Big Alcos in northern Quebec.

The other day, Adam Bartley and I were discussing railway operations and locomotives in Canada, which reminded me of an epic trip I took with George Pitarys and Bill Linley back in 1997.

We drove to Port Cartier, Quebec, a port on the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, and spent several days photographing the isolated Cartier Railway, which moved exceptionally heavy iron ore trains using vintage six-motor Alco and MLW diesels.

Tracks traversed a Canadian National park and this was as close to true wilderness as I’d been up to that time. Other than the railroad and a dirt road that ran parallel, there was virtually no other human activity. No houses, no towns, no restaurants, stores, or anything.

This view of a southward loaded train was exposed on Kodachrome 25 at milepost 21 (as measured from the port). At the time I was using a Nikon N90S with an f2.8 80-200mm Nikon zoom lens.

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One comment on “Big Alcos in northern Quebec.

  1. David Arthur Cook on said:

    YES, Brian! Stickin’ out, dead on, and ax’llant altogether – as they say in Belfast!

    (Pity you didn’t have your tape-recorder with you……. The grade-crossing call echoing through the woods must have sounded beautiful!)

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