The Roberval Saguenay ARPA subdivision was a relatively flat and without any particular hint piece of track between Arvida and MP 14 where, in order to reach the LaBaie wharf and Port Alfred Rio Tinto aluminium plant, have to drop for more than four miles into several reverse and horseshoe curves in order to keep the grade for any westbound loaded trains acceptable. I heard many stories from locals back when the RS was an all-ALCo railroad, going downhill with a set of former LIRR C420 with a full set on the cars and throttle in notch 6, running the hell out of 251 engines as the controlled-runaway passing the yard board in a cloud of dust, smoke and thrill.
Watching a train going downhill these days was much more civilized but still quite fascinating as a combination of dynamic and air brake works together in order to prevent any runaway on "the hill". Going the other way, was simply miserable as a ridiculous amount of sand and diesel fuel was used in order to maintain walking speed.
It's exactly that speed "RS 51 Ouest" do on this September morning, pulling a lengthly cut of Bauxite-loaded hopper cars along with a few empties, freshly unloaded from a boat and bound for Rio Tinto's Arvida plant to be used in Aluminium fabrication. Lead locomotive, built from ATSF U23B 6338 and now sporting the B23-S7 designation, are the backbone of RS's locomotive fleet.
Since this picture was taken, RS purged all three "Super 7" GE product from the roster and now, along with their rebuilt GP38 fleet, run former CSX SD70ACe unfortunately not yet repainted into RS attractive paint scheme.
At least, the show remain the same, pulling loaded trains out of Port Alfred without stalling, AC technology surely helping gaining a few dot on the speedometer but the fight still happens, three times a day, six days a week for RS engine crews.
RS 1st westbound run
51, 65, 63
Milepost 14.1 ARPA subdivision
LaBaie,QC
September 12, 2015
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