Baldwins, Critters & Other Surprises (Part 2) |
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 P&C Docks were the first stop in the morning of day 2. |
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| Day Two (continued) | |||
The stop on the second morning at P&C Docks had been a success, and we had now exhausted
the last of our advance photo permits. So we pointed the "Sabo-mobile" east to make the
relatively short run to Erie, Pennsylvania and the plant of locomotive builder General
Electric. At this point, we are running on adrenalin and expecting only good things, in-spite
of a languishing overcast sky. The clock was still ticking and only 30 hours remained for
us to explore potential targets in Buffalo, New York and Toronto, Ontario.
On the way into downtown Erie, we glanced at the Penn Central tracks and spotted a gondola with a steam engine standing inside; of course it demanded our attention. The steamer was an 0-6-0 with no builders plate nor identity, other than road number 105. The gondola belonged to the Midwest Railroad Historical Foundation (MRHF), which sponsored excursions to Hale Farm and Akron, Ohio. (left photo) Once at the GE plant, we had hoped to catch East Erie Commercial's #18, a 70-Ton end cab, but it had the weekend off. Instead we encountered a partially obscured dip-red GE 70-Tonner sitting outside the fence line. The four-axle GE belonged to the Illinois Railway Equipment Company (IREX). We never did establish the unit's lineage. (right photo) | |||
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However, our disappointment was short-lived upon the discovery of Erie Lackawanna / New Jersey
U34CH #3371 (c/n 37949, b/d 3/71) standing outside the plant property waiting to picked up by
Penn Central and whisked east. It was the surprise of the day. (left photo)
A few miles outside of Erie, we encountered a westbound Norfolk & Western hotshot with several piggybacks up front. GE-built U30B 8512 (c/n 37490, b/d 1/71) was in command. |
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Enroute to Buffalo, we experienced a couple of "sucker holes" near Erie Lackawanna's Bison
Yard, but they vanished as quick as they had appeared. One of the units working the yard was
ex-Erie Alco RS3 1025 (c/n 78553, b/d 3/1951). Left Photo
A lone Baldwin-built cab-less booster B65 sat on a near-by storage track. Used primarily in hump service, the six-axle railroad conversion had originally been an ex-Erie DRS 66-1500 #1150 (c/n 74714, b/d 4/50). Right photo |
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Frontier yard also in Buffalo was the next stop. We expected to find a host of Penn
Central GM and GE units, and there was; but instead we focused on several Alco S2, S4
and RS3 alternatives that would soon be disappearing. PC S4 9741 (ex- NYC 8641 c/n 80647,
b/d 10/53). Left photo
Rare Alco RS11 7654 (at least on the west side of the PC system) was seen backing down an outbound track to collect cars for a local being assembled in the yard. (Ex-PRR 8654 c/n 82829, b/d 12/57) |
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As the daylights hours began to shrink, we opted to document a couple of area critters
before it was too late. It had been previously reported that Buffalo Slag owned two center
cab units; they were not hard to find. Located on the outskirts of Buffalo, the locos were
both GEs: 80-tonner #29 (c/n 30969, b/d 4/51 and 50-tonner #92 (c/n 32851, b/d 4/57). Left
photo.
GE supposedly had an early 23-ton model further north in Tonawanda; it too was on our hit list. The small end cab was easy to locate and photograph. Built in August 1941 (c/n 15008), the unit had originally worked the company's Everett, Massachusetts complex. | |||
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The final stop of the day was the railroad shops of Niagara Junction Railway, an industrial
short line serving companies in the Niagara Falls area. Reports /rumors had been previously
circulating that the electric rail line was shrinking operations and selling off equipment.
So it too was on our want list. A local fan of the 96-ton steeple-cab electrics indicated the
report was erroneous-- which was good to hear. The only unit we found outside was #14, the
first of the E10B steeple-cabs to be delivered in June 1952 (c/n 31137).
[The electric rail line was absorbed by Conrail in 1976.] |
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| Day Three | |||
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The sight of a continuous overcast sky dampened (no pun intended) our
spirts as we departed the motel on the final morning of our trip. Fortunately, our luck was
going to keep us company the remainder of the morning and then some. We crossed the Peace
River Bridge and went to directly to the Fort Erie, Ontario train station. Three ex-Wabash
units (GP9 #3453 along with two F-units) with a freight was departing Canada and headed for
the Norfolk & Western facilities in Buffalo. (Left photo)
At a nearby industrial complex, we discovered a Cyanamid 45-Tonner (c/n 32852, b/d 3/57)
built by GE. In candor, we had been actually looking for a GE 80-tonner operated by the chemical
company. (Right photo) | |||
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We had barely left Fort Erie when a Fort Dodge & Des Moines GE 70-toner
(c/n 30381, b/d 1/50) was spotted on an industrial siding. Prior to the FDDM, the end-cab loco
had been on the roster of the Arkansas & Ozarks #900. (Right photo)
The weather showed no signs of improving, so we made a bee line for Hamilton and the Toronto
Hamilton & Buffalo railroad. As expected for a Sunday, rail line activity was non-existant.
GP9 #403 (GMDD c/n A571, b/d 03/54) was in position for classic roster shots. | |||
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One of the trip's stated objectives was to document as much passenger power as time and
conditions allowed. To that end, we started in downtown Toronto with good success. The first
stop were the passenger engine facilities of Canadian Pacific. With the famous York Hotel in
the background, CP FPA2 #4095 looked splendid wearing the railroad's new multi-mark attire.
As an Alco fan, I had hit the Jackpot.
That success was followed by several more FPAs at Canadian National's Spadina Terminal. A very photogenic CN FPA4 #6783 provided a wow factor while scores of CN F-units, geeps, switchers and RDCs, along with GO Transit units waited in a supporting role. |
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 CP FPA2 #4095  CN FPA4 #6783 | |||
 CN S12 #8512  GOT GP40TC #9805 | |||
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By mid-day, the sky had darken and rain felt emminent. Next up was a visit to Canadian
Pacific's Toronto (Agincourt) Yard in northeast Toronto; it was one of the largest marshaling
facilities on the entire system along with a busy diesel shop. It was also a stronghold for
the railroad's remaining MLW / Alco locomotives. With a few exceptions, most of the road power
was wearing the Multi-Mark scheme. Here is a sampling of the motive power that was present. |
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Canadian National's MacMillan Yard was our final stop of the trip. An intermittent rain
had started, so we limited our focus to the large diesel shop where units were bunched. Once
again, here is a small sample of the locomotives on hand. We were especially pleased to find
#4000, one of the railroad's few GP35s. |
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 CN M636 #2320  CN GP35 #4000 | |||
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Actually MacMillan had not been the final stop of the trip. One in our group had forgot
to take shots of the Government of Toronto GP40TC #9805. So we retraced the route back to
Spadina to catch the GOT unit. (It was on our way back to Detroit anyway.) He had not been
out of the car for two minutes when the clouds let loose. Clearly, it's the price we sometimes
pay for being railfans. |
 GOT GP40TC #9805 New: 1 January 2025
Text and photos by R. Craig Rutherford
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