The Dartmouth Terminal switcher...

No, not the Dartmouth in Devon, but Nova Scotia, and another piece in the ‘what if’ TerraTransport jigsaw puzzle...

A few conversations with Chris whilst scheming over the U18B led to an expansion of ideas around how my proto-freelance regional shortline might evolve, and terminal switching around Halifax and Dartmouth was an obvious addition to the longer routes previously identified... enter the Dartmouth Terminal...

Operations over the former CN Dartmouth sub would be largely on the north east side of the Halifax basin, switching Burnside as well as servicing the gypsum facility at Wright’s Cove and auto port. As TerraTransport post-privatisation also operates a section of the former DAR, Fundy Gypsum have now begun shipping direct to Wright’s Cove avoiding the complication of the large tidal variation in the Fundy basin and the loader previously used at Hantsport. The SW1500s are usually to be found in the Dartmouth area handling the local switching turns, occasionally turning up in lieu of a road unit on one of the heavier hauls as required.

So, reality... whilst thumbing through an aging copy of Continental Modeller from 1991, I notice my Dad has highlighted the SW1500 in reviews and a few of the adverts... suffice to say I received an Athearn SW1500 for Christmas in 1991, and she was my first proper grown up North American model. Initially finished in red, later gaining spurious CP rail markings (neither CN nor CP rostered the model in Canada at this time, although some Mp15DC did exist in BC Hydro and I think the Port of Montreal may have had one), later it was painted for my shortline, strangely coincidental also green, the ONS&L, a nod to my Dad’s love of the QNS&L, the acronym didn’t mean anything but the logo was supposed to be waving grain above the wheat field, formed from Via yellow stripes and some GT or CN (I can’t remember) plough striping... 

Fast forward and it seemed somewhat appropriate that the Dartmouth Terminal use a couple of SW1500s, and that perhaps I should model one of them. I found a Broadway SW1500 on eBay, for a reasonable price, and the rest is history. Is this mission creep? I’m not so sure, it feels more like the crystallising and evolution of my original concept. The Dartmouth Terminal locomotive as part of the wider TerraTransport group could be expected to be found switching downtown Moncton, at least in my version of history.

When I modelled the TerraTransport liveried U18b I used transfers from Black Cat Publishing. When I checked their dimensions I reckoned that would be too large for a H0 SW1500 so I have drawn up my own artwork, which allowed me to also produce the Dartmouth Terminal script. There is certainly a nod to the Guilford system with its Boston and Maine, Springfield Terminal and Maine Central history occasional creeping out on the side of their units, sharing a corporate image. Today, the same could be said for the monolithic yet eye catching Genessee and Wyoming...

These have been reproduced as water slide transfers and checked for size, they will really finish off my model. The intention is to retain the Western Pacific orange and black striping on the pilots, and orange handrails again. The rear of the cab will be white, and I will replace the horn with something more Canadian. The model is a lovely detailed and crisp tooling, but it has to be said the sound on this Paragon 2 model was dreadful, so has been removed. I figure sometimes I won’t want to operate with sound, and having the choice will be nice, I can always retrofit a Tsunami and new speaker at a later date, for now removing the speaker was an east way to address the problem!

The wood has turned up for the main layout at the same time, so I’m not sure how quickly this project will progress, but it’s another thread woven into my hobby, and you know me, I enjoy this aspect and it really adds something so I have no doubt we’ll see 1501 (or 2) finished before long. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, until next time, more soon...