Railpictures.ca - Profile and photos of jp4pix

Profile Page for jp4pix

This page shows statistics, photos, and an all-time map for jp4pix. Photographers: Filling your map and earning awards can only be done one way. Submit today!

About jp4pix

About 50 years ago I got into railway photography in Trois-Rivieres QC. After a couple of years there, moved back to Vaughan ON, then western Mississauga. Was busy with other stuff during the 80's, and the latter 00's, so about 35 years active. I still like yard pictures, but stay out nowadays. My pre-digital cameras were YashicaMat TLR (~imitation Rolleiflex, 120 film), Pentax 6x7 (120 film SLR, heavy & expensive), Pentax K1000, Nikon FE, Nikon F90x. I stuck with 120 black & white film until about 1980, then 35mm colour negative film (usually) until around 2010, before going all-digital. I also have quite a collection of railway negatives from the period 1990-1995 acquired from photographer John E. Parnell of London Ontario; his coverage of London and beyond is very impressive. I also collect train slides - some taken at Bayview Jct and vicinity that don't name the photographer have been identified from data style and handwriting as the work of Bill McArthur. Others have labelling that matches slides taken by Reg Button. Thanks for looking at my pictures, and your comments and favorites. Encourages me to spend the significant time and effort required to scan, photo-edit, research, caption and submit older images.

jp4pix's Railpictures.ca photo upload statistics

Number of images: 288
Total gold: 2949
Number of comments recieved : 507
Number of comments posted : 190
Total views: 519688

Contact jp4pix

To contact jp4pix for licensing, permission, or to send a private comment click this link: (contact)
* note: all inquiries are moderated

jp4pix's 288 photos on Railpictures.ca:

CP 3632, a class N2A 2-8-0 built by CLC in 1911, was one of CP's last steam engines in regular service. <br>
It served at Port McNicoll Ontario in the last month of regular steam operation on the CPR, April 1960.<br>
This image dated May 1960 appears to be outside Lambton roundhouse (with its numbered smoke jacks).<br>
CP 3632 is in steam and getting some attention - note the steam dome cover is off, temporarily placed on the sand dome. The guys at bottom left might be taking a break from this activity.<br>
In the background CP 8558, an RS-10 built by MLW in 1956, is on the roundhouse turntable.

Name:	Unknown, J.Pittman …
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	May 1960
Location:	West Toronto
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 13 Favourites

SD40-2 units CP 5675 and CP 5601 were photographed alongside Partridge passing siding on the CP Laggan sub.<br>
This is the high ground near Kicking Horse Pass, just before the main descent of CP's Big Hill though the Spiral tunnels to division point Field BC. The railway is already on a descending grade westward.<br>
Less than a minute after this picture, the brakes were released and this train resumed its westward journey.<br><br>
On occasion Partridge serves as crew change point instead of Field BC, for crews approaching maximum hours of service.<br><br>
25 and a half years after my picture, a crew change here ended in tragedy. On 4 February 2019 westbound CP 301-349 rolled away from Partridge just after the relief crew boarded. For details see TSB R19C0015: <br> https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/enquetes-investigations/rail/2019/r19c0015/r19c0015.html

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	1993-07-15
Location:	east of Field
Province:	British Columbia

3 Comments | 11 Favourites

"Bullet Nose Betty" 4-8-2 CN 6070 is resting over the ashpit near Spadina Roundhouse in Toronto in 1955.<br><br>
CN had 20 class U-1-F engines 6060-6079 built by MLW in 1944, retired by CN 1959-61. Three survive.<br>
The tender is full of coal, likely filled at the coal tower on the other (west) side of Spadina Road Bridge.<br>
Until 1962 the tallest building in the British Commonwealth was the Canadian Bank of Commerce tower (completed 1931), visible just left of CN's water tank.<br><br>
James Victor Salmon photo, Courtesy of Toronto Public Library. Caption by John Pittman

Name:	James Victor Salmon
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1955
Location:	Toronto
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 22 Favourites

