Last updated December 23, 2005
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Trainiax --> Photos --> Other Galleries --> Exporail --> April 2001
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The photos on this page are from April 2001.

Progress had been made on CN "doodlebug" #15824 and Sydney & Lousiburg combine #4 since my visit in March 2001.  By this point, the doodlebug had operating exterior lights, creating quite a show when all illuminated.  The headlight as pictured is only at half-brightness, since a 120-volt bulb was being used off the car's 64-volt power.

Wires are going everywhere in the control area of the doodlebug, but workers managed to figure them out.  The large green tube at the top left is a resistor used to reduce the power to the headlight to allow two levels of brightness, controlled by the black handle just above the window.  120-volt bulbs were being used in the interior as well, creating a dim light.

The change inside the combine since my first restoration visit was remarkable.  The entire interior, both passenger and baggage, had been stained and painted, with only sections of stenciling to do.  Small sections have been preserved to show just how badly the old paint and stain had deteriorated.  Compare the baggage section to what it was like during my previous visit.

The stained passenger section.

The difference between old and new is remarkable.

When this car was built in 1894, metalworking was still in its infancy, with the result that cars were built almost entirely of wood.  During restoration, the combine was resting on jacks, with the trucks at either end.  Despite appearances while placed under the car, the trucks are predominantly wood, save for the wheels, brakes, suspension, and metal sheets on the outside of the frame.  Even the bolster, sitting on the end of the truck, is reinforced wood.

Having the ground free of snow allowed me to get some detail shots of the giant M640.  This unit was converted to A1A-A1A from C-C (meaning the center traction motor on each truck was removed) in 1984, and was used as a test be for AC traction motors.  Aesthetically, changes were made to the hood and intakes behind the cab, which was previously like that of the standard M630 (see below).

CN's boxcars were less look-alike in the days before the noodle and 50-foot boxcars.  CN 40-footer #477632 is wearing the classic "maple leaf" scheme common to cars of that era.

CP 4-4-4 #2928.

A closely related but far more common relative of the M640 is the M630, here typified by CP M630 4563.  This model competed directly with GM-EMD's SD40-2, but, despite its rugged performance, sales were sluggish and it did not have the GM's exceptional reliability.  CP 4563 has been restored since this photo was taken.

Unlike the two of three rooftop fans visible on EMD locomotives, ALCOs have a single large fan usually mounted inside the hood blowing air through the radiators on top.  This design is very similar to that of GEs, and was adopted in EMD's "tunnel motors" for its effectiveness.  The fan is visible in this shot of the radiator area on M630 4563.

Gondolas perhaps take the most beating of all the freight cars, though this one doesn't have a whole lot of dings or dents.  This car demonstrates typical paint patching.

Small by today's standards, this is the design used for tank cars from earlier in the century, with riveted sides and a large dome.  Note the "arch-bar" freight trucks.  Procor is still in business today, though their white logos are less noticeable on today's huge tank cars.  UTLX #11204 was built in 1916.

General Electric 70-tonners, such as CN #30, were commonly found on Prince Edward Island branch lines with light rail and wooden bridges.  They operated until the early 1980s, a few years before all track was abandoned in December 1989.

Michael Eby 2005