CN Stuart Street Locomotive Shop - January 28 1990

By far the most popular first generation locomotive home to CN’s Stuart Street Yard over the years was GMD’s immensely versatile SW1200RS. With Hamilton’s enormous industrial base and corresponding spider web of sidings there was always plenty to keep the units fully occupied. No. 1311, built 1958, would be sold off by CN to the Ohio Central RR in 1994. In a curious twist of fate the gnarly looking unit would eventually return to Hamilton to serve new operator RaiLink, albeit mostly as a parts source.

Delivered in April 1960, No. 1359 would leave the roster in 1999 and in similar fashion serve replacement operator RaiLink. Enjoying much better fortune, No. 1359 would ultimately be acquired by railway services supplier Cando, becoming CCGX 1006, and is still active.

CN GP9 (GMD 1/1959) No. 4276 was constructed as a so called ‘light weight’ unit intended for use on lower capacity branchline trackage. The combination of small capacity fuel tank and and Flexicoil style trucks reduced total mass by as much as nine tons. While the Flexicoil trucks appear to be the same design as those fitted to SW1200RS’s, the wheelbase is not the same; 9’-0” vs. 8’-0”. In 1993 No. 4276 would be transformed by AMF into GP9RM No. 7082 and is still active.

Some forty-four years on, CN GP40-2L(W) No. 9468 (GMD 7/1974) is still active. No. 9493 (GMD 9/1974) would be sold off in 2007.

CN at Rymal Pt. 8: Motive Power Part 4.

CN F7Au 9172 is shown in A-B-A form along with F7Bu 9196 and F7Au 9169 approaching Nebo Road 4/12/1986. No. 9172 was originally constructed as F7A No. 9072 by GMD London in August of 1952. Rebuilt by CN’s Transcona (Winnipeg) Shop in December of 1973, the venerable unit would be retired and removed from service in 1989. Note the well maintained right of way.

By far the greatest claim to fame for the former H&NW line would have to have been the late era ‘Covered Wagon’ period. Rumour of the day was that the local CN motive power superintendent had requested the venerable units for the dedicated service. With limited switching requirements, the reduced visibility nature of first generation cab units was not of concern and the old soldiers were well suited to the daily run from the lower city in Hamilton to Stelco’s satellite location in Nanticoke.  My recollection was that the run (Train No. 725) was daily and split monthly between CN and CP. Thanks to the H&NW surveyors, the National system operators enjoyed a much more favourable, almost direct, route end to end, albeit one way. Due to Hamilton city dweller concerns CN agreed not to send loads northbound through the heart of the city along Ferguson Avenue. The return path from Nanticoke was via Brantford along the Dundas subdivision. CP had a much more circuitous path through Brantford and Waterford. The consist was essentially that of a unit train of sixty foot CP/CN (667 series) flat cars fitted with specialized steel slab supports. On occasion, regular freight waybilled to the same end points would be added to the head end.

No. 9172 is shown crossing Nebo road 4/12/1986. Not needing to be turned in A-B-A geometry, the pioneering form diesels were well suited to the point to point service. In overall geography, the Hamilton/Nanticoke/Brantford/Hamilton orbit formed a loosely shaped triangle; adding a second caboose facilitated a quick change in direction at all three points.

Same train, same day, different photographer! No. 9172 is shown alongside the St. George’s Anglican Church Cemetery (on the right hand side). In the background, also on the right, is the Ancaster CO-OP siding along with the years ago abandoned concrete grain silo complex. While the former H&NW/CN right of way was converted to a ‘rail trail’ in the mid 1990’s, all of the structures in the background are still extant. The weather trodden silos still stand guard, and the former Ancaster CO-OP complex has been expanded and repurposed as a Home Hardware location. As part of amalgamation the City of Hamilton assumed responsibility for the burial site in the former hamlet of Hannon. Today this view is completely obscured by wildly unkempt shrubbery.

