CN ~ Cab Ride ~ Fraser - Thompson Canyon ~ Boston Bar to Spences Bridge ~ # 10

Location : Boston Bar to Spences Bridge, BC
Date : 1995
Note : Cab ride takes place on manifest mixed freight train heading east.
10th video in a very long series (20 hours) ! Film recorded on Sony Handycam in 1990 to 1995. Videos will be about 5 to 15 minutes in length, and feature many freight trains of an almost bygone era, including caboose operations, SD40-2W locos, cab ride through the canyon from Boston Bar to Spences Bridge on manifest freight. If you like CN, CP Rail, or BC Rail, subscribe, as there will be hours and hours uploaded over the rest of 2013 !

[@sd60f]

Fantastic video, thanks for posting. Would love to see a longer version with less stuff edited out - for example full footage of the Cape Horn rocksheds between Lasha and Morris/Pitquah.

[@rustyrails6726]

Cool video! I too have met many friendly engineers and gotten the odd cab ride, didn't have a video camera though.

[@christophercddelrosariocoish]

Great shot, what type of locomotive did you ride on? I rode on CN 2160 C40-8W for CN Family day and I got to drive the locomotive

[@RailwayWorld]

That's pretty cool, I like those C40-8Ws. This ride was on an Eastbound manifest freight of about 35 cars, and the loco was an SD40-2W. Great fun, certainly impossible to do by today's safety concerns I'd think, the engineer just waved me over and we got to talking while filming at Boston Bar, and he offered us a ride to our campground :) A memory I'll never forget !

[@nabibakhsh1632]

Good observation that wipers of the locomotives hence during heavy rain the locomotive will not gain speed. Engr Nabi Bakhsh Marwat Lahore

[@bakdrft2009]

Guess the wipers dont work

[@christophercoleman1895]

great stuff how the hell did you get a ride in the train cab ?

[@RailwayWorld]

+christopher coleman Pure luck & one very friendly engineer ! Was train spotting in Boston Bar, as well as having a little breakfast, they use to make the best pancakes (sadly out of business now). Admiring the locos, the engineer opened the window and yelled over if I've ever been inside one before - I was about 10, so Dad and I climbed inside, got talking with him, and we mentioned we're camping in Spences Bridge, and he offered us a "lift" !!Couldn't believe my luck, and friendly offer of something special, which I'm sure isn't possible in today's security conscious world. Something I'll never forget, those were the days. Boy I miss em. Glad you enjoyed the footage.More videos coming as soon as I have sometime to transfer them to digital. Thanks.

[@christopherlong2301]

One thing I find interesting is this train is running East on the CN track and the CP train at Cisco is running West. I thought all traffic, CN and CP, ran East on CP's track and West on CN's track.

[@RailwayWorld]

They do now but back in the "good old days" they kept to their own lines, which made it much more interesting for the rail fan as you never knew which direction one would be coming from, and there would often be "meets" in passing loops @ Spences Bridge, Ashcroft, Lytton, and of course the yards in Boston Bar / North Bend. I remember at 10 years old rushing out of our cabin in the middle of the night @ Spences Bridge, catching an East bound CN freight entering the siding, and coming West at a good speed a Trailer flatcar train - Great Fun. The signals would give you a heads up on what might be coming and from where ! Now just one right after the other, a bit dull to be honest. Our Engineer on this trip mentioned the "friendly competition spirit" when they would catch a CP Rail train also heading East, and try to pass it in the canyon LOL !

[@christopherlong2301]

Railway World Thanks for the reply. What year was that video shot?

[@RailwayWorld]

1995, I believe they made the agreement to start running EAST / WEST sometime in the early 2000s, not sure which year it was, maybe '02 ?

[@christopherlong2301]

Thanks. Cisco is one of my favorite places to railfan.

[@sd60f]

Directional running started in fall of 1999, don't remember which month, October or November 1999

[@nabibakhsh1632]

Correction wipers of the locomotive not working. Nabi Bakhsh

[@jerrybeam5656]

and what?