Summertime in Belleville - August, 1977

 

A visit to family in Belleville, ON on August 22, 1977 included the requisite trip to the CN yard in the Friendly City. Upon arrival, a long cut of cars visible from the nearby city street included some wrecked cars on flat cars and gondolas. In this era in these cars might be salvaged, or scrapped perhaps at CN's London Reclamation Yard. Southern Railway 50-foot boxcar 528348 (top photo), CN 40-foot boxcar, a CN gondola, and even a CP Rail slabside covered hopper were recognizable. 

My Dad duly recorded this visit as he did each one when time permitted, using both colour slide (scanned by my brother) and black & white print film. An eastbound freight passes through the yard, passing the wrecked cars, preparing to stop at Belleville East for a crew change, behind CN 9422-9648-9568 at approximately 1100:

In this era, three GP40-2L(W)'s were standard priority train power. Inbound head-end crew 'changing off':

A Pacific Fruit Express car hints at the reefer block on the head-end, indicating that cars on this train came through from the western U.S. via southwest Ontario:

Tail-end crew changing off, with yard switcher CN 1310 in background. The caboose is likely CN 79530, possibly 79711. These numbers may pertain to the wrecked cars on flat cars or work cars: 81568, 81232, 80952, 80470, cabooses 79704, 79619. Being 13 years old, my note-taking was 'spur-of-the-moment' and not geared to ready interpretation over four decades later!

Rolling stock observed this day: CN, GT, CV, DW&P, CP, PC, SP, BN, GN, Southern, VTR, BCR D&H, BAR, MEC, Milwaukee, SOO, IC, C&NW, B&M, LNAL, SCL, T&P boxcars; DuPont, Chemplex, IT, UP, GT, CN covered hoppers; PFE, FGE reefers; ATSF, C&O, B&O hoppers; DT&I auto rack; DW&P bulkhead flats; and SOO, CN, Trailer-Train flatcars. Am I lensing a train down the track arriving, or a train departing?

CN 4530 and end-cupola 79630(?) departing to the east. Some other observations noted: BCR boxcar, an eastbound at 1131 with CN 9578-9421-9499 with caboose 79470.

In black & white, your humble blogger poses before the roadswitcher departed to the east with its tank car and two paper cars. I wonder if it headed to Kingston?

Running extra...

Images of how the Biden-Harris inauguration transpired might make you think it was the nation's biggest game of 'capture the flag'. OK, not that challenging with this many flags. The National Mall was awash in colour, not spectators. Presidency panoply in a pandemic!

Twenty-two year-old national youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman's ode for a people perplexed by a pandemic left news anchors transfixed. Garth Brooks' two verses and a join-in of Amazing Grace was simply, sincerely effective. The changing of the guard included promotion of CNN White House correspondent to Chief White House correspondent. Hail to the Chief!

E Pluribus Unum: Latin for, 'Out of many inauguration photos, one.' America's motto of 'In God We Trust', meet Germany's 'Gott Mit Uns'. A komic kernel of a sartorial Sanders about to crash the internet, here is a local seasonal image: