Caption: It's 1955 and steam still roamed the Canadian National system, but the latest and greatest in switching power, CN 8471 (an MLW S3 built in 1953) idles on the service track next to the Parkdale freight shed behind CN's Parkdale Station, just south of the Queen Street underpass. The two tracks north of the switcher were for spotting cars alongside the freight shed. The boxcars in the background are spotted on the two the team tracks by the freight shed. Visible in the background to the right is part of the old American-Abell agricultural manufacturing factory built in 1885 (that later became home to a plate steel manufacturer, then lofts, and eventually demolished 2011 for redevelopment. The nearby Abell Street is a reminder). The freight shed itself became home to a fruit market in later years, and the last remnants were demolished in 2007/08 for the extension of Sudbury Street.

CN and CP both had stations at Parkdale, and even though CP was more well-know in the area for its sprawling Parkdale Yard facilities located on the south side of the rail corridor, CN had a sizable number of industries along the north side of their Brampton (later Weston) Sub to keep their own switchers busy, including the Massey Ferguson lead that ran as streetrunning up Sudbury Street to access the factories north of King Street. Massey Ferguson also had sidings for their buildings on the south side of King around Strachan Ave. And further south were National Casket, the Toronto Refiners, Quality Meat Packers and the Toronto Abbatoir, all north/west of Bathurst Street.

North of Queen there were various forwarding and cartage companies operating out of the Dufferin & Peel area, later including CN's Car-Go-Rail loading ramps, other small industries, and a small storage yard near Lansdowne Avenue where the Newmarket Sub branched off (1961 aerial image here).

Most of this rail traffic had dried up during the 70's-80's as industry gradually left the old downtown Toronto manufacturing strongholds. CN's Parkdale Station was moved to Sunnyside in 1976 for preservation, but caught fire the next year and was demolished. Many of the old Parkdale industrial lands and factory buildings were still around in the early-mid 2000's (home to lofts, artists spaces, local small businesses, etc), but since then gentrification and rising land prices have seen most redeveloped or replaced by high-rise condos. The rail corridor also retained some of its old character until the late 2000's when the northern portion of Dufferin St. was realigned to connect with its southern half underneath the underpass, and Metrolinx added more tracks and bridge spans for expanded GO and UPX service.

CN 8471 was sold to United Railway Supply (a Quebec-based locomotive dealer and overhaul shop) and renumbered as their 23, but may have been refused by them and ended up at CN's London Reclamation Yard for scrapping in the 80's.

Original photographer unknown, Dan Dell'Unto collection duplicate slide (with a good amount of colour correction and restoration).