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Thursday, February 4, 1988
One of my first visits to Canada involved grinding switches and crossings in downtown Calgary in 1988 with SX 4. Coincidentally, it was just a week before the Winter Olympics would begin, and the city was absolutely buzzing! I can still remember the festive and friendly atmosphere to this day. We had a few hours available one day while we were waiting for trains, so the crew and I decided to go to the Loram history center in our grinding-dust-covered work clothes. I wasn’t entirely sure this was a great idea, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I don’t remember who was there that day, but I do remember the hospitality and how welcomed I felt. They loaded us up with trinkets, including a Loram Group necktie that I still have to this day.

A day or two later, we had an opportunity to go to the bobsled track and watch the bobsledders practicing. One advantage to being there early was that we could get right up to the tracks. I swear we could have reached out and touched the helmets of the bobsledders as they sped by. Bobsledding was a hot topic in the Olympics that year, as it featured the debut of the Jamaican Bobsled Team of “Cool Runnings” fame. The Winter Olympics Motto that year was, “Can You Feel It?”. Thanks to the incredible hospitality of the folks of Canada that week – even though it was the week before the events–the answer was a resounding “YES!”.

Darwin I – Loram Maintenance of Way

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