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 Operating on this run until mid-1959, she was withdrawn from service, and arrived at Angus Shops for the last time on March 23, 1961, to be scrapped later that year.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