Caption: 1994 was such an awesome year for railfanning. As my world of train photography widened from Kitchener and my hometown Waterloo Spur, I soon saw that there was so much going on with both CN and CP motive power rosters. As well, each railway was attempting to change their corporate images and were quickly repainting units in new schemes as fast as their paint shops would allow. As the history books would note, both the CNNA scheme and CP Rail duel flags scheme would dissipate without any fanfare and the railway’s would later eventually try to go back to their roots to salvage cooperate images. However that was all bigger picture stuff. As my notes indicated 30 years later, there was no better place to start my memories of 1994 than at Kentucky Fried Chicken, no abbreviations, as that’s actually what it was called at that time.
Andy Gertz’s scanner crackled to life as we were waiting for our lunch inside the restaurant. CN 5100 east was coming towards London on the Strathroy Subdivision from Komoka. With several very fresh two and three piece combos now in hand, my dad drove us towards the CN yard as it was learned that this eastbound was going to lift two units at London East. Pictured here, CN SD40 5100 and SD40u 6002 are at London East with CN GP9RM’s 4135 and 7037 in the background.
According to my notes, both GP9RM’s had recently returned on a local job from St. Thomas. CN 6002 was rebuilt from SD40 5118 the year prior by AMF in Point Ste. Charles, Quebec and was freshly adorned in the CNNA paint scheme.