Canada Calling
March 1999

by Bryce Lee

SNOW!

To some readers, the heavy snowfalls which the area surrounding Toronto experienced in the first two weeks of 1999 are almost a form of payback. Other areas in Canada and the USA have had weather problems over the past few years, most notably the severe ice storm in Quebec and Eastern Ontario in January of 1998. Toronto, and the north shore of Lake Ontario west to Hamilton and the Niagara Peninsula were hit with frequent major snowstorms in early January 1999. The first storm arrived late January 2 and by the following morning over a foot of snow had fallen and more was falling. Municipal crews were unprepared for the amount of snow that fell in a short time. So it took time for equipment to be mobilized and the plows to start running. For the last ten years in this region a snowfall would be followed by an extended melting period. The end result was more snow than had been seen for some time, without the melting between snowfalls. As of January 15, 44 inches of snow had fallen in a two week period. In addition bitter cold and winds made removal of snow difficult. Transportation systems had coped remarkably well, up to Wednesday January 13 when another storm arrived; the fall of snow was so great the Toronto Transit Commission simply shut down the subway system; the snow fell so fast regular headway trains could not clear the snow from the third rail supplying 600 Volts DC to the trains. Fully one third of the TTC subway system is above ground; the streetcar system slowed to a crawl, finally the subway shut down followed by other surface systems except buses which continued to function slowly. Toronto declared a snow disaster emergency and the city and many outlying suburbs slowly shut down Wednesday January 13, unable to keep the streets clear or the TTC running. GO Transit slowed to a crawl; the switches, even those which had heaters on them could not keep up with the falling snow. GO transit ended up running basic services by operating trains east and west from Toronto Union every half hour stopping at all stations and not using the switches.

The mainline railways were also in trouble. Due to relatively mild winters both major railways had disposed of the majority of their snow removal equipment. Whereas in the past snow removal equipment was kept ready at a moment's notice, some equipment had to be brought to Toronto to enable the railways to remove snow from the tracks.

VIA operated most trains with two locomotives instead of one locomotive. On January 13 VIA Ottawa-Toronto train were running an average of 90 minutes late; on January 14, VIA was running 180 minutes late on average. On January 15 VIA cancelled 651 Kingston to Toronto, 72 Windsor to Toronto, 85 Toronto to Chicago, and 43 Ottawa to Toronto. Montreal to Toronto trains 57 & 61 were combined, as were opposites 56 & 60. VIA 53 left Montreal for Toronto with F40PH 6417-6429-6457, and eight cars. VIA 33 to Montreal and Ottawa departed with F40PH 6435-LRC 6905, eight cars. VIA 31 from Montreal to Toronto had F40PH 6411-6425, and four cars. People were asked to phone VIA, even if they have a reservation, in case their train was not running. Operating trains were still upwards of two hours late or more in many cases due to snow and severe cold.

GO Transit cancelled all train service in the late evening of Friday January 15 and for the balance of the weekend. The shut down of GO Train service was to allow track crews to remove accumulated snow, and was to allow GO Transit to service its equipment to prepare for the Monday morning commute. All regular GO service resumed with the rush hour on Monday morning, January 18, 1999. The TTC utilized 250 specially trained employees in snow removal and de-icing as well as chipping ice from the powered third rail to slowly restore the subway system to operating condition. Buses and streetcars carried much of the overflow as the subway was reduced to fifteen minute headway. As of the morning of January 16, 1999, about 40 per cent of the track and electrified third rail that had been snow covered was cleared. About half of the buried third rail was in the subway storage/service yards. Clearing these was to take priority in order to get the subway cars operating again.

