Comments on: From the moment the plow commenced its day on the St Thomas there were issues. The old MLW would end up tripping a breaker and died numerous times during it’s trip down towards St Thomas and back before finally calling it quits just outside Ingersoll. A call was made to the crew of the days CAMI extra who were utilizing a trio of SW1200′s. They finished up delivering a handful of racks to CN and ran down to tow the disabled plow back to Salford. Here, near mile 12 some crew members are in the midst of coupling up the hoses before heading for the shop.

By: David Young

David Young — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 21:12:02 +0000

Thanks Ron, certainly not going to see this scene play out on today’s CP. Sounds like a loose wire (burned off?) that wasn’t making a connection was the culprit. I know next to nothing about locomotive electrical systems so I won’t pretend to know the actual cause. Regardless, 182 is back on the road earning her keep. To Work a plow would be something else, the memories and experiences you have…. priceless. I’m jealous. I believe these days on CP (in these parts anyways) are gone. Maybe one of these years the Lord may smight us with loads of snow and I might get my turn… doubt it.

By: RonaldB

RonaldB — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:13:38 +0000

Great photo David. This is a power lashup that I have never seen back in my CP days on the branchline snowplows.It’s interesting how time affects the electrical reliability of locomotives. Ground relays were always an issue with locomotives in snowplow service. Alcos (MLWs) were usually much better power for plows because they seemed to have less ground relay issues than GM units. In the mid 1980s I was on a CP snowplow to do the Woodstock branches, St. Thomas, Pt. Burwell & St Mary’s Subs. We had the 1813, freshly rebuilt with a chopped nose and electrical refurbishments, from an original 8700 series RS-18. We did not have one ground relay on the entire trip. That was a first in my many snowplow “adventures”.