They Saved the LRC

They did it—they saved the LRC.

In April I noted that the Toronto Railway Historical Association (TRHA) had launched a campaign to save one of Canada's unique LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) locomotives. Well, they did it, with help from generous donors: #6917 has been purchased from VIA Rail.

Next up: The Association wants to raise $75,000 to move the locomotive to its Roundhouse Park railway museum in Toronto.

In the meantime, a local shortline in the Toronto area has offered to store the unit on its property for free. It the plan goes through, the Association will move it there in fall. The plan is to move it to the museum in four years.

All I can say is good on them, and good on all who donated. We might think that thre's not much to do to save the recent railway past, but when was the last time you saw an SD40-2 in a consist? These units, and others like them, that once seemed to be everywhere, are disappearing fast. Soon the railways we grew up with in the 1960s-1990s will be memories.

(Find out more about the campaign to save the LRC at http://www.trha.ca/LRC/).