INDUSTRY NEWS-CNR

Canadian National announced January 13, 1999 it has reached agreement to sell its 190-kilometre rail line linking Matane to Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec, to the Quebec Railway Corporation. The line will be an extension to the 484-kilometre rail network linking Moncton, NB, and Mont-Joli, QC, purchased by the shortline from CN one year ago. Francois Hebert, assistant vice-president, corporate development at the Quebec Railway Corp., said his company has been growing and he expects the new line to generate additional traffic. The Matane-Riviere-du-Loup line handles 39,000 carloads of traffic annually and serves shippers in the aluminum, forest products and newsprint industries. It is also used by Via Rail for passenger service to the Gaspe peninsula and the Maritimes. The sale of the line will affect 30 CN employees. Canadian National Railways is suing a farmer whose load of hay bales was hit by one of their trains, claiming he was distracted by talking on a cellphone. Last January 22, Kevin Willms of Hepburn, Saskatchewan, was hauling his load with a tractor about five kilometres west of Dalmeny, Saskatchewan, when he came to a CNR crossing. CN said the weather was clear and the engineer sounded the whistle just before the train, consisting of 37 cars and two engines, crashed into the side of Willms' vehicle. He managed to scramble out of the cab and was treated and released from hospital with only minor injuries. Six cars and two locomotives derailed resulting in damage to the train, the track and cargo. No one on the train was hurt. The railway's statement of claim alleges Willms tried to operate the vehicle while his attention was diverted due to his use of a cellular phone. The railway also contends Willms' semi was overloaded, he was driving too fast without a seat-belt, his vehicle didn't have proper brakes and was in poor general condition. The crossing was marked with signs but did not have guard rails or signal lights. Willms, declined comment.

Canadian National reported January 19, 1999 that its earnings dropped to C$266 million last year from a record C$1 billion in 1997 because of a special charge to cut 3,000 employees. Revenues slipped five per cent to C$4.1 billion but chief executive Paul Tellier was happy that expenses were slashed by eight per cent. Excluding the job cuts and other special charges or income, CN had a net income of C$569 million for the year, compared with C$439 million for 1997. The railway's operating revenue, by which railways compare their efficiency, also improved to 75.5 per cent, which refers to the portion of revenues that goes for regular expenses. This is three points lower than the year before. Among other reasons for reduced revenue, Tellier cited a long strike at forest giant Abitibi-Consolidated, a shorter one at General Motors and lower grain and coal shipments. In the fourth quarter, revenues were off slightly to C$1.1 billion, while net income rose to $182 million compared with C$95-million in the last quarter of 1997. Tellier said more than one-half of the 3,000 jobs slated for elimination last October have now gone. These include normal job-attrition measures like retirement as well as layoffs. The railway had 19,200 employees at the end of 1998, compared with 21,000 a year earlier.

Canadian National announced January 14, that its Revenue Management unit attained an ISO 9002 certification, a first for Class 1 railroads in North America. ISO certification of CN's Revenue Management unit will benefit customers by increasing efficiencies, improving internal CN communication and understanding of existing service quality, and establishing a responsive problem-solving process. The certification took about nine months, which was very quick for this process. Revenue Management pursued certification to centralize and standardize work practices. ISO 9002 is part of a series of quality management standards written by the International Organization for Standardization. ISO is a recognizable industry standard of certified excellence.

The Canadian Auto Workers said January 8, 1999 it has been given permission from the federal labour minister to challenge Canadian National Railway Co.'s planned cut of more than 3,000 jobs. The decision by minister Claudette Bradshaw clears the way for the Canada Labour Relations Board to hold hearings into the union's charge that CN deliberately withheld disclosure of the layoffs until after a new contract was ratified in September. The union noted CN spent months reassuring union officers that the days of large-scale layoffs were over, before it suddenly announced in late fall it was going to cut another 3,000 jobs by the end of 1999. It wants to ask the board to set aside the contract and order the company to re-open negotiations. CAW spokesman Abe Rosner says the union will request a hearing as soon as possible.

The Canadian Auto Workers union says the railway has agreed to talk about compensation for workers facing layoffs this year. Union spokesman Abe Rosner says the CAW has agreed to postpone going to the federal labour board. The union is furious that CN announced plans to cut three-thousand jobs last fall. The move came just after the CAW signed a new contract. Rosner says the union had set a February 4 deadline to reach a deal for the laid-off workers. He says if there is no agreement, the union will ask the labour board to set aside the current contract and re-open negotiations. The union wants assistance for the laid-off workers and protection for those who are not losing their jobs.

