Suppose you can't use Alco's

[Miningman]

No Alco's allowed, thank you very much.

GM Special trainload of new automobiles destined to Dueck on Broadway in Vancouver. c.1956-58
This pair of GM passenger A units were laying over (or held) at John Street and likely just took
the train as far as Lambton Yard to be added to a North West train such as 953 or 965..

 

[jeffhergert]

The Rock Island's train 57 was a mostly GM autoparts train that ran through to the UP at Council Bluffs.  Normally, but not exclusively, the engines used on it would be GE U-boats.  I have seen pictures of a weekend edition of the train being pulled by RI E-units out of the Chicago commuter pool.  They would run to Silvis, IL and then be turned back to Chicago.

Jeff

[Miningman]

Well thats understandable. However, if the Rock was switching the plant  on the property that made the parts I would think the employees and GM management might be a bit sensitive about a non EMD switcher doing the work. 

This train, with the ridiculous banner placed so it looks like mouth gag, is a solid train of autos for one dealership in Vancouver. Once out of view of the general public in Toronto and out into the boonies who knows what powered it. It's a safe bet to say they stuck with GM just so they could boast. Heck of a lot of cars for one dealership. 

'57 Chevies and Oldsmobiles...can you imagine what thats worth with a Close Encounters type time displacement, suddenly returning today intact as if it were 10 minutes ago.  

[Firelock76]

When I was a senior in high school (1971) there were quite a few 50's cars in the student parking lot, '57 Chevys included.

Of course, they weren't classics yet, back in those days they were bombs!  One even had a small steel I-beam welded to the frame in lieu of a missing front bumper!

But I'll bet the guys driving those "bombs" sure wish they had them now!

Also, and probably strictly a local thing, we used to call those 50's cars "Superman Cars," since those were the cars we saw in the old "Superman" TV series starring George Reeves we all grew up watching.  At the same time, the girls called 50's womens fashions "Lois Lane Outfits." 

Here's a good one for you...

A young woman gets back to her apartment after a night on the town, and her roommate asks her "How did your blind date go?"

"Lousy!  It was all downhill after he picked me up in his '57 Chevy!"

"A '57 Chevy?  That sounds like fun!  What's wrong with that?"

"He was the original owner!"