Caption: So the story goes, the CN L566 Valentine’s Day edition had mechanical issues with solo GP9RM 4138 and that night barely made it to Elmira, Ontario on the Waterloo Spur. The following day, the crew of CN L568 was taxied to Elmira to switch the chemical companies in daylight with 4138. Yes, this happened, confirmed and documented by some very dedicated Kitchener railfan’s. The result was the previous night’s CN L566 was ready to be lifted by the next night’s CN L566, which would be ordered the following evening at Kitchener.
Having this information in hand and after working two jobs I was extremely tired once I finally arrived at home. All I wanted to do was shut it down and turn in for the night. However, knowing where 4138 was located and my history with that GP9RM I had to consider the possibly of heading to Elmira to photograph it once again. Back in July 1993, CN 4138, was the unit I had my first cab ride to Elmira in on the 15:30 Kitchener Job thanks to engineer Dennis Fleet. So after some brief reflection (a few seconds) I grabbed my tripod and camera, before heading north to Elmira. Some things are still worth chasing.
Pictured here, almost 29 years since that cab ride with Dennis at the throttle, CN 4138 idles a quiet night away beside the Lanxess plant awaiting the next L566 to bring it back to Kitchener. Of note, this was the last documented CN L566 to time-out in Elmira on the spur.