VIA F40PH-2s, Steam Generators, "Blue Cars" and Amtrak

In 1994, I took a trip to Windsor, ON and was lucky enough to catch one of VIA's few remaining "Blue Car" trains consisting of ex-CN smoothsides. As the locomotive doesn't need to maintain constant RPM to supply HEP power, you get the rare sound of a VIA F40 throttling up and down as it backs the steam generator through a crossing and into a wye to turn around. Back into Toronto, it's F40s with steam jennies aplenty, and even a VIA F40 on the point of a string of Amtrak Horizon cars! Being that VIA's F40PH-2s were hauling not just VIA trains but Amtrak and even CP Rail freight trains during the 90s, they surely were the poster children for "everywhere, anything, anytime." Interesting Side Story: Note the colour of the blue cars as I'm coming into Union Station in Toronto - the blue colour is distinctly different. This was not a trick of the lighting; I noticed several freshly-painted blue cars with that unusual tone - even the yellow striping seemed almost a yellow-gold. I was told later that these cars had been repainted by the Ontario Northland, and that the ONR simply used their own blue and yellow.