Old Time Trains

Sperry Car A look at this very important aspect of track maintenance, the detection of hidden flaws in steel rails.

Shortlines Modern-day shortline railways and contractors fulfill a role in providing local rail service in situations where the major railways no longer find it worth their while to operate.
Cando Contracting and Ontario Southland Railway are two such companies.

CPR Bruce Division. The history of the Bruce Division began with the narrow gauge Toronto, Grey & Bruce and included the last built section of the C.P.R. main line, between Bolton and Sudbury. It also included a number of branch lines to points in the Bruce peninsula, including Orangeville and Owen Sound. Port Mc.Nicoll, home to the C.P.R.'s Great Lakes Steamship Service, and a major grain port, while part of the Bruce Division, had its beginning with the Trenton Division, where its history is included.

CPR Trenton Division Comprised of the original Ontario & Quebec main line between Montreal and Toronto, taken over by the CPR, and a new Lake Shore line built by the CPR. Also, a secondary line to Port Mc.Nicoll new homeport of the CPR's Great Lakes Steamships. Branches included one of the oldest, the "Kick & Push" and one of the newest, the Nephton Sub. the last one built on the Ontario District to reach mineral-rich nepheline syenite mines.

Thurlow Railway a tiny, little-known non-common carrier railway at Belleville, Ontario.

CPR West Toronto Hump Yard a 1950 proposal to convert West Toronto and Lambton yards into a modern retarder yard. A new roundhouse at Obico was in the plans, as were other improvements, one that took 50 years to happen!

CPR Belt Lines to Bypass Toronto a 1949 proposal in connection with proposed new yard at Kleinburg or Wexford. Elimination or reduction of assist/push engines on helper grades was part of the benefits of the proposal.

Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge. 19th Century engineering marvel built by John A. Roebling, a famous engineer who accomplished many great engineering feats.

Canadian Pacific Electric Lines A brief history of the Grand River Ry, and Lake Erie & Northern Ry, along with a "current" look at the railway and bus operations as published in the Canadian Pacific Staff Bulletin June 1945.

Quebec Central Transportation Co. Once operated a network of highway bus routes to supplement or replace Quebec Central Railway passenger trains. QCT has had little written about it; this article will address that.
Another CPR bus operation was Canadian Pacific Transport based in Preston, Ontario, which was part of the Canadian Pacific Electric Lines.

Quebec Central a brief history of a CPR subsidiary railway, which is now enjoying a comeback as an independent shortline.

CNER Toronto Suburban Ry. extension to West Toronto. In 1925 a diversion from the main line at Lambton was built, mostly following the old Toronto Belt Line Ry. to a new terminal at St.Clair Ave. W. and Weston Rd. This was one the last instances of a radial railway building new trackage and was required on account of a change of track gauge due to a portion of the line being taken over by the TTC for local streetcar service.

CNER electric locomotives as used by various Canadian National Electric Railways in Ontario and Quebec. Canadian National Railways Magazine 1925.

CNR Oil Electric Cars. Canadian National was a major user of this type of equipment, a forerunner of dieselization. Mentions introduction of Montreal-Ottawa service and much more.1925 article in Canadian National Railways Magazine.

Across the Continent in 67 Hours. CNR 15820 a self-propelled oil-electric car set three world records in 1925. Article from Canadian National Railways Magazine.

C.P.R. Toronto Terminals Division with its marshalling yards and shops has long been a vital part of the Ontario rail network with lines connecting to and from Windsor and Montreal, and points beyond including Atlantic and Western Canada as well as the United States. Many of its changes over the years are included. NOTE: Toronto Yard (Agincourt) will be covered in more detail at a later date.

Toronto Terminals Railway historically owned 50/50 by the CNR and CPR, the TTR owned the Union Station along with trackage leading in and out of it. It never owned a locomotive or employed any yard switching crews.

Mimico Switch Line a tiny, almost unheard-of "railway" in an old part of Toronto.

CPEL Dieselization Study 1949. A CPR study to replace electric locomotives on its CP Electric Lines (Grand River Ry. and Lake Erie & Northern Ry.), based in Preston, Ontario. This proposal involved acquiring six GE 70-tonners to replace the ten existing steeplecab electrics. It was a flawed proposal that was not implemented; in fact the CPR never bought any GE 70-tonners. CNR used this type of unit on their PEI lines. Originally printed in the Winter/Spring 2000 issue of CP Tracks, newsmagazine of CP SIG.

Chalk It Up!: For many years, chalk played an important role in everyday railway operations in freight marshalling yards. Its use is explained along with samples for Toronto. Low tech at its best! Read also about how chalk is made.

