CN Wheel Flatcars

CN uses former revenue cars in shop service, delivering new and used wheelsets to its system shops on regular freight trains. These eye-catching open loads are often-photographed and easily-modelled. CN's wheel flatcar fleet initially comprised 1960's era shorter flat cars, now with 89-foot flats and even some former ingot cars thrown in! CN 49473 heading for Taschereau Yard on CN No 318 May 28, 2000 (top photo). CN 49435 has wheels for the shop forces at Garneau, QC on CN No 364 March 4, 2001:

CN 49258 in April, 2010 (below):

CN 49250 on CN No 317 on July 18, 1999:

CN 48991 on CN No 321 on March 18, 2000:

CN 48983 on CN No 321 on March 9, 2001:

 CN 49277 and 49398 are on CN No 363 on a snowy February 8, 2009:

 along with black 89-foot CN 48970:

CN 49323 carries locomotive traction motors at Belleville yard on May 1, 1999.

CN 618069 and 618032 retain their revenue service numbers with  'Maximum 2 rows high when loading wheels' lettering on CN No 305, May 23, 2015 at Bayridge Drive overpass (above and below): 

These were formerly in aluminum ingot service. Comparing them with a photo of freshly-repainted CN 618149, still hauling ingots in April 2015, it appears lengthwise racks were added to the deck to accommodate the new cargo.

CN 618087 with a load of wheels on CN No 306 at Kingston on September 8, 2017.

CN 48960 at Belleville, Oct 14 2016, also a former ingot car. Notice the smaller diameter auto rack wheels in the middle of the load:

CN 49475 and CN 48960 are together, ahead of Distributed Power on CN No 376 on February 22, 2019:

Former ingot car CN 48945 on CN No 306 at Kingston on July 13, 2018:

Another unusual addition to the CN wheel car fleet is BCOL 990336 - what may be a former DWC bulkhead flat car (Tim Reid photo):

Here's lower-bulkhead BCOL 990337 trailing CN 618022 westbound on May 22, 2019:

BCOL 330340 eastbound through Belleville in April 2021 (Image courtesy RailStream, LLC):

Another CN predecessor road represented - IC 100447 in February, 2021. (Image courtesy RailStream, LLC)

In HO scale, here's CN 49389 on my Vancouver Wharves layout:

My CN wheel flatcar observations: date, car number, CN train on, remarks:

Feb 17/92 CN 49259, CN 49494

Jun 23/92 CN 49290 WB

May 10/95 CN 49278 T.E. on WB

Mar 2/96 CN 49278 at Belle

Jun 25/96 boxed traction motor transport FL on T.E. of WB

Mar 27/97 CN 49394

Apr 5/97 CN 49326

May 24/97 CN 49516

Jun 7/97 CN 49470

Jul 5/97 CN 49423 on No 367

Aug 27/97 CN 49493, 49420, 49511 on No 367

Sep 21/97 CN 49278 on T.E. No 307

Feb 21/98 CN 49515 H.E. No 302

Mar 22/98 CN 49275, 49249 H.E. No 204

Apr 10/98 CN 48997 black 89' FL plus two other wheel FL No 302

May 29/98 CN 49311 'diesel wheel FL' on No 307

Aug 5/98 CN 49321 ety on No 367

Sep 6/98 CN 48987 89' black wheel FL on No 318

Sep 18/98 CN 49318 traction motor FL on No 306

Oct 15/98 CN 49479 ety No 310

Dec 13/98 CN 48975 black 89' wheel FL No 318 

Using CN's public tracing page, I was able to continue tracking CN 48975 from that day in 1998 to January, 2001. On each trip, CN 48975 left track W067 at Transcona Shops in Winnipeg:

