Sutherland Yard, Saskatoon, 1999...

I was digging through old magazines looking for something or other today when I stumbled across an envelope marked 'CP Saskatoon circa 1999' in my teenage handwriting...

CP Rail SD40 5561, circa June 1999, Sutherland Yard, Saskatoon. Keith Hilton photo.

Upon further investigation I found a series of photos my Dad had taken whilst on one of his summer teaching posts in Saskatoon, presumably trackside in Sutherland Yard in Saskatoon. If I remember the story, his apartment looked out on to the yard, so he enjoyed watching trains whenever he had the chance - but perhaps not the horns and bells with the comings and goings in the night! I think it's probably June 1999, but it might be earlier. However, there is no date on the photos and I don't have the negatives or processing slip, so can't shed any further light. In view of the fact that these might be useful for either myself or someone else in the future, I'm logging them here...

CP Rail GP38-2 3092, Sutherland Yard, Saskatoon. Keith Hilton photo.
I'd never realised until looking that this GP38-2 is fitted with a late blower housing, and the later style of radiator grill. It's tailed by a lease unit, and from the fan arrangement, it seems to be a GP40-2, but Dad hasn't photographed it (it wasn't CP and he loved CP) so it might be an SD40-2 EDIT: it’s an ex Boston and Maine, later Guilford GP40-2 owned by leaser HATX: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/Locopicture.aspx?id=6388.  

CP Rail GP38-2 3092, front cab and truck detail. Keith Hilton photo.

CP Rail GP38-2 3027. Keith Hilton photo.
Note the GP is riding on Defasco trucks as fitted to the GP9, rather than the more usual EMD Blomberg B used on the Dash-2 GPs.

It seems that intermodal was still in it's infancy, here a single double stack car is mixed in with other cars in the yard. Keith Hilton photo.

The next 3 photos show SD40 5561. This unit was in yard service, in fact in other photos I have there is a conductor riding the front steps. The subtle weathering was something I longer to master, but took many years to work on the art. Note also the old wooden grain elevators along the side of the yard, now I expect long gone. Keith Hilton photo.

CP Rail SD40 5561 centre hood and fuel tank. Keith Hilton photo.

CP Rail 5561 Rear hood and truck. N one re-railer, Canadian foot wells,and extra jacking points. Keith Hilton photo.

Evidently the yard had a small shops, here a pair of GP9u are being serviced (1541 and 1532). I have other photos of poorer quality showing an SW1200RS and GP9 pairing also working the yard on this day. Keith Hilton photo.

It seems fitting that our photos are rounded off with a van! I wonder if this was in work train service or as a pusher platform, or just for crew comfort? Keith Hilton photo.

What strikes me about these photos is their palette of colour... they seem to have that same bleached out warm sunny day look that I often aim to recreate in my own models. I remember using the photos of the SD40 to weather my own models, but rather crudely compared to today's efforts, however, perhaps I should revisit one of these prototypes in the future? Until next time, more soon...