Caption: An A-B-B set of GMD F-units (lead by possibly CN 6526) heads northbound through mid-town Toronto with CN's Super Continental, snaking around the curves of the Newmarket Sub north of Davenport diamond on the approach to St. Clair Avenue station. Timetables suggest this is train #103 (formerly #3), that had departed Union Station downtown just after 3pm.

The section of track here in the St. Clair/Davenport/Caledonia area had been grade separated in the late 1920's/early 30's, that coincided with demolition of the old GTR Davenport Station and construction of a new brick St. Clair Avenue Station. Visible in the background are the large headhouses of the Canadian Generel Electric (ex-Canada Foundry) Davenport Works plant, served by both CN & CP. Power lines are from Toronto Hydro's nearby Witshire transformer station, that also had a siding.

Due to its proximity to Little Italy, various food and produce distributors established buildings here to receive boxcars and reefers of fresh produce, grapes, etc, sometimes from as far away as California. On the right (west side of the tracks) is Pietro Culotta Grapes, which had two buildings with multiple sidings and loading platforms. Out of frame, A&P had a distribution warehouse nearby and sidings coming off the same spur. On the left (east side) of the corridor are Caledonia Food Distributors (pictured, note loading doors along siding), Darrigo Brothers, and the Meschino Banana Company. CN also had team tracks and a ramp track this area.

Remnants of sidings and much of the old buildings here did survive into the late 2000's before progress and redevelopment took hold. The Newmarket Sub, single tracked at one point, will probably get double-tracked again once Metrolinx finishes its Davenport diamond grade separation project.

Tom Gascoigne photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide.