Call it a blast from the past!
Jérôme sent me this link to Lorence Toutant's Flickr account. This is a set of wonderful pictures taken in Quebec during the 70s by late Guy Bertrand. Well, nothing exceptional. Great shots from this period are common, however, there's something extremely rare. Which is freight trains on Murray Bay Subdivision. It's the first time I see pictures of that era, first time I have photographic evidence of RS18 consist.
The first picture shows us a passenger excursion train near Station Les Caps in 1973. If you look carefully in the background, you'll see a tunnel. The picture is excellent in showing details like ballast, riprap, vegetation growth and telegraph poles design.
The second picture is even better. A consist of 3 RS18 is pulling CN #522 freight train at Pointe-au-Pic. Well, that's quite a motivation to complete my Atlas RS18 kitbashes! If you look in the background, you can spot a cylindrical hopper on the wharf siding. Probability this car is loaded with cement are quite high. Most cars are 40ft boxcars, there's a few black tank cars and four 40ft hoppers. Most of the time, these cars were used in ballast service and probably stored in Wieland. Amazing to see the vegetation growth too.
As you know, the next big challenge for our layout is rebuilding the peninsula with broader curves. It has been discussed we could model one of the typical very short tunnels found in Charlevoix to effectively separate Montmorency from Clermont. The final decision hasn't been taken, but Pointe-au-Pic wharf shouldn't be ruled out. It was an interesting spot on the railway with lots of action according to old folks with whom I talked. It was also a very compact scene than can be done without too much real estate. The real question is will it break the equilibrium of Clermont?
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