Old Time Trains

Yard Office

Yard Office (a.k.a "beehive") at the Hump. Big Lead in the foreground. Looking west. Small building to the right is the Beanery, behind it is the Car Foreman's Office part of the long wooden structure used by the Car Department. Roundhouse in the background, mostly hidden. 7100-7107 (MLW S4's) for Ham Way Frt in Here 13. Yard engine has hold of one stock car and is backing down to the stockyards. Note yardman about to line the switch for this movement. Man (in light shirt) with switchlist in back pocket walking towards yard office is likely the foreman. First door on veranda went to Crew Clerk's office. Windows behind two men were Operator's office. Door at far end went to Booking Room. Bay window was General Yardmaster's office. Steps (out of sight) beyond bay window went ot yardmaster's office and into main office. Lower addition was yardmen's lunchroom. Entrance at end of building led to main office. There were also steps down to the street. The present day steps are near where these once were.

The Yard Office was located at Runnymede Road, on the north-west side of the subway (underpass). It was a large wooden building on a cement foundation which later had a one storey addition built in the early 1950's on the west side containing a large yardmen's lunch room and first aid room. Locker and washrooms were located in the basement of the main building. Another addition containing a machine room (IBM machines and teletypes), was built on the north side about 1952 at the time of the introduction of IBM punch cards to keep track of freight cars. The CPR was an early proponent of mechanized reporting of train consists etc. using these 80 column cards slightly larger than a postcard. These cards were used in conjunction with a tickertape system to send consists of freight trains from one yard to another. where a General Yardmaster had responsibility for the entire operation of Lambton (and West Toronto) Yard. While he was only there on the day shift, he was responsible 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, as were all "Generals" in other departments. An Assistant General worked all other shifts. Note the military type of title as befits the military style of railway operation. There was a yardmaster at "the hump" as it was known, for Lambton yard and another for West Toronto yard. In addition, there was a yardmaster at each end of the yard, one at "Churchill" near Scarlett Road and one at Keele Street. In other words, it took five yardmasters a shift around the clock to keep the yard running.

Eventually, this decrepit building was finally replaced in July 1976 with the present brick building, in connection with construction of a new underpass on Runnymede Road which also resulted in minor track re-alignment of the leads etc. located on top of the bridge.

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Old Time Trains © 2009

Yard Office

Yard Office (a.k.a "beehive") at the Hump. Big Lead in the foreground. Looking west. Small building to the right is the Beanery, behind it is the Car Foreman's Office part of the long wooden structure used by the Car Department. Roundhouse in the background, mostly hidden. 7100-7107 (MLW S4's) for Ham Way Frt in Here 13. Yard engine has hold of one stock car and is backing down to the stockyards. Note yardman about to line the switch for this movement. Man (in light shirt) with switchlist in back pocket walking towards yard office is likely the foreman. First door on veranda went to Crew Clerk's office. Windows behind two men were Operator's office. Door at far end went to Booking Room. Bay window was General Yardmaster's office. Steps (out of sight) beyond bay window went ot yardmaster's office and into main office. Lower addition was yardmen's lunchroom. Entrance at end of building led to main office. There were also steps down to the street. The present day steps are near where these once were.

The Yard Office was located at Runnymede Road, on the north-west side of the subway (underpass). It was a large wooden building on a cement foundation which later had a one storey addition built in the early 1950's on the west side containing a large yardmen's lunch room and first aid room. Locker and washrooms were located in the basement of the main building. Another addition containing a machine room (IBM machines and teletypes), was built on the north side about 1952 at the time of the introduction of IBM punch cards to keep track of freight cars. The CPR was an early proponent of mechanized reporting of train consists etc. using these 80 column cards slightly larger than a postcard. These cards were used in conjunction with a tickertape system to send consists of freight trains from one yard to another. where a General Yardmaster had responsibility for the entire operation of Lambton (and West Toronto) Yard. While he was only there on the day shift, he was responsible 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, as were all "Generals" in other departments. An Assistant General worked all other shifts. Note the military type of title as befits the military style of railway operation. There was a yardmaster at "the hump" as it was known, for Lambton yard and another for West Toronto yard. In addition, there was a yardmaster at each end of the yard, one at "Churchill" near Scarlett Road and one at Keele Street. In other words, it took five yardmasters a shift around the clock to keep the yard running.

Eventually, this decrepit building was finally replaced in July 1976 with the present brick building, in connection with construction of a new underpass on Runnymede Road which also resulted in minor track re-alignment of the leads etc. located on top of the bridge.