Caption: A steam-era view from the Spadina Avenue bridge looking west: CP RS10 8566 leads an inbound passenger train into downtown Toronto bound for Union Station, passing CN's Bathurst Street freight yards (full of the typical 50's freight car mix dominated by 40' boxcars and ice reefers, most sporting CN's maple leaf logo). An old 40' flatcar loaded with wheels is visible in the middle of the yard. Nearby, CN S2 8133 sits on one of the yard leads between switching duties.
The ever-present Front Street runs across the background, elevated above the yard, and populated by factories and houses that largely vanished in the following decades (a small gathering of historic houses along Draper Street remain today). The old Bathurst Tool building is visible on the far left. Judging by the sun angle and snow on the ground, this may be an evening winter shot.
Original photographer unknown, Dan Dell'Unto collection negative.
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Interesting baggage car behind the RS10. I wonder if many others had the almost flat roof.
CP had two different designs of ventilated flat roof baggage cars for perishable service. They tended to be either in Ontario or BC……I’ve never seen a photo of them anywhere else.
Upon further research, it looks like it could be a CP 4600-series flat-roof wooden express baggage car with roof ventilators. According to CP ORERs, there was a 4626-4640 group assigned “Fruit Express”, with the last ones leaving the roster sometime in the early 60′s.