FULL STEAM AHEAD ... THE "GOOD 'OL DAYS"

It was circa 1980 and the Ottawa - Wakefield steam train excursion was a tourist attraction. The train: 1201 A Canadian Pacific Railway, "Pacific" type steam engine 4-6-2 hauled its coal tender, baggage car and several vintage passenger cars from the Ottawa Science & Technology Museum in Ottawa through the capital city north to Wakefield, QC and return. The first photo is the 1201 train crossing the trestle over the Rideau River at Carleton University. (Notice the RED spot top rear engine boiler...the 1201's bell signalling an approach to a cross walk at Carleton). The scenic route travelled north via Hull and Chelsea, QC about an hour to its destination, the quaint village of Wakefield on the edge of the Gatineau River. The second photo at Wakefield shows No. 1201 clearing a switch and ready for a turn around and return trip to Ottawa.
The third and fourth photos are of Canadian National Railway's steam locomotive 6060. Built in 1944 it was one in a UI-F series of lighter and faster passenger locomotives that could reach 75 miles per hour. The 4-6-2 locomotive was painted in green, black and gold and was characterized by its side valances. It was nick named "Bullet-Nosed Betty" because of the shape of its boiler. These photos were taken circa 1972 during a time when it performed steam train excursions and were captured heading out of Montreal just west of Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC. Locomotive 6060 is now retired and on display in Jasper, Alta.