Having surmounted the Niagara Escarpment and crested the rise (see below) the engineer at the controls of Nos. 9169/9196/9172 has elected to throttle up his consist on the approach to Rymal Road; the flashing warning lights have stopped all traffic rendering the transportation mode intersection clear. Apparently the sun gods were not all that enthused about the presence of the legendary motive power! No. 9169 was built by GMD London 6/1951 as F7 No. 9042 and converted by CN Transcona 10/1973. Retired from service in 1988 the ‘Covered Wagon’ was donated to the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum located in Prince George. F7Bu No. 9196 was built by GMD London 8/1951 as F7B No. 9053, converted 9/1973, and removed from service in 1988. All of the F7Au/Bu’s received rebuilt 567BC prime movers upgraded to 1,750 HP.

No. 9169 is shown with the entire consist in view. Note the hogback nature of the terrain and the encroaching housing on the right. Not surprisingly, horn blowing was very unpopular!

CN Stuart Street Locomotive Shop

Above: A snowless Super Bowl Sunday finds the diminutive facility chock full of equipment; a couple of Pointe St. Charles vans, a trio of SW1200RS’s, a GP9 and at least one GP40-2L (W) in the distance. GP9 No. 4533 (GMD 1/1957) would be transformed by PSC into GP9RM No. 7032 in 1991 and remarkably is still active. CN caboose No. 79616 was constructed by PSC in 1973 from a CN 472000 series boxcar and by 1997 would be converted into a ‘Rider Car’. For the record, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 55 – 10 in Super Bowl XXIV at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

The CN diesel running repair facility located on the south edge of the Stuart Street yard complex was a pocket sized instalment with all of the required elements compressed onto the property. The diesel shop was a modern, relatively small, heavily windowed structure with two tracks; both equipped with drop pits. The building was sized to accommodate four switcher units or a pair of longer locomotives as needed. Companion service items positioned on the west side of the shop included fuel storage tanks, a sand tower, and an outdoor inspection station equipped with access platforms and grating/spill containment.

Constructed in the early 1960’s following the demise of steam, the facility would have hosted a wide spectrum of motive power through the years. According to ‘IN MY OWN WORDS’ in the July 2018 issue of Trains Magazine the selection of motive power resident in the mid 1960’s was that of an locomotive enthusiast’s dream;  FM C-Liners, MLW S-3/S-4’s, FPA-4’s as well as GMD F9’s, GP9’s, GMD1’s and SW1200RS’s. Occurrence of the passenger units at the time was related to CN’s Hamilton to Toronto commuter service obligation; GO Transit Corporation was on the cusp of formation. The commuter locomotives and MLW switchers were assigned to Stuart Street and thus would have received their regulatory ninety-two day inspections in-house. The GP9’s and SW1200RS’s would have been maintained at their respective home base(s) and only received attention at Stuart Street as required. Aside from minor updates; additional exterior lighting, etc., and routine maintenance; new roll up doors and replacement windows for example, the diesel shop remained relatively unchanged for the better part of half a century.

Over the years access to the facility, in my case outdoors only - typically on weekends, was very open with virtually no security about. Staff when encountered was friendly and for the most part mostly unengaging. On occasion, a CN Police vehicle would drive through the grounds looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary or of interest. Interactions were always friendly happenstances. I only wish I had made more sojourns to shop during these seemingly more innocent times.

On December 15^th 1997 CN would enter into a long term lease agreement of the Stuart Street Yard facility with RaiLink Southern Ontario. RaiLink was acquired by Rail America in 2000 who in turn would become part of short line goliath Genesee and Wyoming Corporation in 2012. Changes to the diesel shop began to unfold following CN’s departure. Virtually all of the external appliances were razed; gone in relatively short order were the sand tower, fuel storage tanks and inspection track accessories. Importance of the location as a diesel service facility would continue to diminish as the tenant years passed. In 2013 the Metrolinx commuter agency announced an agreement with CN that would result in the property being re-purposed for expanded GO Train service to Hamilton at a new station to be known as ‘Harbour West’. By September of 2014 no evidence of the former ‘running repair’ facility remained.

Above: The remaining days clearly numbered, the diesel shop at Stuart Street is showing the effects of reduced maintenance. Note also that the overhead inspection lights have been removed and openings in the attached cement block administration structure have either been reduced in size or eliminated altogether. Sadly, the once bustling facility was almost reduced to an abandoned property in its final years.

FLASH BACK FRIDAY

SW1200RS’s Nos. 1213 (GMD 1956) and 1326 (GMD 1958) are shown basking in the sun just outside of the lower city Bayfront located diesel shop. Once part of a 192 member fleet, No. 1213 would be retired in 6/1994, No. 1326 1/1996. Note the 8100 series MLW S-4 switcher indoors.

Lightweight GP9 No. 4385 (GMD 10/1957) was built as No. 4133. Renumbered in 1984, the unit would be transformed by PSC into GP9RM No. 7072 in 1992 and off the roster in 2007. Shown coupled to No. 4385 is GP40-2L(W) No. 9416 (GMD 4/1974); still in service.

CN at Rymal Pt. 7: Motive Power Part 3

CN GP9 No. 4118 was delivered by GMD London to the railway in September of 1957. To clear the number series for the ongoing GP9RM program the unit was renumbered to 4384 in 1984. In 1993 the veteran locomotive would be remanufactured into GPRM No. 7273 by AMF Technotransport (by this time CN had sold off the Pointe St. Charles (PSC) facility), among the last units to be modified. Incredibly, at age sixty-one, No. 7273 is still active! In a very respectable 1973 'Zebra' scheme, No. 4118 is shown switching Shaw Pipe Protection on May 25th 1984. Note the longitudinal, centrally positioned low volume fuel tank.

By the early 1980’s the era of the GMD SW1200RS trundling along the former H&NW right of way in pairs or triplets was all but over. Motive power deployment along the line became a fairly predictable pattern of veteran GP9’s in various states of dress and detail. Most were decorated in the 1973 ‘Zebra’ scheme, albeit in contrasting condition; from recently repainted to desperately needing to be repainted. CN’s lack of interest in the appearance of their GP9 fleet at the time was understandable given the concurrent remanufacturing plan. Launched in 1981, CN’s massive Pointe St. Charles based GP9RM refurbishment program would ultimately recycle some four hundred ‘Geeps’ into a mixture of road switchers, yard switchers and slugs. Nevertheless, even with the inherent uniformity, there was the occasional motive power surprise. Despite their Montreal and points east operating base, the odd MLW product would show up. As well, locomotives being repositioned or ferried for maintenance work would on rare occurrence be included in the consist. Overall, it was a thoroughly fascinating but all too brief an epoch.

CN GP9 No. 4125 was built in late 1957 by GMD London. Similar to sister 4118, the unit was renumbered, becoming 4380 in 1984 and subsequently remanufactured in 1991 by PSC into GP9RM No. 7021. Unfortunately, No. 7021 would be involved in a collision at Coteau Du Lac on 9/5/1997, deemed unrepairable, and subsequently removed from the roster.

CN GP9 No. 4212 was manufactured by GMD London in June of 1957 as No. 4594. In 1993 AMF Technotransport would transform the unit into slug No. 272 adding some eighteen years of service. No. 4212 is shown switching Shaw Pipe Protection on May 6^th 1984. Note the lightweight trucks and small volume longitudinal geometry fuel tank.

CN GP9 No. 4566 was delivered from GMD London in November of 1957. Similar to virtually all of the sisterhood, No. 4566 would succumb to the remanufacturing program in emerging as GP9RM No. 7049 in 1992. By this time the former Pointe St. Charles facility would be renamed ‘Atelier Montreal Facility’ or simply ‘AMF’. No. 4566 is shown switching Penn Lumber on April 26, 1984. Note the five year old Union Railroad of Oregon offset double door FMC boxcar.

CN GP9 No. 4569 was supplied to Canadian National by GMD London in November of 1957. Unlike most remanufactured GP9’s, No. 4569 would lose her prime mover during remanufacture. She emerge from PSC in 1990 as ‘booster unit’ (slug) No. 245 and is still active. No. 4569 is shown switching Shaw Pipe Protection on May 6, 1984. Note SW9 No. 7000 (GMD 1952) dead in tow. According to the Branchline CTG No. 7000 was removed from service in 1984 and is most likely shown either on the way to a dismantler or perhaps a  new owner.

CN RS18 No. 3702 was constructed by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in June of 1958. Unlike colleagues resident on Canadian Pacific, there would be no large scale refurbishment program for the Alco sired flock. Six (3150 – 3155) were converted in 1968 for high speed Tempo service in Southwestern Ontario while a total of thirty-eight (1750 – 1787) were modified with A-1-A trucks and de-rated to 1,400 HP for light rail duties in the Maritimes. While deploying a classic 251 turbo lag plume, No. 3702 is shown switching Shaw Pipe Protection on May 30^th 1984. Note the light weight style MLW trucks. Sadly, in just four years at age 30, No. 3702 would depart the roster in 1988.

CN at Rymal Pt. 6: Motive Power Part 2

CN GP9 No. 4130 was constructed by GMD London in October of 1957. In order to clear the number sequence for the GP9RM program the unit would become No. 4383 in 1984, and subsequently be remanufactured into ‘booster unit’ (slug) No. 237 by CN Pte. St. Charles (PSC) in 1988. Following several years of faithful yard and transfer service, the tractive effort assister would be removed from the roster in 2005. No. 4130 is shown switching Shaw Pipe Protection (see CN at Rymal Pt. 4) on June 7^th 1984. Set up to run long hood forward, No. 4130 has traveled as designed north from Caledonia to service the facility mid day. Shaw Pipe at the time was in the midst of a large scale production order. While inbound uncoated pipe was received from local suppliers by transport truck, most finished product was shipped out by flat car. With only one relatively short siding an extra move was required during this frenzied period in order to keep the operation fluid. Earlier in the morning the daily wayfreight dispatched from Stuart St. Yard in Hamilton would have also made a pit stop to switch out loads.

While the 1960’s and 1970’s were the preserve of CN’s ubiquitous SW1200RS, motive power along the former H&NW over the following years until abandonment primarily consisted of Dick Dilworth’s seemingly omnipresent GP9. The transition is entirely logical. Throughout the middle to late 1970’s CN took delivery of several hundred GMD wide cab GP/SD40-2’s, displacing older/lower HP locomotives from mainline and higher priority manifest service. Despite relatively low traffic volume along the H&NW, the right of way and track structure were well maintained and could easily handle the nominally larger road units. Thus, tonnage that on occasion required three end cabs could easily be conveyed by a pair of ‘Geeps’. Often, as shown, a single GP9 was sufficient.

While interchange traffic continued to diminish, there were a couple of ‘Last Hurrah’s’ for the line. As noted above, the local pipe coating enterprise landed a sizeable contract related to a major Western Canada pipeline project. Probably much better known was the movement of cast steel slabs from Stelco’s newly commissioned Lake Erie Works to their Hilton Works based rolling mills in lower Hamilton. Unfortunately, due to the Stone Church bridge transport truck incident in 1987, the Rymal segment of this trip was rather short lived – see CN Rymal Pt. 2.

No. 4521 was built 12/1956 by GMD London. In 1985 the veteran unit would enter the Pte. St. Charles remanufacturing facility and subsequently emerge as GPRM No. 7007. In 2011 the unit would be sold to Motive Power Resources (http://www.mprxinc.com/) becoming MVPX 7007. CN 4521 is shown switching the CO-OP siding in June of 1979.

CN 4521 together with sister 4560 is shown on a caboose hop southbound just about to duck under the White Church Road overpass (just east of the hamlet of Mt. Hope). Unfortunately I did not date my early material; best guess is spring of 1980 or 1981.

CN GP9 No. 4523 was delivered from GMD London in December of 1956. Note the lack of dynamic brakes, a consequence of wreck repair employing a replacement GP7 long hood assembly. In 1990 No. 4523 would be remanufactured into booster unit No. 263 and is still on the roster. Nos. 4523/4521 are shown crossing Limeridge Road E on Hamilton Mountain in an undated photo; guessing spring of 1981.