INDUSTRY NEWS-CPR

Service on a 104-km (65-mile) rail line in southern Saskatchewan, between Ogle and Mankota, is being discontinued January 6, 1999 by Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), in accordance with the Canada Transportation Act (CTA), the railway announced. Attempts by the railway to find private-sector or government buyers for the line had not succeeded. On April 1, 1997, CPR announced the line, the Wood Mountain Subdivision, was a candidate for discontinuance under its three-year network plan. In recent years, traffic on the line has been steadily declining. The line was offered for sale in January 1998 to the shortline marketplace and then, last September, to the provincial and municipal governments. CPR was engaged in extensive discussions until recently with a local group that had expressed interest in the line.

The CPR has been testing the Iron Highway for two years, with two scheduled weekday trains each way between Montreal and Toronto, able to carry 20 trailers each. After sinking some C$20 million into Iron Highway, the CPR is going to invest another C$40 million this year. By early February of 1999, capacity will double on the Toronto Montreal run. By summer, this will triple, and the service will be extended to Detroit, gateway to the U.S. industrial midwest states. The Iron Highway is now running at 80 to 85 per cent full, which amounts to at least 64 trailers a day, or 16,640 a year. Triple that capacity works out to about 50,000 trailers a year. For relatively short distances, such as the 560 kilometres between Montreal and Toronto, trucks dominate because they're faster and more flexible. For rail to win back business from the trucking industry in those shorter distances, Iron Highway had to provide scheduled, fast trains, that could approximate the trucks' transit time. The expansion this year will include larger terminals at Montreal and Milton, Ontario, Detroit Michigan, and 240 new flatcars ordered from National Steel Car Ltd. of Hamilton.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says the CPR runs the risk of truck trailers coming loose on its new Iron Highway intermodal freight service. The railway denies there is any risk and says it has repaired all flaws that might lead to a repeat of an August 1997 mishap in which a truck trailer came loose and struck support columns of a highway overpass near Bedell, Ontario. The TSB, which investigates rail, air and marine mishaps, said in a report released January 19, 1999 that an improperly secured hitch on a truck trailer on a freight platform allowed the trailer to come loose and shift on August 13, 1997. The train involved in the accident was using CP's new intermodal technology known as Iron Highway, in which short-haul truck traffic is removed from the highways and on to specially designed rolling stock. The trailer that came loose was extensively damaged and the overpass was closed for several days. No one was injured and no dangerous goods were involved. The board said it has determined that the trailer became unsecured due to an improperly locked hitch that was unnoticed during inspections before departure. Employees did not recognize that a slightly protruding or damaged lock indicator pin could render a locking mechanism ineffective, the board said.

The TSB wants Transport Canada to assess the trailer securement system and related safety inspections of the Iron Highway system to address any outstanding risks. Corrective measures the railway has taken include doubling and sometimes tripling visual inspection of the locking mechanisms, computerized maintenance logging and employee education. Ian Neish, director of the board's rail pipeline investigations branch, said there are still two things that the railway needs to do to render things safe. These include addition of a secondary or backup mechanism to make sure the trailers don't come loose and better visibility of the lock indicator pin. The lead investigator in the case, said a secondary lock is the norm in the intermodal industry.

Canadian Pacific Ltd. reported January 25, 1999 a 36-percent drop in profit for 1998 that it blamed largely on low prices for commodities. The company also stressed prior-year results were boosted by operations that have now been sold. Calgary-based Canadian Pacific reported full-year net earnings of C$801 million, or C$2.39 a share, down from C$1.3 billion, or C$3.64 a share, in 1997. Earnings in 1997 included a C$309-million contribution from its interest in transportation firm Laidlaw Inc. which Canadian Pacific sold in the third quarter of that year. Excluding the discontinued operations and other one-time gains, the company's 1998 earnings were C$781 million or C$2.32 a share, down 9 percent from C$860 million or C$2.49 a share in 1997. Revenues totalled C$10.2 billion, down from a year earlier C$10.0 billion. Canadian Pacific said record results from its railway, shipping and hotel businesses, which were buoyed by improved operating efficiency and expanded operations, were tempered by weak returns from 87 percent owned oil concern PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. and wholly owned Fording Coal. In addition, the weak commodity prices and struggling Asian economies could deal the conglomerate the most strain on its fortunes again this year.

