossland Sub at Warfield, BC, climbing the grade to the nearby smelter at Trail. The photographer's green VW bus sits pulled over to the side, with a companion along for the ride watching the Train Master come into view and cross over the bridge.

Once part of a group of 21 units, by the early 70's the trio of CP 8900, 8904 and 8905 were based out of CP's Nelson BC shop for maintenance, and assigned to Trail for switching the Cominco smelter. This assignment also involved bringing trains up the Rossland Sub's steep Warfield Hill, a heavy drag-type assignment that once involved CP's only Lima Shay steam locomotives (units 1901-1903) that brought cars up the steep grades (4.1%!) and switchbacks. "Shorty vans" were used because of a switchback enroute, in order to allow the maximum amount of cars (two vans, 437110 and 437111, were shortened in 1944, and continued to see use into the 1970's).

Over time the trio of Trail units became the last three Train Masters on the system (as Montreal's units were retired in 1972). They were then sent to Alyth Yard for hump service in September 1973, and stored in December 1975 (replaced by GP7's due to complaints about their exhaust fumes getting sucked into the yard office by the hump). After being "Tied Up Unserviceable" in 1976, the order was given from the higher ups to scrap them. 8900 and 8904 were cut up at Ogden Shops in August 1976, while 8905 was set aside as part of CP's historic diesel collection earmarked for future preservation (8905 now resides at Exporail/CRM in Delson, QC, the last Train Master in existence).

A story from the late Bruce Chapman was before they were reassigned to Alyth, the motive power department tried to find another home for them to work out of. They were told in no uncertain terms by the brass out east that there was absolutely no place for them to be used on the Eastern Region (that had retired the last of theirs from transfer service: Montreal-based units 8901, 8909 and 8917).

Eric W. Johnson photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide.