Kingston's CP-Served Industries

In addition to the industries served by CP in Kingston located along their former Kingston & Pembroke line linking Kingston with Renfrew, CP served a few other Kingston industries until their line was abandoned in 1986. Bruce Chapman snapped a caboose hop at Glen Tay, ON in December 1970, with RS-23 8035 in the background, heading for Kingston via Tichborne with a tank car likely heading to Superior Propane in Kingston.

Keith Hansen kindly shared a photo of CP RS23 8030 with a northbound train north of Harrowsmith, (above) and CP S-3 6591 heading into Kingston through the joint trackage with CN in Harrowsmith on October 28, 1977:

A CP Dayliner was operated as a Bytown Railway Society excursion in 1974, technically the last CP passenger train to arrive in Kingston, arriving at Harrowsmith on joint trackage, from Ottawa - see bottom photo for the excursion's final destination at CP Express in Kingston. In this background of this photo (below - courtesy Jakob Mueller collection) the CN line to Smiths Falls diverges to the left in the background, and CP's line to Kingston diverging to the right in the background.

While CP had its bridge crossing over CN's Kingston Sub near Division St and Elliott Avenue, a spur branched off the trackage leading downtown to switch jointly-served industries on Maple Street: Gould Battery and Frontenac Floor & Wall Tile Co. Ltd. (Vintage Kingston Facebook photo):

Gould Battery(1) and Frontenac Tile(2) are visible in this aerial view via a joint track (arrow) linking CN and CP. Frontenac Tile was on CN track KK30 - 1000 feet in length, and Presland Iron & Metal, 1483 feet. D.A. White Co Ltd (Dago Siding) KK15 was also located here, though I need to learn more about which spur served which company in which era! ADDITIONAL INFO DEC 2015:On a 1924 insurance map, (1) was listed as the Collie Ltd. Woolen Mill.  CP served industries farther down the Hanley Spur. 

Keith Hansen photographed Trenton Works-built CP covered gondolas spotted in the area of this joint trackage in the mid-60's:

Just north of Kingston, CP spurs led to the Hydro-Electric Power Commission (HEPC, later Ontario Hydro) transformer station at Murvale. This transformer station was at Mi 89.5 of CP's Kingston Subdivision, along Murton Road off Highway 38. HEPC was one of the last two CP customers cited in the 1986 permission to abandon order from the Railway Transport Committee, the other being a feed company in Harrowsmith, Mi 84.8. Neither generated enough traffic to justify continued retention of the line, which in 1984 lost $137,357 according to CP. A current satellite map view shows the former location of this spur leading to the transformer station:

Two 1987 views of Murvale, Wilf Coombe photos showing the rail partly lifted:

The spur to the transformer station can barely be seen, at right:

A CP spur also served the oil tank farm south of Highway 401, east of Sydenham Road. A 1937 aerial view shows the tank farm served by rail before Highway 401 was built:

A 1966 aerial view also shows the rail-served tank farm, now visible from Highway 401:

Just east of its run-around track near Dalton Avenue, the CP line continued to the CN-CP interchange at Queens, A Keith Hansen photo taken in May 1978 shows CN and CP both working the interchange, with CP handling a healthy mix of covered gons, CP Rail, International of Maine and Chessie System boxcars:

Here's another photo taken the same day during those same switching manoeuvres that appeared in January 2019 on an online auction site. Notice how CN appears to be helping CP with their manoeuvres, possibly moving that Chessie boxcar and CP gons:

This online auction site photo shows CP 8030 the same day, with the same Chessie System boxcar, three covered gons and CPR International of Maine boxcar in the consist. It's taken just north of Jackson Mills above Highway 401 before the sweeping curve near Cordukes Road:

CP served two customers between Division and Dalton Streets: Superior Propane and CP Express. Superior received tank cars of propane, spotted at an unloading rack in their fenced yard. CP Express' operation moved from downtown locations in mid-1967. In his book Just Plain Bill, Bill Robertson outlined some of the details of the move:

• the City of Kingston was involved in negotiations with CP to acquire all CP lands within city limits: the K&P passenger station was to become the Chamber of Commerce office, and the city was to acquire piggyback ramp/trackage at Ontario St/Place d'Armes as well as the roundhouse property at the foot of North Street.
• in exchange, the city would provide the CP with a large tract of land on Dalton Ave, and pay for construction of a terminal to incorporate CP's Kingston offices and CP Express operations  as well as the cost of laying trackage into the terminal and Superior Propane
• the new site was isolated and subject to repeated thefts!

