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About Klaucker

Michael Kevin Klauck is Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario with 30+ years experience in the Metals Production, Metal Treating and Industrial Furnace business. Born and raised in Port Colborne Ontario with the TH&B and CNR operating in his backyard, he took an interest in railways at a young age. The photos posted were all taken in the Port Colborne Ontario and southern ON area between 1980 and 1995. Enjoy

Klaucker's Railpictures.ca photo upload statistics

Number of images: 54
Total gold: 940
Number of comments recieved : 189
Number of comments posted : 699
Total views: 82424

Klaucker has 1 image in the Time Machine

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Klaucker's 54 photos on Railpictures.ca:

By the late 1950's it was clear that Steam's days were numbered, and Interurbans were almost non-existent. The combination of the two may have been Roger Bloomquist's inspiration to travel from Indiana to Port Colborne to capture Mikado 3422 and NS&T 83 in this idyllic scene. The building in behind is the local CTC (Canadian Tire) downtown location that was on site until the mid-80's. The view is looking west, 3422 is traveling east bound on the Dunnville Sub, likely on the afternoon scheduled Stratford - Fort Erie run. The NS&T has less than 2 years of Thorold to Port Colborne service left. TH&B GP-7's were active here at that time... imagine a photo with a Maroon & Cream Diesel and you would have the Trifecta ! Thanks to Steve H for help here.

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	07/27/1957
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 22 Favourites

Mountains of Pig Iron sit on the east banks of the Welland Canal inside the property of the Canadian Furnace Company - Algoma Steel Corporation. At the time the photo was taken the plant had been idle for 4 years but was on "cold" standby waiting for a call to re-start that never came. One of this plants main customers was the 185,000 sqft. Massey-Ferguson "M" foundry (Grey Iron) in Brantford, ON. In the distance you can see the scrap piles of the DWOR Metal Company, Bridge 20 (rail) and Bridge 21 (Auto) over the canal. This location has been earmarked to be a new 33M CAD Great Lakes Bio-Fuel storage facility, maybe rail will go back in ?!? Thanks to Steve H for help on this one.

Name:	Michael Klauck - Ha…
Railway:	Industrial
Date:	26/01/1981
Location:	PORT COLBORNE
Province:	Ontario

5 Comments | 12 Favourites

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Industrial
Date:	08/20/1995
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 18 Favourites

In 1997 ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) purchased the Maple Leaf Mills, which included the Port Colborne operation. ADM and the MLM previous owner have a history of "on-again / off-again" in-house critters for switching. When nearby STELCO Welland (Page Hersery and Welland Tubes) closed around the time this photo was taken, ADM picked up one of the GE Center Cabs for an "on-again" stint. This was likely short-lived, and not sure the unit was ever re-painted out of the STELCO livery. Trillium tried a few years ago to station at GE Center Cab at this location, but that unit was eventually moved to the PSTR in Port Stanley, ON. GIO did have a SW 7920 on duty there for most of the recent winter, but that ADM seasonal work ended in early March 2024. Thanks to Steve H for the image clean-up

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Industrial
Date:	03/13/2004
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 17 Favourites

The exact Port Colborne location here is a bit of a mystery. John Freyseng and Jacob Patterson both chimed in with their thoughts, but no conclusion was reached. Out of view at the rear of the train are the silos for the Canada Cement Company (original slide image / cropped on posted image). Taking that into consideration and the spur line that branches off (likely Government Spur), that puts us just west of the Fielden Avenue crossing. One problem, being 1955 the NS&T Electric line and associated Catenary should be also visible as the adjacent track due north of the Dunnville sub main line..so where is it ?? Given the amount of track work going on (crews, ballast) is it possible that the Catenary was also being redone in that section at this time ? NS&T freight service had another 5 years to go so maybe. Any chance there was a derailment in the area that necessitated some of this track work? Without research it will likely not be known. Jacob Patterson posted RP image 44470 on the same date, traveling westbound at Pt. C Station... this image here is traveling eastbound, but both are 5567 on the point.

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	08/31/1955
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

6 Comments | 13 Favourites

Prolific railway enthusiast Al Chione has provided us this duplicate image of NS&T Sweeper #23, circa 1955. The town name was not identified on the slide, but the location is remarkably unchanged nearly 70 years later. The NS&T had a Wye connection to the Canada Cement Spur (west side of Elm) and the catenary can be clearly seen in the image. #23 is parked on the south side of the Wye, a location where she often resided. Behind the unit is the Lion's Field Ball Diamond, one of the few such parks that enjoyed lights in the mid-50's. Beyond that, the large home that can be seen, still stands but a modern apartment building was built around the property perimeter (Elm and Killaly Street), so the house is less pronounced now.... the great Detroit Rocker Bob Seger would likely characterize this scene today as "Still the Same"...minus the track and associated catenary of course. Thanks to Steve H for helping out with this and some other recent posts...

