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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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