-
589
Points
Rank:
Train Conductor
The last of the Cowls.
BC Rail C40-8M 4609, as of the time of this posting, is the very last of it’s kind on the roster of Canadian National Railway.
CN merged with BC Rail in 2004, adding these full body cowl Dash-8’s to their fleet and using them system wide.At the beginning part of this decade, the units began to be retired and scrapped due to their age.
Of the BC Rail Dash 8 fleet, only two survive as of right now.
BCOL 4618, which was repainted to CN colors but retained it’s BCOL reporting mark and number, was donated to the Alberta Railway Museum.BCOL 4609 became the last Dash 8 in service. It currently is at the CN training center with it’s fate uncertain. With any luck it will go to a museum in British Columbia when it is finally struck for the CN roster.
Until that happens, this model of 4609 roams around on my layout. Made my Rapido and featuring DCC and ESU Loksound, this represents 4609 in it’s current configuration on CN with the yellow frame stripe.Ironically enough I also own a model of the 4618, which is from the first run of Rapido Dash 8’s. So if 4609 goes to a museum I will have models of BOTH preserved cowls. The very last of the last.