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Niagara St. Cathar…
Date:	mid-1950's
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 17 Favourites

SW 7166 sits in the Dain City CN/Norfolk Western (Southern) Intermodal Yard. In later years the operation was one of the very few container operations in Ontario. If you needed a train fix on the drive from Welland to Port Colborne, Dain City was guaranteed to please with what seemed like endless shunting of Intermodal cars that blocked Canal Bank St./Kingsway just south of the John Deere Plant (originally called DAIN MFG. - hence the town name Dain City). Intermodal / Container operations ended here in 1998. Dain City was also referred to as Welland Junction, as the CNR Cayuga Sub (Canada Air Line), and CNR Humberstone Sub (Welland Railway) intersected on diamond. You can still see remnants of the original Humberstone Sub that dead ends on the north side of Forks Road E. VERBIO Bio-Diesel stores tank cars on that section. The Dain City area is set to undergo an incredible transformation as a housing redevelopment on the former John Deere site. The community has been disconnected from Port Colborne since the Forks Road Bridge was removed in 2019 for safety concerns, but a new bridge should be up by 2024.

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	08/11/1997
Location:	Dain City
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 17 Favourites

On The Humberstone - 1986. Looking north to the double track section of the CTC controlled Humberstone Sub. Up until the end of '87 both CN and TH&B used the tracks here. It was not uncommon for TH&B's trains leaving town to be stranded down at Nickel Yard until they got CTC clearance. All the CTC was gone here by 1988, and the double track section reduced to a single line. Today, the rarely used (but well maintained) line has been demoted to the Humberstone Spur, serving VALE, and the odd other technical move (JTL, Transformers, etc). The Humberstone dates from the late 1850's as the southern portion of the WELLAND RAILWAY that joined Port Colborne (Lake Erie) and Port Dalhousie (Lake Ontario).

Name:	Michael Klauck
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1986
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

12 Comments | 24 Favourites

*** Submission possible with restoration help from Jacob Patterson - Thank-you *** - CPR 5361 sitting in the TH&B Aberdeen yard in Feb 1987. There was a great assortment of old equipment in the out of service tracks in the yard at the time. Not so long after this photo was taken the 1926 MIKADO was moved on rails to Depew, New York (WNY Buffalo area) for a private collector and restoration. There was a lot of chatter in 2018 about scrapping the old CLC loco unless a buyer could be found with 100K USD but whether or not it was scrapped is unknown to me.

Name:	Michael Klauck
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	02/XX/1987
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 18 Favourites

RS 18 3814 and two (2) other ALCO's in the yard at Fort Erie. Unknown photographer. The NRM is housed in the former CNR Diesel Shop that closed in 1989. Opening weekend at the NIAGARA RAILWAY MUSEUM http://www.nfrm.ca/ is May 14 and 15. Thanks Steve for helping out on the image.

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	03/29/1968
Location:	Fort Erie
Province:	Ontario

5 Comments | 17 Favourites

The Intruder Within - #75 and Van #70 heading west on the CNR. The pair have just crossed King Street, the CN Station would be to the east of the photographer. By the time this photo was taken, TH&B had enjoyed running rights into Port Colborne for more than 40 years. When they acquired the running rights in the mid-1920's, Port Colborne was one of the top car load origins in the Province, and TH&B got their share without having to lay down a single rail. Van #70 shown here is in the TIGER-CATS colour scheme, and survives to this day at the Toronto Railway Museum - repainted in the earlier Red colour scheme. Thanks Steve for the help here !

