What can be said about this locomotive? BCOL Dash 8-40CM 4601 trails second on CN M303 bound for Edmonton, seen here at Snider on the CN York Subdivision.
Delivered in 1990 to the British Columbia Railway, this General Electric C40-8M served its mountain masters out of North Vancouver, BC, hauling lumber, paper, and general merchandise products up and down the west coast between North Vancouver, Prince George, and Fort Nelson, BC. In the divestment of BC Rail by the provincial government in 2003, and the sale of the property and assets to CN in 2004, 4601-4626 moved homes and hauled CN trains for the remainder of the 2000's and 20teens. The dash 8's were spotted in different regions on the system like the prairies, the gulf states, and even out in the maritimes on occasion.
Unfortunately, time catches up to everything eventually. Within the last year, handfuls of BCOL and CN dash 8's of various shapes, sizes, and former owners have turned up in deadlines in Welland, Ontario and Markham, Illinois, pending sale or scrap. As ever-evolving emissions standards prove older power inviable or not worth expenditure for rebuilds, another common pedigree of diesel-electric is here today and gone tomorrow. In early 2021, 4601 and a select few of her sisters still put in their days and nights work plying the miles, sometimes in the lead, but mostly trailing newer power. The future of the CN cowls doesn't look bright either. A handful have been spotted in recent months occasionally leading large trains and living out what is likely their final months in service for the noodle road.
Hopefully I can spot more of these fatso's before the curtain closes on this species forever.
Loading contexts...