"Well, here's another fine mess you've gotten me into."<br>
This hump-assigned GP38-2 was seen outside Macmillan Yard Diesel Shop on shop trucks, looking very beat up.<br>
It is hoped that nobody was seriously injured.<br><br>
Hump pullback speeds don't need to be really fast, but a lot of energy got absorbed by CN 7500.<br>
For hump switching the only active brakes are on the engines and slugs; a long cut of cars cannot be stopped as fast as a train. If anyone has information about this particular mishap, please comment.<br><br>
Not far away was hump slug CN 512 with serious body damage but still on its own trucks.<br>
A pair of damaged Blomberg trucks off CN 7500 were loaded on flatcar CN 667502.<br><br>
The next time I saw CN 7500 was mid-April 1995. It was back at Mac Yard in clean CN North America paint scheme (without map), fully repaired and not showing noticeable scars from its crash.<br><br>
I used to enjoy the privilege of taking pictures here, but things have changed; the last time I got permission was in the latter 1990's.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1993-07-25
Location:	Concord
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 26 Favourites

Single-track snowplow CN 55350 is in front of a dual/multi-track unit that moves plowed snow to the right.<br>
According to my Trackside Guide, CN 55350 was built in 1928 by the Eastern Car Company of Truro NS.<br>
Lettered on the side is "CN 10.86" - could be date of rebuild or major maintenance - and some notices:
"DANGER - Block Wings Open Before Going Behind"
"WARNING - This Plow Is Too High To Pass Through Winnipeg Train Shed"<br><br>
It's a colourful summer scene, but ... Winter is coming.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1993-07-09
Location:	Jasper
Province:	Alberta

1 Comments | 7 Favourites

Hillcrest Lumber #1 is a 2-truck Shay oil-fired 0-4-4-0 steam locomotive, 36 inch gauge, weight 27 tons.<br>
Built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1920, it has a vertical 3-cylinder steam engine on the right side.<br>
Its crankshaft turns driveshafts running to both trucks, with the wheels driven by bevel gears. <br>
This design coped with irregular track and tight curves better than a standard steam engine.<br><br>
Hillcrest Lumber near Duncan on Vancouver Island was the original purchaser, so it is close to where it originally worked.<br>
The day we were there in 1993, it powered a train ride that circuited museum property for visitors.<br>
In recent years Hillcrest #1 has been out of service needing boiler work, however the BC Forest Discovery Centre has a number of other locomotives in its collection.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Preservation
Date:	1993-07-05
Location:	Duncan
Province:	British Columbia

2 Comments | 5 Favourites

Two CP trains are waiting in Field Yard for the track ahead to clear so they can continue east.<br>
The steep grades of the Big Hill lie ahead of them, eased to a manageable 2+ % by the spiral tunnels.<br><br>
In 1993 CP mainline freight trains were predominantly powered by SD40-2's; their first GE's would arrive in 1995.<br>
CP 5878 wears then-new CP Rail System two-flags scheme, while its trailing unit CP 6069 is in action red with the multimark. CP 6069's windows were painted red, a B-unit not intended for occupancy. First car is Angus caboose CP 434374.<br>
The other train is lead by CP 5653 in faded action red (no multimark), second unit CP 5870 looks similar.<br><br>
Mount Stephen is nearby, but I think this south-facing view has Mount Dennis in the background.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	1993-07-15
Location:	Field
Province:	British Columbia

1 Comments | 11 Favourites

Built by the British Hunslet company, Pacific Elevators "B" would be called a diesel shunter in its homeland.<br> A more typical look for this sort of engine would be buffer and chain couplings.<br><br>
The open access door could be a sign it needs mechanical attention, but its sisters "A" and "C" can help out. <br>
A, B and C were 0-4-0 Hunslet model DH 4w, acquired new by Pacific Elevators in 1968, 1971, and 1974.<br>
"DH" suggests diesel hydraulic transmission (torque convertor), 4w might mean 4 wheels.<br>
The metal bin behind the yellow containers at left has "Hunslet stuff" written on it.<br>
Note the propane-powered forklift in the same paint colours behind "B".<br><br>
One of the Hunslets survived long enough to get repainted in Viterra's colour scheme, after they acquired Pacific Elevators in 2008.<br>
The road past the elevator had open access in 1993, but Port of Vancouver roads are restricted nowadays.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Industrial
Date:	1993-07-16
Location:	Vancouver
Province:	British Columbia

