Maroon, gray, yellow…and brass

Fresh out of the CP Shops at Butler, Wis., my Lionel no. 34582 F3AA pairing is poised to ease Canadian Pacific top brass out for a jaunt along the western rails. Due largely to the adjacent heliport, waterfront, and immediate access to the central city, CP execs prefer embarking on The Executive Train (appropriately designated Train no. 001) from the Vancouver Waterfront Yard.
For precisely the same reasons, several other business trains from foreign roads also made this holdover yard an extended port of call during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Following the Games, my CP yard will continue to extend an open invitation to BNSF and Union Pacific executive specials in an unabashed effort to promote international ventures with either road. Already, visits from UP specials (headed by Lionel no. 11131 “844”) have resulted in a power-pooling plan that pairs Action Red and Armour Yellow locomotives.