The Canadian Pacific Railway division posted operating income excluding special items of C$721-million, up 8 percent from the year before, despite weaker market conditions for bulk commodity traffic. CP Ships' 1998 operating income rose by 11 percent to C$161 million, an increase partially attributed to the turnaround at Lykes Lines. The unit's improvement was held back, however, by losses from Ivaran Lines, acquired last May. CP Hotel's operating income increased 9 percent to C$148 million, despite the sale to the public of a partial interest in the business through an income trust in late 1997. It said 1998 results were boosted by the acquisition of the Princess Hotels and Delta Hotels chains as well as two Toronto-area properties last year.

GENERAL INDUSTRY NEWS

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Eric Upshall has found some support for his proposal to open the border to American railways. Upshall said he'd like to see more competition among railways. And he says one way of ensuring competition is by allowing American railways to haul Canadian grain over Canadian rail lines. The Western Canadian Wheatgrowers Association supports the move. Kevin Archibald is the newly elected president of the association. He believes increased competition would lower freight rates, as well as handling costs. But he'd go one step further than the agriculture minister. Archibald also wants to see the freight rate cap eliminated. He says the cap encourages inefficiencies, which increases costs to farmers. The National Farmers Union opposes the elimination of the freight rate cap. It is also against opening the border to American railways. It says there is no evidence that increased competition would lead to improved service or lower costs.

It looks like Canadian freight rates are equal to American rates where there is competition and quite a bit lower to American rates where there isn't competition. But that's not the way the Western Canadian Wheatgrowers Association sees things. Kevin Archibald is the newly elected president of the association. He believes allowing American railways to operate in Canada would increase competition and lower freight rates, as well as handling costs. And he says opening the border would go a long way to easing border tensions between the two countries. "It gives our American neighbours a different route to port. It gives us another route to port. And just increases competition and adds another feature to the whole system." But it won't be farmers or Saskatchewan's agriculture minister who will have the final say on this matter. That will be left to the federal transport minister.

The West Central Road and Rail Committee has offered to buy 400 kilometres of track from the CNR. The line runs from Alsask, on the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary to Delisle, just east of Saskatoon. Committee chairman Rob Lobdell they have raised about C$845,000 and now it's time to see if CN wants to make a deal. Lobdell adds the railways and elevator companies may have underestimated the will of the people to keep rail service along the line. Money for the line was raised in five weeks from 1700 investors.

Churchill Manitoba's effort to improve its shipping and tourism industries has just been given a boost. The Winnipeg Airports Authority, the town of Churchill and the OmniTrax railway have signed a memo of understanding. It calls for the development of Churchill as a multi-modal shipping location, both regionally and internationally. The groups want to position Churchill as a main port of re-supply by rail and air for the new arctic territory of Nunavut. The boundaries of the new territory will be unveiled in April. The plan would see the northern port connected to a trade corridor running south from Winnipeg, through the US and into Mexico. The memo of understanding also includes a clause to promote Churchill as a year-round tourism destination. The community is world-renowned for its polar bears and beluga whales.

An elevated high-speed rail link between Calgary and Edmonton Alberta has once again been proposed. The cost of building the 290-kilometre (180-mile) line could easily surpass C$2 billion, but its backers said Alberta's economic growth and a booming population may finally make it a reality. The line would operate at up to speeds of 400 kilometres (250 miles) per hour. If the line is economically feasible, a group will pitch it to the Alberta government as a project to mark the province's centennial in 2005, said Bill Pratt, former 1988 Winter Olympics organizing committee president. Better transportation between the two cities is still a requirement for the future growth of the province, it was noted. A high-speed line has been proposed several times, but was rejected on each occasion as too costly and impractical given the circumstances of the day. If travel time is held to two hours between the downtown cores, the line could make money. The proposal is to use an existing rail bed and only private sector financing; no government money. But the project would require the co-operation of the CPR, which owns the rail bed.