1 Comments | 12 Favourites

Forty foot steel boxcars were once a very common type of railcar, moving an extremely wide range of goods.<br>
But it's quite a while since I last saw a WW2 era boxcar in Maple Leaf CNR Serves All Canada scheme.<br><br>
Several of these veterans were in Oakville in 1993, retaining roofwalks, high brake wheels, "friction" plain wheel bearings, and wearing CN-service car numbers - suffixed "R" for restricted (not for interchange).<br>
This example CN 72701R was built in June 1944, and continued in revenue service into the KarTrak colour barcode era (1967-1977). The former car number is over-painted, though some of the digits can be made out. I determined it used to be CN 467227 by magnifying and interpreting the barcode.<br>
One of the coil springs below the faded car number has been replaced by something different.<br>
There appears to be a triangular hole just to the lower right of the car loading door.<br>
The car to the left was formerly CN 473453, built in May 1937.<br><br>
For months (perhaps years) this pair was parked to the west of Oakville VIA Station, alongside this building marked CN Signals and Communications.<br>
As of 2020 these cars are long gone, the north-side siding tracks are gone, and the building has gone.<br>
In their place is a third mainline track, and the north Oakville platform extends past here for 12-coach GO trains.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1993-01-10
Location:	Oakville
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 15 Favourites

I came across this SD40 on my 1993 visit to Vancouver. It seemed an odd place to park a locomotive.<br>
A nearby McDonald's could account for CN 5070 being here. The building was still there in 2019 street views<br><br>
This is the stub of track extending west from CN's Vancouver Yard; in the past it served industries along the south side of False Creek and onto Granville Island.<br>
The lands surrounding False Creek have been extensively redeveloped; most of the industry has gone.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1993-07-02
Location:	Vancouver
Province:	British Columbia

3 Comments | 25 Favourites

A solid train of centrebeam lumber cars eastbound on Oakville Sub track 2 with all cars empty.<br>
Axle count was 490 = one ET44ac locomotive and 121 cars ~ 80' length, approximately 9800' train length.<br><br>
For comparison, the highest axle count past this spot on this Sunday morning was an eastbound CN mixed freight train of 750 axles = 4 head-end locomotives, one more about 3/4 of train length back, and 180 cars.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	2020-03-15
Location:	Burlington
Province:	Ontario

7 Comments | 6 Favourites

CN people are working with crane CN 50000 to get MLW RSC-14 CN 1784 back on track after a derailment in Halifax.<br><br>
The RSC-14's were RS-18's re-trucked by CN to spread their weight across six axles, for branch lines with light rail in the Maritime provinces. <br>
The A1A trucks were taken from retired RSC-13's and RSC-24's which previously served that assignment. <br>
RSC-14's were derated from RS18 original 1800 HP to 1400 HP, probably the safe limit for the A1A traction motors.<br><br>
Location within Halifax is unstated, mapped to vicinity of Fairview.

Name:	Unknown, J.Pittman …
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1975-10-13
Location:	Halifax
Province:	Nova Scotia

1 Comments | 11 Favourites

The Ottawa and New York Railway ran from Ottawa to Cornwall, where a set of railway bridges across the St Lawrence River connected it to NY state and the New York Central Railroad network.<br>
O & NY was majority-owned and operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1905 through 1957. Construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1957 required the removal of the Cornwall railway bridges, severing the connection with New York.<br><br>
This September 1946 picture shows 4-6-0 NYC 875 in Ottawa, outside a building which looks like its engine house. <br><br>
Sources indicate that O & NY Ottawa yard was off Mann Avenue, and that part of Hwy 417 was built over its former yard/RoW.<br>
My primary source was the Wikipedia article "New York and Ottawa Railway", highly recommended for more information.

