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Caption: CP C424 4211 heads south on the Port Burwell Sub with a cut of 50' combo-door boxcars in tow for Tillsonburg, about to cross Daniel Street just to the south of Mount Elgin. As mentioned before, CP had modified its fleet of C424's for roadswitcher service in the early 80's and they were a common sight working the sleepy branchlines of Ontario solo or in pairs, as well as in mainline use with other units.
Originally part of the old Tillsonburg, Lake Erie and Pacific Railway built in the late 1890's and subsequently acquired by the CPR (as part of a 999 year lease), the Port Burwell Sub was another victim affected by the low-traffic branchline abandonments of the 80's, with the section to the south between Tillsonburg and Port Burwell having been abandoned the previous year in May 1987. The 17.6 mile stretch from Tillsonburg to Ingersoll remained active, and survived long enough for Ontario Southland to take over operations in 1999.
David P. Oroszi photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide.
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Not often you see a freight train where all the rolling stock is the same road as the power.
What was the modifications to make these roadswitcher units? Curious.
Steve, the “DRS” C424′s received rear pilot plows, a rear numberboard and dual headlights making them suitable for running backwards in branchline and roadswitcher service.
Before they were set up as DRF “road freight” units and lacked those rear features (and had a lone headlight light the SD40-2′s). They looked pretty much like this from the rear: http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=8760 That large open pilot area didn’t lend itself well to leading.