The City of Barrie, Ontario has managed to retain rail service to the community by buying railway lands from Canadian National Railways. Barrie Mayor Janice Laking said it means the chance to have future passenger train service like GO Transit. It should also increase opportunity for more business and manufacturing. The lands consist of a railway line from Bradford to Barrie and the abandoned CNR line around Kempenfelt Bay. The province is kicking in C$2-million toward the purchase price while CN is asking C$4.3-million.

Bombardier Transportation has sold 256 more rail-car undercarriages worth C$41-million to the French national railway SNCF. The motorized and trailer trucks will be used on double-deck electric powered passenger rail cars in the Paris region. The components, which include wheels, suspension and brakes; with power plants on half the order will be produced at Bombardier's plant in Crespin, France, with deliveries between the second half of 2000 and the second quarter of 2002. The order includes an option for 96 more trucks and brings the number of this type of truck ordered by SNCF to more than 3,200.

The state of Florida on January 14, 1999 cancelled a US$6.3- billion involving Canada's Bombardier Inc. to build a bullet train that would whisk passengers between Miami, Orlando and Tampa at more than 300 kilometres an hour. A consortium including Bombardier was selected nearly three years ago to build a the high-speed rail link, using France's TGV fast-train technology. Under the original plan, Bombardier would have built the rail cars for the transit project, at an estimated cost of US$800-million. The three other consortium partners were GEC Alsthom, the Anglo-French company that developed the TGV train now used in Europe, Fluor Daniel, a leading U.S. engineering firm, and Odebrecht Group, a Brazil-based contractor. A similar project, in which the state of Texas in 1991 selected Bombardier and the TGV, fell through when backers failed to raise the C$6.8-billion required from private sources. Under the 1996 deal, the Florida Overland Express consortium planned to run French-designed trains on new tracks that would use underpasses and overpasses instead of road crossings. The state planned to pay for its portion by selling US$2-billion in bonds and borrowing US$2- billion from the United States government. The state has spent US$22.4 million planning the venture, but the governor said he will stop future spending and veto any attempt by state legislators to restore it. Newly elected Republican Governor Jeb Bush said the venture is too expensive and risky for the state. Plans called for the trains to roll between Miami and Orlando in 2005. Tampa service would have begun in 2006.

Bombardier Transportation will build its British Columbia rail transit plant in Burnaby, just outside Vancouver. The Montreal company said in a news release January 18, 1999 it expects to complete a deal to buy land for the plant by the end of the month. The plant was announced last June when the BC government said it would spend C$1.1-billion to expand the SkyTrain system, which carries about 115,000 commuters every weekday using 20 stations between central Vancouver and suburban Surrey. The SkyTrain cars will be built at the new plant. Bombardier said the factory will employ about 165 people. Construction will begin in March and operations are scheduled to start by the end of the year. The company said it selected Burnaby primarily because the site is beside the SkyTrain maintenance yard and close to the rapid transit system's control tower.

Eight major North American freight railroads just began making weekly data on their performance available starting Wednesday, January 13, 1999 on their company internet websites. The new reports grew out of railroad efforts to improve relations with their customers following the massive traffic jam in Union Pacific Corp.'s rail system that started two summers ago. A series of meetings were held last year with major shippers. "Railroad customers told us they wanted more information and they wanted it updated frequently," said AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Edward Hamberger, in a statement. Four major measures of railroad performance will be given on each of the participating rail systems: total cars on line, average train speed, average time in major terminals and numbers of cars received without shipping instructions. There will be details of cars on line by type, such as covered hopper, open hopper, tank, gondola, etc. The average train speed category will include break down by type such as grain, coal, multilevel, mixed freight and so on. At 2:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) each Wednesday the data for the previous Saturday through Friday should be available for all participating railroads through any one of their individual Web sites. The railroads taking part account for more than 90 percent of all rail freight in the United States and Canada. They are: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., Canadian National Railway Co., Canadian Pacific Ltd. CSX Corp., Illinois Central Corp., Kansas City Southern Industries Inc., Norfolk Southern Corp. and Union Pacific.

