CNA Port Hawkesbury boxcars

A series of boxcars for the Port Hawkesbury (Point Tupper), Nova Scotia paper mill entered service in 1998. Spiffy when new! CNA 406280-406499, were 220 6241 cubic-foot, 50-foot hi-cube single-door cars built by Trinity in 1998. These cars handled calendarized paper from the efficient mill to US printers. The cars were notable due to their unique 'Canadian/Canadien National' and reporting marks utilizing a rather large font, as well as a low, centred CN logo on the opposite end of the car:

GTW 406383 on CN No 369 September 19, 2015 (top photo) and a GTW 406434 with its CN logo and Canadian National lettering painted out, at Kingston on CN No 307 on June 17, 2002:

GTW 406418 is still running around with CN multimark and lettering. On CN No 376 at Belleville, ON on November 25, 2016:

GTW 406476 on CN No 376 at Kingston on Nov. 3, 2018:

My observations: Date, car number, CN train on. When noting observations, I note them as 'CNA Ports BO'. Between 2001 and 2006, the CNA reporting marks were patched-over with GTW, as they remain to this day:

First observation: Apr 3/98 CNA 406317 and three others Dest Port Hawkesbury NS No 308

Aug 1/98 CNA 406356 Dest. Port Hawkesbury NS No 368

Mar 19/99 CNA 406450 Dest. Port Hawkesbury NS No 308

Mar 27/99 CNA 406299 Dest. Port Hawkesbury NS No 308

Jun 24/99 CNA 406438-403349-406295-406470-406436 No 305

Jul 18/99 CNA 406349-406391 No 305

Apr 26/02 GTW 406417 No 308

Jun 17/02 GTW 406434 

Aug 30/02 GTW 406421-CNA 406446 No 307

Oct 1/02 CNA 406421-406448 No 307

Sep 6/03 GTW 406378 No 308

Nov 22/03 CNA 406347-406337

Nov 25/04 CNA 406351-GTW 406445 No 308

Mar 17/05 CNA 406421-GTW 406370 

May 22/06 CNA 406462-GTW 406398 (last non-GTW?)

Sep 9/06 GTW 406341 on No 369

May 8/07 GTW 406348

.....

May 24/15 GTW 406421 WB

Oct 21/15 GTW 406416 WB

Feb 2/17 GTW 406496 WB

Lots o' links:

• Nice photo of CNA 406381
  
• 2018 pdf on the Port Hawkesbury mill
• It's educational! All you could want to know about Port Hawkesbury
• More history of the mill and its corporate changeovers
• Pressreader history of the mill

An interesting wrinkle. Just outside this class of cars - an 8-car series built by Gunderson in 2003 - here's CNA 406274 at Belleville with the small-logo 'www' website scheme in April, 2021. (Image courtesy RailStream, LLC):

Another variation: CNA 406404 at Townline Road in September, 2023. The original 'Ports' lettering including 'Canadien National' appears to be painted out, with GTW reporting marks AND the website logo added:

JANUARY 2023 UPDATE: A follow-on series of cars, also built by Trinity between November, 2022 and January, 2023 numbered GTW 406500-407289. GTW 406527 shows the clean, reporting marks-only scheme on January 27 (Two images courtesy Railstream, LLC):

Then things got weird. GTW 406660 with wet-noodle logo, along with 406662. On CN No 377 March 29, 2023 (below). Other noodled observations include GTW406806 on CN No 372 on May 16, 2023.

Aerial photo of the paper plant. Note loading spur with boxcars:

Running extra...

Four of CN's business cars headed through Kingston on May 20 on a late-running CN No 120 and meeting CN No 305. Power car Pacific Spirit, dome American Spirit, entertainment car Tawaw and theatre car Sir Sandford Fleming. Thanks to Malcolm Peakman for the heads-up! Video captures:

Looks like Alejandro Aranda will continue making music his own way, with the opportunistic Laine Hardy taking the American Idol competition, unlike my previous prediction. A star-studded finale including Checotah, Oklahoma's own Carrie Underwood!