Photo 2 – As winter set in all trains running from North Bay through Cochrane and then on to Kapuskasing required two reliable engines plus a steam generator simply to insure passengers weren’t stranded out in the cold. The weather could be more than just an inconvenience. It could be downright dangerous. Just about anything in running order was cobbled together to get the job done and it would often be an RS11 and an F9B. This pair, both born in 1958, sits on the warehouse track just east of the station waiting to start their return trip.

I don’t ever recall seeing a modeller who ran a B unit as a second engine to a GP type road switcher. Seems it doesn’t look authentic enough I guess. Well, in the real world you do what it takes and it wasn’t a surprise for me to find modern Ontario Northland GP38’s being supported by 20 year old MLW work horses. And think of how much time you could save doing your scenery if the world, track included, was all white like this.