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Toronto Hamilton a…
Date:	01/07/1968
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 25 Favourites

Canada Cement #2 in 1965 on the neatly kept company grounds in Port Colborne. According to Colin Churcher’s Industrial locomotive guide, Canada Cement Port Colborne received two (2) new 45T units from GE in 1946. The #2 GE unit was sold to Quebec Iron & Titanium in 1968, and the sister #1 unit to ZALEV Brothers in Windsor (relocated to PSTR in recent years and undergoing restoration now). The plant existed in Port from the early 1900’s and ceased operations around 1969. It was taken down shortly after including all the Company housing on what was Maple Avenue (now Elgin Street west of Steele - Portal Village Complex). Canada Cement had their own spur that connected the factory with loading docks on the Welland Canal. The spur crossed the NS&T (later CN Elm Street Spur) on diamond, and also had a Wye connection onto Elm Street. In addition, the plant operated a line immediately parallel to the Dunnville Sub (south side) from the factory east of Cement Plant road approx. 3 km west to Quarry Road in Wainfleet. Canada Cement operated at least 9 facilities across the country and the Port Colborne facility was a major employer with a very extensive network of rail lines inside and outside of their property. The plant sat on the north side of Macey Yard which is still occasionally used for car storage by GIO. Canada Cement was eventually sold to LAFARGE, and probably the most impactful legacy of the Company Key Man was the creation of Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC by Jennie Butchart, wife of Canada Cement shareholder Robert Butchart.

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Industrial
Date:	06/05/1965
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

7 Comments | 17 Favourites

1615 and van 434017 is heading east towards Brookfield on the former CASO, having just crossed Netherby-Townline Road. The pair were on switching assignment at the former WELLAND TUBES (STELCO) facility that is sandwiched between Ridge Road and the Welland Canal (Welland Bypass). They were likely returning to the TH&B/CPR/CONRAIL Welland Yard. WELLAND TUBES produced a significant portion of the large diameter pipe used for the Trans Canada pipeline(s), and had a sister plant in Camrose Alberta which is now run by the Russian steelmaker EVRAZ. The rail line here has long since been removed, which would have included an interlocked diamond with the CN Stamford Sub at the bottom end of CN's Southern Yard. Van 434017 does not appear easy to find on CPR Caboose/Van lists, with most of that series starting with 434018, but clearly it existed. Thanks to Steve H for help cleaning the image up.

Name:	Michael Klauck
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	06/XX/1986
Location:	Welland - Port Col…
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 24 Favourites

Completed "Cyclone Separators" have been loaded into Gondola 142320 on the spur that lead through the Sherk Lumber property to the rear (north side) of Port Colborne Iron Works / E.B. Magee, a custom fabricator, boiler shop and sometime Great Lakes ship builder. Cyclone Separators are generally used in dust / pollution control applications and would have been considered newer / greener technology at that time. It appears that the spur had at least 2 tracks with the mobile crane parked between the gon and the steel boxcar. 142320 was built in Dec 1942 and is a riveted steel construction. The gon looks to be labeled both "Welland" and "Magee" (illegible) on the east and west ends respectively. The Port Colborne Iron Works closed in the early 2000's, and the current building occupant is an unrelated company, LA Steel. The spur to the plant through Sherk Lumber was removed in/around the time PC Iron Works ceased operations.

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	Late 1950's
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

6 Comments | 13 Favourites

*** Submitted with the help of JACOB PATTERSON - Thank-you MIKE ***

The click of a shutter... and what do we have here... NS&T Electric Motor #21 travelling south on Elm Street approaching the Killaly Street intersection. The train would soon pass the non-interlocked (flagged) industrial diamond for the Canada Cement company spur that connected the factory to loading docks on the Welland Canal. The final destination for the train would be the Macey Yard Interchange with the CNR. The train is hauling boxcars from Robin Hood Flour Mills. The NS&T was the last railway to reach Port Colborne in 1911, and the construction of Robin Hood in 1940 created a significant source of Freight Revenue for the Company, enough to dedicate an Electric Motor to servicing the facility. NS&T generally kept Motor #20 or 21 stationed adjacent the current Museum grounds. #21 was built by the CLC - Canada Locomotive Company in 1927 for the Montreal & Southern Counties coming over to NS&T in 1941, likely due to freight demands at Robin Hood. The building on the right was the privately built Port Colborne Athletic Club Arena (also called the White Arena), a 2200 seat hockey rink constructed in 1932 that launched the NHL career of of 5 time Stanley Cup Champion- Toronto Maple Leafs Captain - Ted "Teeder" Kennedy who joined the Leafs at age 16. According to the NS&T author John Mills the last Interurban Trolley passenger run in North America was Thorold to Port Colborne - March 1959. Electric Motor freight operations continued until the summer of 1960 at which time the line was serviced by Diesel locomotives. Street running to the Robin Hood terminated in 1983 (or '84) when the tracks were removed as the line was re-routed from Welland south to Robin Hood and the then new "Canada Starch" plant. The scene looks very much different today, the Cape Cod style homes on the left are still there, the rink was demolished in the late '60's, streets widened and gentrified.

