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Caption: It's interesting how this location has and hasn't changed in the past 40 or so years. While the GO station and Cargo-flow at West Harbour/CN Stuart are recent developments, the track layout in Hamilton Yard is largely the same as it was in 1974 with the majority of trains using the "hot track" (Oakville sub North Track). In this scene, we see Fort Erie-bound train 463 (with GP9 4594 and SD40 5046) passing the "Middle Yard" engine (S4 8172). Note the piggyback ramps and Dofasco container cars, the lead to the James Street North station, as well as the Carload Centre/Express Building and Diesel shop in the background. Also note the jointed rail and how little vegetation there is!
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Awesome! It’s almost as if Hamilton yard has come full circle with the new go station here. At what point did they tear it all out? I didn’t realize how busy the south side of the main was.
I should add that the track at the left was an industrial lead for industries across Stuart Street (visible at the left side of the photo) and a Stelco plant behind the Carload Centre.
In answer to the question, piggyback service out of Hamilton was phased out in the late 1980s (I don’t know the exact date) and the industries south of the yard slowly declined in the same period. (Checking my photos on RailPictures.ca from the same vantage point over the years would give you some timeframes.)