RaiLink Ltd. announced January 14, 1999 that Quebec Railway Corporation (QRC), its 26.7% owned affiliate, has made an offer to purchase all of the shares of Groupe Cogema Inc. (Cogema), the owner-operator of a railcar ferry operation between Baie-Comeau, Quebec on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, and Matane, Quebec, on the south shore. The Cogema vessel serves aluminum, paper and lumber producers in Baie-Comeau, providing them with access to the North American rail network through Matane. At present, 51% of Cogema's shares (Class A) are widely held, while Canadian National (CN) is the sole owner of Cogema's Class B shares, representing 49% of the company. The QRC purchase offer is being made through a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated specifically for this purpose known as Corporation d'acquisition de Cogema. The Corporation will offer to acquire all Class A shares at C$4 cash per share. CN, the sole owner of the Class B shares, has agreed to sell all of its shares to the Corporation d'acquisition de Cogema, for C$4 per share, payable in Class B shares of the Corporation d'acquisition de Cogema. Following this transaction, CN will remain a shareholder of the railcar ferry along with QRC. The offer is conditional upon its acceptance by the owners of at least 90% of the Class A shares and upon completion of the transaction with CN. The offer is also subject to the approval of the Quebec Minister of Transport, as well as other regulatory approvals.

The St. Lawrence & Hudson Railway (StL&H) and Progress Rail Services Corporation (Progress Rail) announced that they have signed a letter of intent regarding Progress Rail operating a maintenance and repair shop at StL&H's St. Luc Yard facilities. Progress Rail will open a new maintenance and repair shop for cars and locomotives. The shop will primarily serve the Quebec, Ontario and Northeastern U.S. markets. Progress Rail will occupy a portion of the St. Luc Yard facilities which includes part of the present Locomotive Repair Shop and additional space in the rail yard. When the company begins operations at its new shop, Progress Rail will hire a minimum of 30 StL&H employees who are currently on employment security, and plans to recruit additional employees as operations expand. When it announced the restructuring of its diesel locomotive fleet maintenance activities in December 1997, the StL&H undertook to seek a new commercial role for its surplus repair facility at St. Luc. It then made a commitment to its employees to explore new business opportunities that would preserve as many jobs as possible in Montreal.

The Mission British Columbia station burned to the ground on January 25, 1999. The station had been moved west of its original location in 1995 due to construction of the West Coast Express Commuter service, and was expected to be restored into a museum however a lack of funding had put the project on hold. Two young boys were apprehended running from the scene; they had been playing with sparklers inside the station. Smoke from the fire could be seen from miles around, and at times flames rose 30 feet into the air. Some West Coast Express commuters were bused to Mission as the north track of CP's Cascade division main was fouled with smoke and debris. Mission City Fire officials, and the police are still investigating.

Via Rail Canada showed its newly renovated Dorval station on January 14, 1998. With its new red roof and tower and large VIA sign at the top, the station should be very visible. The C$850,000 renovation incorporates a formerly utilitarian building first constructed in 1967. With the new sign VIA wants to remind passers-by that the train is an option for travellers. The new station has improved seating, a banking machine, vending machines and a small first-class lounge. And as of February 8, 1999 the station was going to be busier. Via intends to boost its weekday service between Montreal and Ottawa to five trains from four. The fifth train has been timed to coincide with the arrival and departure of international flights at Dorval airport. Passengers will be offered free shuttle service to the airport from the station, plus baggage handling. Via is making a concerted effort to draw more passengers and is convinced, given congested roadways and airports, that it can make sell itself as a good way to get to the airport. Residents in the Ottawa area take about 300,000 international flights a year, however in many cases, they have to travel to Montreal or Toronto to get a flight. Direct rail links to airports are common in Europe, and Via is convinced such a service would work at Dorval and at Pearson Airport in Toronto.

