St.Thomas

Freight house etc. Large building in the background is the Victor Gasket Co.(later Hayes Dana) plant. 1960
J.H.Shoemaker/collection of Bruce Mercer.

Auxiliary train sits near the roundhouse in 1960.
J.H.Shoemaker/collection of Bruce Mercer.

Long before I became an employee, I was very familiar with the operations,
and layout of C&O's Canadian headquarters. I first visited St. Thomas in late 1966,
one of dozens of visits that took place prior to becoming an employee in 1976.
In '66, the trains were populated with U25B's, GP30's and 35's, and GP7 & 9's.

After becoming a trainman in 1978, and talking with some of the older
conductors and engineers, I learned that, for example, in 1968, there were
25 crews in the east and west pools ! The trainman's spareboard usually ran
with 20 men, engineer's board with 10 or 12. There was also a conductor's
board. By 1978, there were half those numbers.

In Talbot Yard 1978, there were 'round the clock carmen, 3 yard jobs
(Monday to Friday) and 6 to 8 trains per day coming and going.
In the roundhouse and backshops, everything to keep the Canadian assigned
diesels was available. This is where the geeps and the 3 switchers got
repainted from C&O Enchantment Blue, into Chessie blue, yellow and
vermillion. [ I'm not certain if the District cabooses/vans were also
painted here].

There were very few, if any, customers remaining within the city as of 1978.
By that, I mean customers directly served by C&O. There were customers
located across town, on CP or CN, for example, that received carloads via
C&O. One that comes to mind was Hartz Mountain pet foods.

C&O Office St.Thomas 1960 J.H.Shoemaker/Bruce Mercer Collection

In the Administration building on Wilson Avenue, were the offices of the
Superintendent ( later downgraded to Asst Supt ), Road Foreman of Engines
( also doubled as Trainmaster for this end of the District), crew callers,
dispatchers, and all the related clerical staff. Across the way, besides the
staff in the roundhouse and backshops, was the Stores Department. It was, as
intended many decades earlier, the central location from which to operate
the entire Division. And as most of us know, the Division encompassed not
only C&O proper, but the extended running rights via NYC ( later PC, later
CR, still later CN-CP) to both Buffalo and Detroit. Certain departments,
notably Mechanical, had supervisor's in St Thomas who were in charge of
people in Buffalo.

There was no reason, in the 70s and 80s, to suspect that all of this would
be gone (sooner rather than later). Hence, I am forced to admit that my
photo collection has limited numbers of shots at these facilities. I even
took a walk one day with one of the hostlers, to check out the lathes and
the transfer table at the back shop - without my camera !

I know, shame, shame, shame.

A company-produced video arrived one day, in 1984, announcing the
intentions to close St Thomas backshop and yard. The message was delivered
on-screen by none other than John Collinson, the same guy who in 1976 had
written the letter about non-removal of artifacts from company property!
What a sourpuss he was....

Of course, this was the beginning of the end, cut backs came and jobs went until finally,
only the Train Dispatcher (Rail Traffic Contoller) remained in the office (above) until relocated to the Bridgetender's small building in Wallaceburg. And takes us to where things are now.

CN Haulage Agreement

Equipment

Montrose Yard, Niagara Falls, 1960 (above and below) J.H.Shoemaker/collection of Bruce Mercer

Part 4