Model train

The subject of today’s Throwback Thursday is one of the oldest images in my collection, dating back almost 66 years to 1959. Though me and all things electric generally don’t get along well, I do have a soft spot for the former Canadian Pacific Electric Lines that once ran out of Preston, ON (in modern-day Cambridge). That is, the old Grand River Railway and the Lake Erie & Northern Railway which combined to span between Port Dover and Waterloo by way of Simcoe, Brantford, Paris and Galt, which is where today’s image was taken.

We’re standing in Galt, ON on what appears to be a fine spring day in May 1959. Though we don’t know who the photographer is (uncredited slide), we can reasonably assume he was having a pretty good railfanning day when he snapped this frame. Looking southeast from a location near Samuelson Street & #8 highway, CPEL motors GRR 228 and LE&N 337 seem to be making a reverse move towards the camera, judging by the presence of the crew member on the rear platform of the 228. Both motors were 1921 home-builts, products of Preston Car and Coach. Interestingly, though the two railways were separate on paper, they operated as one subsequent to a consolidation in 1937 but maintained separate reporting marks and numbering schemes for equipment (even numbers for GRR equipment and odd for LE&N, except for LE&N 230, 232, and 234, which were secondhand acquisitions). These two motors served faithfully for their owner for forty years, until the end of electrified operations came on October 1, 1961. Replaced by a handful of SW8’s and SW1200RS’s, the two motors were sold in 1963 to the Iowa Terminal Railway and shipped to Mason City, IA. The two motors became ITR #81 and #82 (ex-LE&N 337 and GRR 228 respectively).   ITR 82 was never repainted or saw active service, and was scrapped in 1968; ITR 81 held on a bit longer, meeting the torch in 1973.

Aside from the CPEL motors in the shot, a number of other features in the background are also of interest. It would appear that CP was doing trackwork in the area at the time the photo was taken, judging by the MOW-service four-axle wooden passenger car behind the motors. Also giving credence to this theory are a pile of untreated ties and spare switch stands at lower right. The long-removed water tower used to supply the Orr’s Lake helper stationed here can also be seen in the background. Seems odd seeing a water tower next to catenary, doesn't it?

While these two motors that once served the electric lines have long since met their demise, the line that they are on (now known as the CP's Waterloo Subdivision) continues to be an important part of the Canadian Pacific system in Southern Ontario. A Toyota automobile assembly plant built in the mid 1980’s a few miles down the line near Hagey provides a substantial amount of high-value traffic to the rail line. Who would have thought when this photo was taken that instead of facing abandonment like most of the rest of the former CPEL, this line would not only survive but thrive?! Trilevels of Toyota Camry’s and Matrix’s are indeed a long way from the days of steeplecabs and interurban service.

Thanks for looking,

Cheers,

Peter.