Name:	Unknown, J.Pittman …
Railway:	New York Central
Date:	1946-09-01
Location:	Ottawa
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 15 Favourites

Just over two hours earlier, CN 5640 passed this point as east-facing trailing unit of CN 422.<br>
Presumably wye'd at Bayview, it now powers CN Extra 421 which is moving slowly toward CN Snake.<br>
It will follow the "real" 421 (A421 lead by IC2719,CN8928,CN2594,IC1026) which is on track 1 overtaking X421.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	2020-02-08
Location:	Burlington
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 8 Favourites

SW1200RS CN 1321 and its train are heading timetable west (compass south-west) over Sixteen Mile Creek.<br>
The crewman turned away from his side window appears to be watching the train through the cab back windows.<br>
A derailment here would be worse than usual - the river is quite a way below.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1992-07-07
Location:	Oakville
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 20 Favourites

CN 319 is a unit train of windmill blades, westbound on Oakville Sub track 2 passing CN Aldershot Yard.<br>
319's head end has just crossed Grindstone Creek bridge. CN train 422 on track 1 will proceed east shortly.<br><br>
Another railfan told me he heard the axle count was 300. IF we got the axle count and math correct:<br>
Deduct 12 loco axles leaves 288 flatcar axles, divided by 4 equals 72 flatcars.<br>
Each pair of blades occupies 3 flatcars, making 48 blades on the train.<br><br>
It worked out well that my wife finished her shopping at the big blue and yellow store near Aldershot East around the time I learned this train was on the Halton Sub, heading towards us.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	2020-03-07
Location:	Aldershot (Burling…
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 8 Favourites

This unusual conversion of a 40 foot boxcar was seen in GO Transit's Willowbrook Yard on several occasions in the early 1990's. By then it could have been retired, like GO's stored APCU's, APU's and GP40M-2's.<br>
It is painted to resemble one end of GO Transit 2+level coach, with windows, etc. <br><br>
IIRC someone told me it had been used for teaching conductors GO train door control operation.<br>
If so, one feature it lacks is an openable window in the conductor's original upper-level location.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	GO Transit
Date:	August 1992
Location:	Mimico
Province:	Ontario

8 Comments | 25 Favourites

A pair of CP Rail GP9u locomotives lead their train east across Sixteen Mile Creek in Oakville.<br>
Presumably exercising trackage rights on CN's Oakville Sub between Hamilton Jct and Toronto (Canpa).<br>
I read that this arrangement began in 1896 continuing for 99 years - after that things changed.<br>
A relic of CP's maroon and grey era is the swoosh over 8242's front-most radiator intake, for the yellow stripe.

Name:	John Pittman
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	1992-07-07
Location:	Oakville
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 13 Favourites

GP9 CN 4493 is powering a plow train, with plow CN 55369 at the head end and looks like another GP9 helping.<br>
<br>The train appears to be halted, with some of the crew on the ground ahead of the plow. <br>
Could be they are considering their next move. Engineer's seat in the GP9 is occupied.<br>
Location mapped is approximate.

Name:	Unknown, J.Pittman …
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1978-01-28
Location:	Belleville
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 12 Favourites

CN 8166 is an MLW S-4 switcher built in 1956. It got an early repaint to the CN noodle scheme.<br>
In 1961 this scheme was the exception. A few years later, commonplace. With MLW switchers gone, of interest again.<br><br>
Only the date was written on the slide mount, however the provider indicated that it was a Reg Button photo taken at the old engine house in Hamilton Stuart St Yard. The building matches well with one in Doug Page's image of the Hamilton roundhouse area taken in mid-1960.

Name:	Reg Button photo, J…
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	December 1961
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 11 Favourites

◄123 4 5…►last

jp4pix's Map:

Note: Due to Google's greediness you may have to click the OK button when it asks you if you own this website. We'll replace this in time, but it's going to be a while. Sorry :)

*Note: Only photos with GPS added upon submission are mapped here. Some users do not map images and may show a blank map.