Similar to No. 4523 above, No. 4524 (GMD London 12/1956) has been subject to GP7 long hood replacement, most likely also due to wreck repair. CN had long ago disabled the dynamic brakes in their GP9 fleet and in most cases the hardware remained in place. Similar to the sisterhood, No. 4524 would be included in the PSC GP9RM program and renumbered to 7028. While still on the roster, No. 7028 has been out of service for a couple of years. Coupled to No. 4125, No. 4524 is shown north of Highway 53 (Rymal Road), switching Shaw Pipe Protection on May 30^th 1984.

CN GP9 Nos. 4528 and 4519 were delivered by GMD London in December of 1956. While both would be transformed by PSC into GPRM’s, only No. 4135 (1991 phoenix of 4528) is still on the roster. In 1985 No. 4519 would emerge as GP9RM No. 7006 and stay on the roster until 2000. In the photo above the duo is shown southbound diagonally crossing Nebo Road. Love that Firebird rag top! Again, more of my early undated material; most likely taken in the spring of 1981.

In 1991 No. 4560 (GMD London 11/1957) would become GP9RM No. 7055. Still toiling away for Canadian National, the venerable unit is shown some four decades earlier on the caboose hop previously shown from above. In this view Nos. 4560 and 4521 are heading south out of Hamilton about to cross Twenty Side Road. Aside from the engineer’s all weather window the GP9 is virtually as delivered. The building in the background on the left is the former Hannon public school, now the home of the IBEW Local 105 Training Center.

Copetown Show 2018

This past weekend, my dad, brother, and I attended the annual train show at Copetown, ON, known for being more of a showcase of modeling talent than of the more common flea-market type. This year was no different, with many models displayed by local modelers, an operating S-scale layout, and several photo and model scenery vendors. The weather was perfect with clear blue skies, so we turned up early in order to take in some railfanning before the show, though CN was a bit less cooperative than desired with only CN 385 making an appearance (photo angles a bit less than desirable). Still, it was a great chance to talk with old friends and make some new ones. I'll let the photos do the talking...

Cheers,
Peter.

The operating S-scale layout took me back to the days of bringing a step-stool in order to be able to see the action!

Stephen Nichol displayed some very nice weathered CN locos, though my favourite is easily the OSR RS-18u.

Roger Chrysler displayed some of his outstanding Grand River Railway/Lake Erie & Northern models.

To me the Rapido table was the highlight of the show, with plenty of eye candy on display. The second group of 3800 CF hoppers have recently arrived at the Rapido headquarters, with the SW1200RS's about 3-4 weeks away.

Both my dad and I are eagerly waiting the arrival of the SW1200RS's.

CN 385 grinds up the last mile of the hill to Copetown with 12,000' of train and four screaming engines on the head end.

CN at Rymal Part 5 - 1970's Motive Power

Above: CN SW1200RS No. 1265 was delivered to the railway by GMD London in 1957. Nos. 1265 and 1213 have paused their early evening northward journey to switch either Shaw Pipe Protection or Penn Lumber. Unfortunately, in my early railfanning days I did not take notes or consistently record the date. Best guess is that this shot was taken in the spring of 1977 or 1978 using my trusty Russian made Zenit E fully manual SLR (external light meter) camera. As shown, pretty good optics from the Helios 58 mm lens on the bargain basement priced camera (scanned image from colour print film). See CN LINES SIG (CNRHA) Vol. 1 No. 1 for detailed information on CN’s SW1200RS’s.

This time we’ll take a look at the type of diesel power deployed by Canadian National to the south out of Hamilton. By the mid 1970’s motive power assignment along the former H & NW right of way was typical of most Canadian National branch line operations of the day; the ubiquitous SW1200RS. Most likely the pattern would have been the same in the 1960’s early post steam era. Unfortunately, I have yet to come across any photos of this period to confirm that this was in fact the case. As previously mentioned, the late steam era was wonderfully documented in Ian Wilson’s fabulous chronicle ‘Steam Echoes of Hamilton’.

Scheduled operation throughout the 1970’s was daily except Saturday. On rare occasion an extra would be sent out on the weekend, guessing due to traffic demand or other unusual circumstance. After reporting for duty at CN’s Stuart Street Yard in the early morning the crew would assemble their train, depart eastward, and swing off the Hamilton-Niagara mainline to do some street running in the lower city along Ferguson Avenue. After clattering across the T, H & B line at its base the train would conquer the Niagara Escarpment, zip through Rymal, and run south west to near the shore of Lake Erie. Depending upon the amount of switching/interchange activity at the south end terminus, the crew would normally transit back through Rymal in the opposite direction in the early evening. Remarkably, up until the delivery of PSC vans (caboose) and their immediate deployment to mainline traffic, all trains were trailed by CN’s well maintained wooden vans. Power wise, the normal compliment was two units, back to back as shown, so as to not have to worry about reversing the consist to return home. However, it was not uncommon for the amount of tonnage to require a third unit, still arranged so that there was always a long hood at each end. Traffic was always much heavier southbound and on occasion, the northward move would be light power. Apparently when the lack of tonnage permitted, crews of MU’d SW1200RS’s would idle the lead unit (or all but one trailing unit) so as to provide a quieter ride. Not sure if it was the practice on this line?

Above: No. 1204 was delivered to the railway by GMD in March of 1956. Despite being the lowest numbered SW1200RS, No. 1204 was not the class unit. No. 1222, built as No. 1593 seven months prior to No. 1204 (built as No. 1575) was the first pint-sized road switcher produced by GMD London. See production totals below. Aside from a couple of low volume home road remanufacturing programs, the SW1200RS’s were not subject to much in the way of extended service life. Unfortunately, they did not prove to be overly popular on the second hand locomotive market either. No. 1204 would leave the roster in 1990.

Above: CN SW1200RS No. 1208 was completed by GMD in February of 1956. Note the white extra flags above the front end number boards and ACI label on the frame just ahead of the cab. Following twenty-eight years of service No. 1208 would leave the roster in 1984.

Above: No. 1213 was also delivered by GMD in 1956. The unit is shown decorated in the third (of four) SW1200RS paint schemes (1973) while No. 1265 is sporting the second (1961). With production concluding in 1960, all SW1200RS’s would have initially been delivered in the classic olive green and gold dress. Note that the engineer has been treated to an all-weather window. Aside from the addition of full length handrails and top mounted radiator covers, the units were virtually unaltered throughout their lengthy careers. Disposition wise, No. 1213 would be retired at age thirty-eight in 1994 while No. 1265 would be removed from service in 1991; age thirty-four.

Above: Incredibly, the above pan shot was taken by my sister using a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera! Guessing the date to be 1975 or 1976, No. 1233 is shown delivering the CP bulkhead flat car to Penn Lumber. Also constructed in 1956, No. 1233 would be stricken from the roster in 1990.

Above: Nos. 1265 and 1213 have crossed Hwy 53 (now known as Garner Road) to perform their switching duties. Note the style of end platform steps employed by GMD. Compared to their EMD counterpart, the London factory favoured vertical geometry vs. stepped.

CNR SW1200RS production by General Motors Diesel Division in London Ontario

No.s	Former Nos.	Built	Class	Total	Notes
1204 - 1221	1575 - 1592	1956	GR-12d	18	1220/1221 renumbered to 425/426 in 1979
1222 - 1226	1593 - 1597	1955/1956	GR-12e	5	Renumbered to 1504 - 1508 in 1957
1227 - 1247		1956	GR-12f	21
1248 - 1268		1956/1957	GR-12h	21
1271 - 1288		1957	GR-12k	18
1289 - 1304		1958	GR-12l	16	1295 trnsf to AMF in 1994. Renum AMF 01
1305 - 1337		1958	GR-12r	33
1338 - 1357		1959	GR-12u	20
1358- 1397		1960	GR-12y	40
			Total	192