Comments on: On Vancouver Island, CP’s E&N Wellcox yard in Nanaimo was the primary rail-barge connection from the mainland, and was served by three roadswitcher assignments for full coverage every day. As a relieving mechanical chargehand there, I was well placed to be aware of unusual movements, and on Thursday 1980-10-16, the afternoon roadswitcher assignment with Baldwin DS4-4-1000 number 7070 was tasked to deliver a string of empty ballast cars to the Fiddicks gravel pit for reloading, a rare opportunity to catch that unit outside yard limits. By climbing a rather uncooperative tree just north of the South Wellington flagstop, a good camera perch was obtained, and precisely at 1700 PDT, I was rewarded with Work Extra 7070 heading south. As a particular delight, the lighting was perfect for highlighting the front “thumb-up” Sharon coupler, BLW part number 37-B-880.

By: Noe

Noe — Mon, 12 May 2025 20:23:18 +0000

Great black and white picture.

Stephen C. Host — Mon, 12 May 2025 18:07:32 +0000

Beautiful photo.

Ken Perry — Sun, 11 May 2025 23:33:59 +0000

Correction: Mileage 67.5, not 69.5.