This photograph shows a London bound freight extra lifting
its tonnage on Milton Hill, between Campbellville and Christie on March
19, 1955. The assist engine, 4-6-2, "Pacific" G2u,
No. 2659, will run as far as Orr's Lake, three miles west of Galt, 60
miles from Toronto, and there she will cut off, returning light to Lambton
Yards.
The engineman who ran the assist engines were in a pool known as the
"Cockney Pool", the name probably dating back to the days
when most of the enginemen were of English origin. The firemen were
all spare board men and this was the training ground for student firemen.
The enginemen on the assist locomotives had to have the patience of
Job since it was possible to have a firemen of a few weeks service teaching
a new man how to keep water and steam in the boiler. The engines in
the assist pool were normally hand-fired D10s, G1 's, G2's and N2's,
and a cab could get quite crowded if the headend brakeman did not go
back to the road engine.
No. 2659 was built as a G2f in June 1913, by MLW and originally numbered
1259, but the renumbering scheme of 1912 soon changed her to No. 2659.
Near the end of World War One, the engine was assigned to engineman
Jack Douglass, who ran her on Trains Nos. 3 and 4, between Toronto and
Mactier. About this time the CPR decided to honour senior engineers,
such as Douglass, by applying their names to the cab side. The name
was incorporated in a beautiful multi-coloured crest, but this interesting
feature was discontinued after a few years.
Rebuilt at Angus in May 1925, she became a G2u. The Elesco feedwater
heater, which had its pump housed in the tender, was added a few years
later. No. 2659 spent many years in international passenger service
on the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo run. By the summer of 1948 she
had been removed from the Buffalo run and transferred from John Street
to Lambton for freight service, where she was frequently assigned to
the assist pool.
No. 2659 received her last Angus shopping in the late summer of 1956,
after which she was assigned to the Trenton Division, where she ran
between Smiths Falls and Havelock in freight service. Operating on this
run until mid-1959, she was withdrawn from service, and arrived at Angus
Shops for the last time on March 23, 1961, to be scrapped later that
year.
No. 5402 is a Class P2f, 2-8-2, "Mikado", built in
November 1928 by MLW. This engine spent some of her early years on the
Farnham Division of the Quebec District, then later in her career, coming
to the Ontario District, and spending her final years on the London
Division. She ended her service around March 1957 and was classified
as waiting repair at Angus in May 1957, but she was scrapped on October
10, 1957. W.H.N.Rossiter