Two Keith Hansen photos of a CP Express piggyback TOFC car spotted north of Ontario Street in the late-1960's. Note the limestone walls of Fort Frontenac (below) and the coal sheds of Anglin Fuels (above) in the background of the photos:

A 1974 RDC (flying white extra flags and one illuminated white classification light) fantrip over the former Kingston & Pembroke, included a stop for fans to board Kingston city buses at the CP Express property, for a bus tour of downtown. The warehouse/truck loading point is the blue building visible in the background of this Bruce Chapman photo:

Here's a look at the runpast locations planned by Bruce Chapman as published in the BRS Branchline:

In the early 1980s, I observed several interesting boxcars spotted at the CP Express timber platform for unloading, many likely carrying lumber. The last cars I observed spotted at CP Express were CP double-door boxcars in January, 1986

Today, the area is occupied by a new Canadian Tire, No Frills and other commercial development, with a large earthen berm separating the area from CN's Kingston Sub. My thanks to Bruce Chapman, Keith Hansen and Jakob Mueller for sharing their photos in this post.

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Also in the area, Panera Bread! Opening December 9th! Having just enjoyed some of this chain's bottomless in-store china cup dark roast coffee, whole grain and pumpkin pie bagels, I am looking to my first visit to the north-end Kingston location! I like Panera's day-end dough-nation idea!

Trackside Treasure reader Malcolm Peakman kindly sent some photos of some new Parrish & Heimbecker PHLX 100-series covered hoppers on CN train No 371 in Belleville ON's yard.

In the company of CN(WX) covered hoppers, I surmise that these consecutively-numbered cars were on their first trip west empty after their first trip east loaded. Nice photos, Mary!

Christmas music moment: Whitney Houston on The Tonight Show, singing Do You Hear What I Hear?  Hear five backup singers and awesome control of her powerful instrument - that's what I hear.

Black Friday 2014, Syracuse NY

Journeying south to Syracuse and Watertown NY for Black Friday weekend, I found myself trackside around CSX's DeWitt yard on Friday, November 28, like Black Friday 2013 and Black Friday 2012 while retail therapy was administered elsewhere in stores nearby! A minor snowstorm descended upon the area in the lee of Lake Ontario. Hashtag snowbelt. Undaunted, Amtrak Empire Service train No 280 edged eastbound, with 716-82711*-82607-82645-82xxx-48173** at 0720:

An eastbound CSX freight with a leaser and five CSX units as the skies cleared after an hour-long lull at 0820: HLCX 8174-3053-602-2548-7614-8343 made (what I humbly consider) a TRAINS magazine cover-worthy photo (top photo) which quickly turned to mush as the lead unit and succeeding units entered the shadow of a Berkshire bank building.

A sneaky westbound slunk stealthily out of the back of the yard behind two units with an assortment of containers, boxcars and tank cars. Fresh show sintered off some Procor tank cars on the tail-end at 0830.

With only a hint of activity at 0830, cash registers called. This westbound intermodal was likely being attended to in the yard, behind CSX 809 and another unit. Notice the ex-UP-looking Geep just to 809's left? It had CEFX letters in each numberboard and remained stationary throughout the day.

A westbound Empire Service train No 63 hustled westward at 1245: 201-82805-25019***-25015-25094-82618-28170:

Then the eastbound Lake Shore Limited, train No 48 appeared, with a long Thanksgiving consist: 151-203-1701****-62025*****-25105-25039-28018******-25095-25064-25113-25006-25004-8521*******-62037-62000-1750.

Amfleet:

Full diner 8521:

Viewliners:

Tail-end baggage:

Leaving town on bypass Interstate 481, we passed CSX's expansive yard: blue arrow-intermodal yard; white arrow-locomotive set; red arrow-incoming westbound freight (sure, after we left town!)

During another retail therapy session in Watertown on November 29, I visited the interesting Afgritech feed mill (watch for an upcoming post) and positioned myself at CSX's Coffeen Street crossing, hopefully but perhaps in vain. No! A quick bleat of an air horn led to this sight - a southbound CSX freight with 5274-7842 which then triggered the crossing protection at about 25 mph. Hauling double-stacks, a CSX boxcar, a tank car, and Canadian lumber loads: Resolu aboard TTZX 866927, Arbec aboard TTZX 866962 and Chaleaur from Belledune NB aboard TTZX 861288.

