CP interchanges with CN at Kingston, 1979

At the south end of CP Rail's Kingston Subdivision, running south from Tichborne to Kingston (ex-Kingston & Pembroke Railway, often called the "Kick & Push"), cars were interchanged with CN's Kingston Subdivision at Queens East. A tail track under the Division Street overpass, which used to lead downtown until 1974, and two double-ended tracks, KL90 and KL91, comprised the interchange. It was not uncommon to find a few interesting and colourful freight cars reposing here, waiting to be lifted by one of the two railways. Once in a while, it was possible to find a CP Rail unit and van switching the interchange:

Sometimes CP's train would be left on a runaround track south of Dalton Avenue, north of the interchange. But on February 3, 1979, RS-23 8045 has brought extended-cupola van 434557 right down to the interchange. The unit also switched Superior Propane and CP Express spurs, between the runaround track and the interchange.

On a grey April 16, 1979, 8030 was switching the interchange with end-cupola van 434064:

In April 1979, a view taken from the end of Rigney Street shows the Division Street overpass at right, and two tracks of cars including three CP boxcars, a CP covered gondola and flat car with an interesting load:

At the same time, CN GP-9 4561 and caboose 79595 appeared from Alcan, and headed through Queens East to the outer station yard on Montreal Street. Just to the right of 79595, the last car of CP's train can be seen on the runaround track:

Returning northwards at the Old Highway 38 crossing, just above Highway 401, the train is shaking the ground heading for Smiths Falls, via 35 miles of the Kingston Subdivision, thence 40 miles of the Belleville Subdivision:

An unusual load: JC Crane Rental crane, MG sports car and Chevy pickup truck. It's likely that the covered CP script gondola was loaded at Alcan in Kingston:

On a sunny July 16, 1979, 8043 and 434310 are arriving in town:

Working the interchange tracks, the typically smoky MLW is nosing up to a covered gondola:

Another gondola, CP 342828 (built 8-58) is waiting on the interchange in April, 1980. CP Express is the blue building in the left background:

My brother took a couple of photos here in 1982:

CP 8737 on a plow extra at the siding (above) and a view down the interchange with a CN Centuries-hauled slag train on Queens track 4. The CP link to the interchange is at right:

The last time I noted cars on the interchange was in September 1983, (though the interchange was likely still in use in 1985) with the last cars at CP Express in 1986. In February, 1985 this Whig-Standard photo (below) shows a CN crane outfit coupled to at least one CP Rail boxcar as city dumptrucks deposit snow cleared from city streets at the edge of the Division Street overpass - same location as above.

As CP was shedding itself of the Kingston Sub, CN switched the remaining two industries. A 1988 CN car control manual listed tracks KL21 and KL22 as "Superior Propane".

This 1998 photo of CN train No 307 shows the two interchange tracks and tail track to the left of engine 2402. The tail track was on a steep grade, up under the overpass. It was removed shortly thereafter, but only after once being used to hold a 30-car CN track gang's outfit cars in May, 1996.

Running extra...

Finally, another reference to that Cabooseless Operations display train in my November 14, 2008 blog post. Michael Shufelt, in the April 2008 BRS Branchline, photographed the special train on CP at Smiths Falls. It was on November 11, 1984, five days before I saw it at Kingston. Michael notes that the weather was too miserable to chase the train.