Railfan & Railroad Extra Board
On June 9, 1997, Algoma Central Train 2, the Local, is just emerging from the gorge section of Agawa Canyon.
Remembering Algoma F-Units
by Steve C. Bradley/photos by the author
Beloved by railfans, well known for the rugged Canadian Shield country it traverses, extremely photogenic, and renowned for friendliness, Algoma Central Railway got even better in 1995. It may sound too good to be true, but it did indeed happen when new owner Wisconsin Central added classic GMD F-units to the Algoma Central roster and painted them in a superb maroon, gray, and yellow paint scheme.
Operating 296 miles of main line from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst, Ont., Algoma Central had always been an EMD road. From its first order of GP7s in 1951, the road continued adding switcher and road units, all in the classic ACR paint scheme (resembling Lackawanna’s gray and maroon with yellow stripes). Being a small road and having only the Sault Ste. Marie maintenance shop, the