 Lumber lumbering southward:

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Amfleet car types included in this post (in order shown):
*82500-82999 Amfleet push-pull coach
**48160-48197 Amfleet club dinette
***25000-25124 Amfleet coach
****1700-1764 Heritage baggage car
*****62000-62091 Viewliner sleeping car
******28000-28024 Amfleet diner lite conversion
*******8501-8559 Heritage dining car (8521 is ex-Southern Railroad)

Some Watertown industrial archeology along the Black River:

And an end-of-post train. In-camera 'Painting' setting!

Great Lakes Carbon Covered Hoppers

Great Lakes Carbon produced calcined petroleum coke, which is formed into electrodes for electrolytic refining of aluminum GLC's 1979-built covered hoppers were often seen along CN's Kingston sub, these cars usually travelling in twos and threes. The cars were heading loaded to Varennes, QC and when empty were billed to Enid, OK, one of the largest production sites for calcined petroleum coke. Ben A. shared a photo taken in May 2013 showing Great Lakes Carbon, now INTX 35093, covered hopper at Joffre, AB (that's a long way from the Great Lakes) in May 2013 (above). INTX reporting marks are used by Interstate Commodities. Chris DeVries reported INTX 35083 and 35048 at Symington Yard in September 2015. Other cars in the GLCX 7000 series such as 7042 and 7050 received this 'press-on' lettering. In addition, various forms of logo with black or red background have been applied.

GLCX 7003 in a 1979 Jim Parker photo showing the black/red logo (above). GLCX cars in the 7000-7099 and 8000-8229 totalled 325 in 1995. Online photos of class car GLCX 7000 a mere couple of months old also in 1979, and GLCX 7073 in November 1979. I photographed GLCX 7021-7022 on CN at Belleville in September, 2000, with black/red and red logos respectively.

GLCX 8054-8110-8066 on CN No 321 at Belleville in August 2014 sans logos, though GLCX 8102 was still with logo in Oklahoma in September, 2014.

Great Lakes Carbon cars are available in scale in the Atlas Trainman series, with INTX reporting marks. Also with black logo, black/red logo, or red logo.

Here are my other GLCX sightings including logo if noted and CN train:
Feb 15/81 7054
Mar 26/81 8116
Oct 23/82 8028-8219
Oct 27/98 8156 No 320
Jun 12/99 8138 No 321
May 13/00 7008 on headend No 321
Aug 24/00 8105-8110 No 321
Aug 26/00 8038-7007 on CN No 321 (St-Antoine QC to Toronto MacMillan Yard)
Dec 5/00 8037-7048 and two others No 321
Mar 9/01 8113-7063 logo-7047 logo No 321
Jun 21/02 7046 logo-7023 logo No 321
Nov 20/03 7090
Mar 17/05 8052 No 321
Mar 24/06 7052 No 321
Apr 12/07 8045 no logo-8144 no logo
Feb 8/09 7067 logo-8092 logo
Jun 20/09 7091 logo-8194 logo-8222 no logo No 368 (Arvida QC - Toronto)

Aug 19/10 8148-8203-8218 all no logo.

****June 2016 Update ****
Loyal Trackside Treasure reader Chris de Vries kindly shared two photos of GLC cars still in service, taken at Winnipeg in June, 2016:

 INTX 35003 (above) and INTX 35014 (below)

****December 2022 Update****

Here's GLCX 8034 complete with logo and GLCX 8068, still making miles on a late-running CN No 322 on December 27 (image courtesy Railstream, LLC):

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FB this! At the suggestion of blog partner Steve Boyko, I decided to not only check out the Facebook groups he recommended, but also to join the White-on-Blue-F team. I'm still preparing for my first official Facebook rant. Any ideas for appropriate topics?

Steve's post got me wondering what the ideal social media platform for railfans (or regular people) is. Don't worry, Trackside Treasure in blog form will be around as long as Blogger (and I) can support it. It strikes me that rail enthusiast needs are different from the 'family vacation photos, memes and Youtube video links) FB crowd. I do like Pinterest for warehousing photos, but Trackside Treasure allows me to include a story with the photos as well. Like!

The first really useful site I found with FB is Greg McDonnell's site. The first really unexpected photo I found on Facebook - your humble blogger in the lower levels of Union Station getting our school group organized to depart Toronto for Vancouver aboard VIA No 1 in October, 1980:

A VIAphile in the making! With the help of fellow Facebooker Drew Makepeace, we produced an educational trip guide for the group - to satisfy educational requirements and to provide a boredom kill. Not that I was bored, camera and nose pressed to glass enjoying railfanning all the way west! While the rest of the group was relaxing at the Fort Garry Hotel during the 4-hour layover, we were railfanning East Yard and the Depot.