Cabooses, Vans, Crummies: a look at an almost vanished symbol of freight trains everywhere. Once on the end of every freight train, "The Litle Red Caboose" is almost extinct. Floor plan of typical Grand Trunk Western old wooden caboose. Detailed list of equipment carried in vans.

Early Diesels - A brief look at Canada's early diesel-electrics including CN 15820 which set three world records in 1925. CP 9006 may have preceded 7000 as the first C.P.R. diesel.

The First Sleeping Car was built in 1859 at the Brantford, Ontario shops of the Buffalo & Lake Huron Railway. This was four years before George Pullman built PIONEER, his first car!

Constructed for the 1860 Royal visit of Edward VII, Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII. One small remnant of the car remains, the cast iron coat of arms still adorns the wall of the Masonic Hall in Brantford!

Alternate History of C.P.R. Steam Locomotives. A serious look at what might have been, but for the turn of history. It first supposes H.B.Bowen got all of his requirements for new motive power that he first asked for in 1929. It then goes on to look at the various other possibilities for new and rebuilt steam locomotives over the next two decades.

Destined to Die Young. Modern Steam Locomotives CPR's G5 4-6-2 Pacific's were the only light modern steam locomotive on any railway in North America. Intended to standardize motive power to an extent never before undertaken, they were Destined to Die Young. So wrote F.H. (Joe) Howard formerly of CPR's Motive Power department in Montreal.

C.P.R. London Division - An important link in the Chicago-Montreal corridor, its history dates back to the 19th Century at a time when several railway companies fought for control of freight and passenger traffic, not unlike the 21st century. Headquartered in London, Ontario it included the mainline from Windsor and another to Toronto along with many branches to places like Goderich, Hamilton and the once-mainline to St.Thomas where it connected with US roads. Black & white photos and captioned stories by Newton Rossiter and colour photos by the late Randy Masales. Plus more.

Intermodal Pioneer Canadian Pacific next year celebrates 50 years of intermodalism which began in 1952 with piggyback trailers being hauled between Montreal and Toronto. CP was almost alone in its drive to standard containers in place of differing trailers with excess weight and wind drag to contend with. Marine shipping made the difference as imports grew and others followed CP's lead. Now accounting for almost 25% of its revenues, intermodal is the way of the future for all railways. Oddly enough, it has come full circle with the innovative Expressway concept of handling any size of ordinary highway trailer complete with rubber tires, once again leading the way.

Read some of the history of CP's efforts including testing of GMD's Portager, a truly unique concept using 4-wheel container carriers. The Portager project manager at GMD was none other than Joe Howard!

Railway Mail Service - Read about how mail was handled all across Canada for many decades in an efficient, co-ordinated manner, aboard R.P.O's. Railway Post Offices were a unique place, a travelling post office staffed by high-trained postal employees, their nomadic way of life not unlike that of railway workers.

The Globe Newspaper Special train - In the 19th Century getting the news meant reading the news, and newspapers were competitive. Toronto's powerful paper The Globe went so far as to have its own train to deliver the early morning newspaper throughout southwestern Ontario.

Weather Broadcasting by Train - Weather has always been important to farmers and mariners. Read about how the railways broadcast the weather every morning to farmers and others using Weather Discs.

Do you have a picture of one? If so, please contact the ARCHIVIST.

Intercolonial Railway 125 Years - This year marked the 125th anniversary of the completion of the Intercolonial Railway. Its construction was a result of the Union of British North America agreement of July 1, 1867 whereby Nova Scotia and New Brunswick joined Canada. A railway connecting Halifax (Port on the Atlantic Ocean) with the River St. Lawrence to connect with the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada.

C.P.R. LAMBTON YARD Part two Continues with a look at some of the many changes over the decades up until the present. Part 1 includes a brief history of railway lines and yards in southern Ontario.

SELKIRK TO CONNAUGHT - A fascinating story about Joe Howard's proposal to build Cab Forward steam locomotives for the CPR to operate through its mountain tunnels. Based on the same principal as the famous Southern Pacific Cab Forward articulateds, 2-10-4 Selkirks would have become 4-10-2 Connaughts, named for the most famous CPR tunnel.

SIDINGS IN THE TORONTO TERMINAL AREA January 1926 Complete list of all C.N.R. and C.P.R. Private and Public Sidings located in the Toronto area, taken from a C.P.R. Freight Traffic Department map. Additional Research has added street addresses, along with notations as to the type of business carried on.

CPR Lambton Yard Located in West Toronto, Ontario, it was the main freight classification yard for many decades until a new hump retarder yard in Agincourt was opened in April 1964. A brief outline of its history and some old photos show what was once a busy yard handling many trains to and from all directions including Chicago-Montreal and beyond to New England and Saint John, New Brunswick as well as to Northern Ontario and Western Canada.