The newest Railamerica operations started on Friday January 8, 1999 with a fleet of 5 locomotives. RailAmerica is calling the E&N, under a new name, Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway Company 1998. Two man crews will be usual, passenger trains will operate with two crews two per shift. Railway will operate under Provincial Railway Branch Rules. RailAmerica plans to run a freight into Port Alberni Monday through Saturday, freight to Victoria on Monday, freight to Courtneay on Tuesday. Via passenger service will operate on current schedule. RailAmerica once established, will market line to get more business and increase traffic. There is talk of RailAmerica perhaps leasing two SW900's or SW1500's. The E&N will be using radio frequency 160.185 and hope to get a repeater system up and running soon. Dispatching is currently done by cellphone. E&N GP10's 1001,1002 are not serviceable and will be returned to RailAmerica out east. Units to replace these two units are expected to be a GP38 & a GP10.

CANADIAN NATIONAL MOTIVE POWER

CN M420W 3514, initially sold to National Railway Equipment, was resold to the Quincy Bay Terminal (QBT) in Quincy, Massachusetts.

New CN SD75I's 5766, 5767, 5768, and 5769 were released from Alstom January 19, 1999. They were constructed at Alstom for GMDD and sent to western Canada.

50 GECX units 6030 to 6079 are assigned to Thornton Yard for maintenance and are operating system-wide. Currently, Kansas City Southern 6600-6619 are working for KCS, and KCS 6620-6630 (with 6631-6639 to come) are assigned to CN Symington for maintenance, and will work system wide.

CNR will shortly receive SD70MAC's BN 9691 and BNSF 9864 from BNSF. They will be received on an eastbound BNSF coal to the GTW. The units will be tested for three weeks on Canadian National. Upon the return of the coal empties to BNSF, this train will be powered by three CN SD70's. The two SD70MACs will be tested on the Quappelle Subdivison in Saskatchean.

The following CN diesel units were retired this month: January 6 SW1200RS 1350, 1352, 1388, SD40 5031, 5058, 5063; January 8 SD40 5077, 5162, 5227; GTW GP9 4138, SD40 5915, 5918, GP40 6405; January 21 GTW SD38-2 6250; January 22 SD40 5008, 5022, 5064, 5067, 5070, 5075, 5141, 5165, 5213.

The following retired Canadian National locomotives have been sold through Canac:

-To Progress Rail, Birmingham, Alabama, GP40s 9302, 9303, 9307, 9308, and 9310. Shipped in mid-January 1999.
-To Cando Contracting GP9us 4007 (to Lambton Diesel in Sarnia, Ontario for repairs), 4020, 4025, 4026, now moving to CN Symington Shop in Winnipeg for preparation for service on the new Central Manitoba Railway, the former CN Pine Falls Subdivison NE of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
-At press time, enroute to Ohio Central are their third and fourth M420Ws, 3553, 3554 as well as GP9u 4032.
-Four GMD1ms, sold to the Dardanelle & Russellville, 1143, 1151, 1155, 1159 are now awaiting shipment via CPR.
-Retired M420Ws 3528, 3531 are now moving to National Railway Equipment in Mount Vernon, Illinois.

The following locomotives are being retained as a Canac lease fleet: M420Ws 3500, 3501, 3504, 3515, 3518, 3563, 3571, 3576, 3580; S13u 8700, 8701, 8702, 8703, 8704, 8705, 8706, 8708, 8709, 8711. Unit 8702 is not serviceable.

CN Train 310 from Montreal January 13, 1999, with SD40-2 5296, KCS SD40-3 6621, handled ex-CP 424s 4210, 4219, 4230, 4235, 4238, and 4243 as far as Joffre, Quebec enroute to the New Brunswick East Coast.

