My jaw dropped when I saw this, and I'm told I had the biggest, silliest grin on my face. I'm not particularly a steam locomotive buff, but complicated mechanical things are cool. At one point in my distant past I had my steam ticket, so I knew what most of the parts were.
This wasn't a look don't touch display. We were allowed to climb into the cab. There were so many other shots I'd like to get, but we hadn't brought our tripods in, and there was a time limitation. CP was very generous to us, and we didn't want to impose.
You can see a bit of the display space here. It's an old work space, impeccably cleaned and restored. It's used as a meeting room space for corporate gatherings or presentations. The locomotive itself is spotless and looks ready to fire up. If I understand correctly, they only need to get an inspection from Transport Canada and they could. The guy giving us the tour is dying to do just that.
The cab. Oh my goodness!! The green and black and all that brass and copper! The photos are hand held with a 14 mm f1.8 lens at ISO 1600.
When Winston Churchill was in Canada, this is the rail car he used. The next room forward from this is where the bathtub was, and the paneling is still warped a little from the moist air.
My favourite shot of the day.
Of course I crawled underneath!
Outside to a static display. This locomotive used to be in front of Gulf Canada Square in downtown Calgary.
The secret tour would have been worth it if this was the only place we went to. Wow!
Rock of the Day
Driftwood of the Day
What a treat to get that sort of access. It might be fun to see these cab photos and the steam punk museum photos together. Today's driftwood of the day is particularly note worthy - I really enjoy just that hint of colour. Cheers, Sean
ReplyDeleteI'm with Sean on the driftwood shot. Very special. Neat that you were able to get up close and personal with that particular bit of history.
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