Taking Inventory

Every now and then, I like to stop by the Weston shops at the Canadian Pacific Kansas City shops in central Winnipeg and “take inventory”.

Above, we see an array of power on the ready tracks in front of the Weston shops. CP 7012 is wearing the heritage “script” livery, while KCS 4550 is wearing the latest KCS livery. Just for variety, there’s CP 3086 in “block” lettering and recently rebuilt CP 8120 with the “golden beaver” logo too.

Looking on other tracks…

I was glad to see a KCS (de Mexico) “gray ghost”, #4519. I know some railfans don’t like ’em, but I do, so that’s all that matters! [to me]

I was also glad to see not one but two SD40-2 locomotives with multimarks, CP 5952 and 6054.

Back behind the ready tracks, SOO 4402 and CP 8715 were receiving some attention. I’m not sure what’s rarer – SOO painted units or CP locomotives with multimarks? Probably the SOO units.

In the “way back” part of the yard, ex UP 3670 and 3712 are in pieces and probably aren’t going to become SD70ACs like the other ex UP SD90s.

I think the coach car is a former “test” train car, and there are three snowplows visible that likely won’t be plowing any more drifts.

The ubiquitous plagues of pigeons were atop grain cars in the yard, occasionally deciding to take flight, only to alight on a different car. One presumes there is some spilled grain around the hatches.

Just One More Thing

I just finished “The Stars Are Legion” by Kameron Hurley. WOW. What a book!

The premise is big and original. Factions have been fighting for control of decaying world-ships orbiting an artificial sun for generations. Nobody is winning. Enter Zan, a warrior with no memory, who might be the key to escaping the cluster of worlds, who doesn’t know who to trust and what to believe.

Hurley wrote a very compelling and original story. I read it over two nights only because I had to get some sleep so I could work the next day… otherwise I would have read it straight through.

Highly recommended.

P.S. I didn’t mention that everyone in this book is a woman. There are no men, nor have there ever been, apparently. They just aren’t mentioned.

The really cool thing is… who cares? It’s not relevant to the story, no emphasis is placed on it, and the story works. I like that a lot.

7 thoughts on “Taking Inventory”

  1. Interesting that CP 6054 still has classification lights. I didn’t think there were any SD-40’s that still had them.

  2. The ‘test car’ is likely car 66 “Mechanical Test Car”, former Amtrak 10-6 sleeper 2655 ‘Silver Valley’ built by BUDD in 1948 for the CB&Q

  3. Very cool about SOO 4402 – I remember when it used to work out of Lethbridge several years ago…

    Did you photograph from the soccer fields? I and Brian did that last year before we later met up with you and Jim.

    • Yes, I photographed from the soccer fields, my “go to” location for this task. I don’t like going to the casino parking lot like some people do.

  4. Good photos! Reminds me of my trip to Agincourt many, many years ago and seeing all kinds of CP units in maroon and grey (or gray).

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