The following CN locomotives are now leased to shortlines:

-New Brunswick East Coast: SD40 5038, 5101, 5178, 5218, 5222, 5233, 5235, 5388.
-RaiLink Southern Ontario (RLHH): SW1200RS 1359, 1363, GP38-2 4771, GP40-2 9622; 9468 has been returned to CN. Being prepared for lease to RaiLink Southern Ontario are Canac SW1200RSs CNAX 1206, presently in Montreal, and CNAX 1236, now off-lease from Rouge Steel in Detroit is enroute to MacMillan Yard, Toronto before going RaiLink Southern Ontario.
-Leased to RaiLink Mackenzie Northern (RLGN): GP9u 4000, 4016, 4017, SD40 5074, 5215. CN 5060 and 5210 had previously been returned however RaiLink again required additional motive power. CN SD40s 5012 and 5060 will soon be leased to RaiLink Mackenzie Northern.
-Goderich Exeter (GEXR) are leasing GP40-2L(W) 9633, 9643, 9661, (9642 had been leased, failed and has now been replaced by 9663).
-Quebec Gatineau Railway (QGRY) has leased GP9u 4012, 4117, 4119, GP40-2L(W)s 9637, 9639.
-Ottawa Central Railway (OCRR) has leased: GP9u 4102, 4107. St.Lawrence & Atlantic of Quebec (SLRQ) GP9u 4106, GP9RM 7033 (4036, 7014, 7071, previously leased have been returned).

RaiLink 1201, formerly CN 1335, from RaiLink Southern Ontario at Hamilton, is at MacMillan Yard shop awaiting disposition account blown engine.

OTHER MOTIVE POWER

Cando Contracting has painted one of the two GP9's assigned to it's Barrie & Collingwood, an ex-CN line that operates between its namesake points in Southern Ontario. CCDX 1000 (exQNSL GP9 157) is done in an attractive black & grey with red stripes and lettered Barrie & Collingwood. The second unit, CCDX 1001 remains in the solid black (with yellow frame stripe) of its previous owner, Ohio Central. Heritage of the 1001 is exx CCDX 94, ex OHCR 94, nee B&O 6594. Both units are kept at the former-CN Allandale yard in Barrie when not in use.

A recent look at CP SD90's in service showed 9100-9111; 9113-9114; 9116; 9119-9125. Undelivered 9112 & 9126 were still in Winnipeg. The first redesigned hump set is working at CP Agincourt Yard in Toronto, consisting of 1214-5480-5481. Also CP has renumbered 1616 to 8251 and 1619 to 8252 to reflect gearing changes done some time ago. An altercation in Hamilton on January 25, 1999 has sent CP SW1200RS 8131 and 8161 to CP Agincourt Yard for repair. BC Rail M42OW 642 was sold to Genessee Valley Transportation, for operation on the Mohawk Adirondack & Northern. She will join 645, already on the GVT.

Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia has the following units out of service at Sydney Nova Scotia: MLW C-630Ms 2028, 2029, 2003, 2016, 2032, 2034, 2039, 2035; MLW RS-18s 3627, 3675. the 2028 was still in CN colours and 2035 had centre axles missing from both trucks. RaiLink purchased January 21, 1999 former VIA FPu 6303 weight 247,000 pounds (locomotive was intended for Churchill service hence lighter weight) and VIA FP9u 6312 weight at 258,000 pounds both have 1800 horsepower prime movers, ie 645 power assemblies, rebuilt in 1984. The two units are intended for use on the Tennbec Timber Train during the summer and then may work out on the Lakeland and Waterways Subdivisions in the winter. The Mattawa-Temiscaming group (Tennbec Timber Train) obtained four VIA cars in 1998. They put 5488 into service, and will be working on Cafe-Bar Lounges 3034 and 3037 and Cafe-Coach 3205 in 1999.

The expanded 700-page Canadian Trackside Guide 1999 will be available in mid-March at $28.10 in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; $26.15 in the rest of Canada, and $21.50 US to U.S. addresses. All prices include shipping and applicable taxes. Order From: Bytown Railway Society Inc., P.O.Box 141, Station "A" Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8V1, Canada

Thank you to the following individuals for contributions for the March 1999 Canada Calling: Rainer Auer, Will Baird, Justin Babcock, Kenny Borg, Gerry Burridge, Bruce Chapman, Paul Duncan, Gil Emery Jr., Paul Hammond, Roman Hawryluk, Joseph F. Kazmar, Randy Kotuby, Greg McDonnell, Glen Migneault, Doug Page, Carl Perleman, Earl Roberts, Jim Sandilands, Glen Smith, Mike Swick, Byron Thomas, Drew Toner.

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