There is an interesting story as to how I got most of these photos. There is an access road that runs next to the BC Rail main yard in North Vancouver, and I had gone up as close as I dared to the main gate to take some photos at a distance in the yard. A maintenance truck drove by and then stopped and backed up. I thought the guy was going to tell me to leave, but instead he said, "I noticed you taking photos there. Would you like me to give you a tour?" I was shocked, but delighted. He took me all around the yard and the shops, and the only thing that prevented me from taking more photos is that I ran out of film.
BC Rail rosters several DASH 8-40CMs. These locomotives are a design unique to Canada. Note that the side of the locomotove angles inward near the cab. This is called the "Draper Taper" and was designed so that crews on cowled locomotives could more easily view the train behind them.
BC Rail once rostered several Budd RDC's for passenger and tourist service. Unfortunately, BC Rail has fallen on financial hard times recently, and has had to drastically scale back its passenger service. Very few of the RDC's can be found running today.
The railroad rosters several Caterpillar re-engined RS18u's for switching and local service. Several, such as this one, are also slug mothers and work the yard tracks in North Vancouver.
Once of several slugs created from RS3's.
RS18u 601 is painted in a special scheme for one of several tourist trains that BC Rail was running at the time. Unfortunately due to financial hardships, all of these tourist trains no longer operate.
BC Rail's once-famous Royal Hudson steam locomotive, that once pulled its tourist train of the same name, now sits forlorn under a tarp, disconnected from its tender and its streamlined jacketing mostly removed.
Here is BC Rail's other steam locomotive, CPR 3716, also sidelined.
The consist of the Whistler Northwind.