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Niagara St. Cathar…
Date:	06/XX/1956
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

5 Comments | 22 Favourites

The utilitarian Port Colborne station completed in 1925, replaced a much more interesting building that was demolished to make way for the Fourth Welland Canal construction. By the time this photo was taken the building housed both the CN Express Freight and the TH&B Freight office (originally at King and Clarence - 2nd floor). Contrast this with Arnold Mooney's photo taken 3 years later and you can see the Station Order Signal in his 1975 shot was moved to the north side of the tracks, and the Bridge #20 Semaphore was replaced by Search Lights http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=44074. The Dunnville Sub was still active and regularly used up till 1977. In addition to steam era passenger service, the station was used by the Interurban Trolley NS&T from 1925 till 1959 (1911-1925 the Trolley terminated at the Imperial Bank - Charlotte and West). The King Street crossing appears to have had Flashing Lights and Wig-Wags(barely visible). Jacob Patterson has posted a great colour image from 1955 at the same location. http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=44470. Garnet Henderson, a WWII veteran spent a couple of years working for the CNR out of Port Colborne in the early '50's... and who was Garnet Henderson... the father to the '72 Canada - Soviet Summit Series Hero - Paul Henderson

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	08/XX/1972
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 15 Favourites

Heading south on Elm Street, 623 just crossed the intersection with Main Street in the former Humberstone section of town. A couple of items of note, the building on the left is the former Humberstone Shoe Factory - claimed to be the largest in Canada (later Sunbeam Shoes, closed 1989 - today an Apartment building), the Cities Service on the NE corner is now an ESSO, and the house on the left was the birthplace of my maternal grandmother (constructed ~ 1860)...it is still standing. In what appears to be a UFO captured on film in the top left is in fact an ornamental street light typical of the day. #623 came to the NS&T in 1956 from the Montreal & Southern Counties and was scrapped sometime after Interurban service ended in March 1959.

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Niagara St. Cathar…
Date:	06/XX/1956
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

7 Comments | 18 Favourites

On switching duty at the Maple Leaf Mill. The plant went into production in 1911 and was touted as the largest mill of its kind in the British Empire. The plant continues to operate today as part of ADM. On Oct. 5th, 1960, the plant was the subject of a spectacular explosion and fire that took days to bring under control. The fire was rumoured to have been picked up by a new technology (satellite imagery). It was eventually subdued with the assistance of the E.M. Cotter, an American fire boat from Buffalo's Grain district, some 20 miles to the east. https://www.wbfo.org/heritage-moments/2015-11-09/heritage-moments-cotter-fireboat-comes-to-the-rescue-in-port-colborne Today ADM takes very few rail shipments, except during the winter months when Great Lakes shipping is closed (January to March).

Name:	Michael Klauck
Railway:	Toronto Hamilton a…
Date:	07/XX/1986
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 18 Favourites

Below the Charging Deck, Blast Furnace raw materials Iron, Coke, and Fluxing agents are stored in the Stock House where these materials are gravity fed to custom built <Scale Cars> which in turn fed inclined skip carrying cars that ultimately charge the Blast Furnace Top. What you are seeing here is one of the <Scale Cars> that was removed from the Stock House during plant demolition. The units were standard track gauge, all riveted construction, and designed as side discharge (visible) to the skip carrying cars. In behind the <Scale Car> is the Iron Trestle used to access the Charging Deck, first with 0-4-0 steam locomotives (1913-1941), then the short-lived Davenports (1941-1949), and finally GE 50 Ton Center Cab units until plant operations closed (March 1977, but one of the two GE 50 Ton units were on site and active until the later half of 1981).

Name:	Michael Klauck - Ha…
Railway:	Other
Date:	09/14/1981
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 11 Favourites

2663 heading west over the Welland Canal at the end of the steam era with a line of coal hoppers. Destination unknown, but likely bound for the VALLEY CAMP COAL COMPANY, accessed via the Government Spur south of the Dunnville Sub main. VALLEY CAMP's spur crossed King St. north of the Maple Leaf Mill and former Shell Re-fueling complex. The photo has a clear view of the Lift Bridge and steam era Water Tower located on the east side of the canal. Interesting to note that one of the semaphore arms (lower) has been removed, I am sure someone in the know can chime in on why it was reduced from three (3) to two (2) arms.

Name:	Michael Klauck Coll…
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	05/18/1959
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

5 Comments | 20 Favourites

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Klaucker's Map:

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