Caption: I would be lying if I said this one didn’t catch me by surprise. During my one visit this past August to the Highway #7 bridge that spans CN’s bustling MacMillan Yard in Vaughn, Ontario I spotted a CN switcher off in the distance deep within the yard. In 2023, CN had opened a new Cargoflo fuel transloading facility within the yard as well as constructed several storage tankers on site to store the fuel when unloaded. Situated off the W100 lead in the yard, CN had also built five tracks for this transload operation. Not long after my arrival on the bridge, the SW1200RSm came to life and began switching this facility. It’s been decades since I’ve photographed a CN switcher at MacMillan Yard, let alone working, so this was beyond cool to see in 2024.
Here, CN SW1200RSm 7311 is viewed with a lengthy cut of tankers near the Highway #7 overpass with the fuel transloading facility in the background. Reportedly, both CN 7304 and 7311 are owned by a company under a CN subsidiary. However, only 7311 is the last remaining CN SW1200RSm on the current roster with its maintenance performed by CN at the MacMillan Yard Locomotive Reliability Center.