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Caption: It is late afternoon in Woodstock. I've been out wandering around, out to London and returning, slowly, because I know that eastbound CP out there will have some GO power on it. Power short CP was leasing GO units on weekends at this time, and when I had a chance I was out looking for them. Still, this train surprised me, moving smartly along as I caught it just about to cross Ingersoll Ave in Woodstock. I had planned on catching it by the station, but that was another couple of hundred feet to the left in this image, and I didn't get there in time. Still, it's a nice image. GO 723, 725 and 722 are seen; these units were of a group of 7 acquired from Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific in 1982, and traded in on new F59PH 562-568 in 1993/94 according to the Cdn Trackside Guide.
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Nice! Those GP40s ended up in EMD’s lease fleet, later LLPX lettered. Some moved onto the SLR now anywhere on the GW roster.
Wow, that’s a LOT of tracks crossing Ingersoll ave. At least the two rightmost tracks are now gone
Yeah, and if you no doubt have noticed, there was also a lot of industry along there at one time.
And in regards to that crossing, it doesn’t appear protected – no lights, no gates…not like today.
That was when GO was primarily a Rush Hour commuter service.
No ditch lights on the GO either?
Nope. Ditchlights not mandatory back then. GO units leased on weekends, and then readied for regular service weekday mornings.
Todd, wiring a crossing for that many tracks would have been quite the undertaking
I think this is Train#904
I probably wondered that after seeing some other shots with GO leading #904, but really didn’t know so left that as ‘unknown’.
THANKS
To Bruce’s comment, this was almost certainly 904. The “weekend” GO unit sets were picked up at Mimico on Friday evening by the Push Engine crew & taken to Toronto Yard. They then went west on the first train headed to London (other than pickup or acid trains). The goal was to get them to Windsor in time for 904. Sometimes they got in a second trip if things worked out. They had to be back in GO’s hands at Mimico by Sunday night.
As an aside, that now missing track on the right in this photo was originally called “number 4″, prior to relocation of the main track around 1980. The spur leading off it was called the “Hoist” track. If you look carefully, you can see an old boxcar parked there. It was literally rusted to the rail & I believe cut up where it sat when that track was removed. I was on an eastbound one day & we broke a knuckle on a loaded CSX covered hopper beside this spot. It turned out to be an “E” knuckle. Rather than get one from the head end, I thought maybe that old car has an E knuckle, so I went over & sure enough it was. I removed it & brought it over to our train & replaced the broken one with the ancient rusted coupler. For all I know, it’s still on that CSX car…lol