-to Montreal Taschereau Yard Loaded, returned Empty

-to Montreal Intermodal Terminal L, returned L

-to Toronto MacMillan Yard L, returned L

-to Prince George BC L, returned L

-to Montreal Taschereau Yard E, returned L

-to Edmonton, AB L, returned E

-to TORMACYAR L, returned L

-to TORMACYAR L, returned L

-to TORMACYAR track W109, returned L

-to TORMACYAR L, returned L

-to Vancouver Thornton Yard L, returned L

-to TORMACYAR L, returned L

-to Pointe Ste Charles L, returned E

-to TORMACYAR L, returned L

-to VANTHOYAR L, returned L

Ian Campbell kindly shared a photo of wheel cars, rail flatcars, switch panel cars and other CN work flatcars at Transcona shops in summer, 2016. Ian notes that cars often bring in wheelsets from which the wheels are are removed, reprofiled or scrapped, then new wheels are pressed onto the axle (or a new axle) with new bearing caps added. Thanks, Ian! 

Feb 10/99 CN 49269 on No 301

May 1/99 CN 49323 on No 366 (see photo in this post)

Jul 18/99 CN 49250 with 12 wheelsets on No 317 (see photo in this post)

Oct 17/99 CN 49293 LD on H.E. No 318

Oct 30/99 CN 49318 traction motor transporter E on No 306, west on No 321

Feb 25/00 CN 48997 on No 301

Mar 18/00 CN 48991 LD on H.E. No 321 (see photo in this post)

Mar 26/00 CN 49486 on No 366

May 28/00 CN 49473 No 318 dest. MONTASYAR (see photo in this post)

Jun 30/00 CN 49300 on No 321

Jul 19/00 CN 48987 LD on No 365

Aug 24/00 CN 49262 on No 366

Sep 17/00 CN 49287 H.E. No 320

Sep 24/00 CN 49300, 49317, 49455 ety wheel FL on No 365

Mar 4/01 CN 49489 on No 364 then WB Mar 9 on No 369

Mar 9/01 CN 48983 black 89' on No 321 (see photo in this post)

Mar 10/01 CN 49393 on No 377

Oct 20/01 CN 49494

Mar 21/02 CN 49283 on No 307

Apr 26/02 CN 49463 on No 366

Jul 7/02 CN 49468 

Aug 3/02 CN 49480 LD

Apr 17/04 CN 49390 on No 368

Mar 11/06 CN 49260 on No 309

May 8/06 CN 49250 on No 362

Mar 17/07 CN 49495 on No 321

Oct 3/07 CN 4948x loaded on No 376

Jul 19/08 CN 49496 at St Lambert

Jan 8/09 CN 49497

Feb 8/09 CN 49277, 49398, 48970 black 89' on No 363 with dimensional loads (see photo in this post)

Feb 22/09 CN 49277 

May 4/09 CN 49456 (photo'd with GTW 57907 FL with covers) and 48972 89' on No 376

May 25/09 CN 49507 on No 376

Aug 18/09 CN 48991, 48995 89' on No 376

Jan 14/10 CN 49480

Apr 24/10 CN 49258 (see photo in this post)

Apr 24/10 CN 48990 (89') on No 369

Feb 25/12 CN 48499, 48989 black 89'

Apr 6/12 CN 49499

Sep 28/13 CN 49395 LD 

Mar 7/15 CN 48944 89' WB

May 23/15 CN 618069, 618032 stencilled 'Max 2 rows high when loading wheels'

Jun 14/15 CN 48956 'short' new paint

Jim Burnside shared this down-on view of a CN wheel car on a CN Sprague Sub train at Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway. Thanks, Jim!

Running extra...

I don't often link to blog partners' posts, but when I do, it's Prairie grain elevators in 1950! Photos taken on a box Brownie by my Dad while travelling aboard CP, recently scanned and posted in my brother Dave's Rolly Martin Country blog post. Almost like being there! Portage la Prairie's Victoria Grain Co. elevator:

We're almost on the eve of CANADA 150 - watch for Trackside Treasure's annual Canada Day post! There will be lots of celebratory EtOH consumption, but this upcoming post will instead comprise OTOH - 150 of 'em! 

Eventually enthralling. Having sold off my bargain-basement Life-Like All-Door boxcars (I'll never need those again; this was before the change of my modelled locale to Vancouver!!)  I'm in the market for some of these Proto1000 bad boys: