Blades uphill

Working the three mile-long, 1.6% uphill grade out of Nouvelle Ouest, three of SFG RS18-3 fleet were in the company notch, rolling 78 cars toward the CN interchange at Matapédia. Having departed New-Richmond in the morning, three BC Rail woodchip cars were added for the ride in order to expedite customer needs and cars rotation in this case the Lebel wood products lucrative contract of wood chips service between Nouvelle-Ouest and Rivière du Loup.

 

Shortline service at it's best !

 

Back in 2017, RS18-3 1819 was the first and only repainted unit of the fleet into the Southern Pacific Black Widow-inspired paint scheme. Trailing unit, SFG 1856 who's still in the iconic CP Rail Action red will follow 1819 into the paint shop in a couple of weeks.

Unit trains of windmill blades from LM Windpower were now sadly a memory, having ended back in 2020 after the four years contract ended. Blades built at LM Gaspé plant are now too long to be moved by railroad cars and now leave Québec province by boat.

 

The numerous grades and curves, notorious on the Cascapedia subdivision, will make the old girls puffing a bit but surely always gave a photographer some memorable chase like it was the case on that cold and windy winter day.

 

SFG 565-20

1819 1856 1865

Milepost 30.8 Cascapedia subdivision

Nouvelle-Ouest,QC

January 20th 2017

Done