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Caption: One for the archives. Pulled awhile ago from somewhere, this 40 year old gem. Old 3x5 photo, produced on 35mm film on my parents camera. I suppose this was my very FIRST railfan photo. All at 8 years old, having just lived in Stratford for not even a week on this hot August evening in 1985. Initially, glad I photographed 4566, a high nose GP9 working the yard in Stratford. Wasn't just that, it was the change of scenery. Going from living in the small farming community of Petrolia, to 'big city' Stratford. It seemed bigger to 8 year old me, but the yard was something you could explore back then. But, to get this photo, just out of sight to the left of me was one of the poles holding up the adjacent roof, which joined the main station building and that of the express building. Nearly ran into it running sideways, parents camera in hand...taking the photo of 4566.
Of note, 4566 was part of the rebuild program that saw CN not only chop the high nose to a minimum, but would also renumber these beauties mid to late 80s and into the 90s. It was built by EMD / GMD, built for freight service only with flexicoil trucks to go on any 'secondary' line within the CN network...making it lightweight. I would assume it ran west to Goderich, and north up the old Newton to Palmerston and beyond.
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This is interesting. It makes me wonder how many of us recall our exact first railroad photo. I do, and still have it. It was at Bayview, no train in it but work equipment on the old helper track, taken March 4, 1974.
I love the unit number and the story behind the photo. Perhaps that may be the heavier blomberg B truck, not the lighter 2 axle felxicoil? The blomberg M (with snubber on 1 axle) is found under many -2 GP loco’s. And of interest, the blomberg X (which has a longer wheelbase than the others) is found under some Ontario GO units.
Thanks gents….and @L. Parks, you could be correct. The information I pulled is of course, half ‘human’ and half ‘AI’ today off the old net, so it kind of pieced together the information….however, any other contributors please also chime in to better confirm information that you’re aware of.
@awmooney…..not that I’ve had the time yet, but did you ever post your first photo???
NO, Todd. I didn’t think it was worth looking at.
)
CN 4566 does have an interesting history. It was built by GMD in London, Ontario in 1957 as a standard GP weighing in at 247,000 pounds. It has the distinction of being the first GP9 to lose its green and yellow paint for the “new” black and red of the 1960s.
Thanks @First954.
The 41-4300′s were CN’s “lightweight units”, while the 44-4600′s were standard “heavy” units for regular freight service (with the exception of lightweight 4496-4501). Some truck swaps did happen over time with some groups, like the 4100′s.
For anyone interested, some comprehensive CN GP9 rosters have been put together on the CPTDB wiki by, ahem, certain parties…
(also, check out the main CN roster too for other goodies)
https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/Canadian_National_Railway_4100-4133,_4147-4156,_4200-4353
https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/Canadian_National_Railway_4400-4426,_4451-4538,_4560-4601
Thanks @MrDan for providing accurate information. Much appreciated.
As a side note, I wonder if all contributors could post their first railfan photo if they haven’t done so already. To me, as a contributor, it’s always interesting looking back and seeing how far we’ve come in this hobby.
Only problem, Todd……is quality. Most of us started out on a whim, with poor equipment. However, this would make an interesting collection, perhaps if we captioned it: *FIRST*, or something like that; and the images had a special folder like Time Machine.
I would agree Arnold, no harm in trying though eh? This photo, was very difficult to edit. It is nearly 41 years old now (at the end of this August!). How technology has improved some things.
But, a photo is worth a 1000 words, and contributor’s first photos are the greatest memories.
Maybe admin can do what you’ve suggested though…???
Very nice “first photo” Todd.
I just missed the high nose CN GP9′s when I started taking photos in 1992.
@Noe – Thanks! I remember it well. And, encourage you to try and post your ‘first photo’ if you haven’t already (following the guidelines for submission, of course!).
Funny thing, was that I had totally forgotten about this photo for YEARS! So, the GP9′s I remember them after they were remanufactured (chopped nose, numbered in 7000 series). But for this photo, it wasn’t just how I ended up taking it, it was the time period of railroading that I mostly remember as a kid. Even the ‘plain clothes’ outfit the engineer is wearing!