Gentlemen,

 

I have the CPR dispatch books from Ottawa West shop, so here"s my story.

 

   The regular Sussex Street transfer engine, 3426, an elderly 2-8-0 was coming due for scrapping....time was running thin.  By that time, it was only used as  a yard engine, and seldom left the yard.

    It was last used in the yard  on the 0800 and 1600 shifts on Wednesday January 21st, 1959.

 

   Smiths Falls sent over their old M4 2-8-0, 3408, and it was used almost daily in the yard starting Thursday, January 22nd, 1959

 

   3426 went dead to Angus behind the RS-2 8401 on train #76 on Wednesday February 4th, 1959, never to be seen again.

    This 3408 must have been about the oldest M4 in service in March 1959, having been built by MLW in November 1904, numbered 1608 at that time and renumbered to 3408 in September 1912.

 

     As for this train order....the 31 train orders were removed in the new Uniform Code of Operating Rules taking effect October 28th, 1962, replaced by 19R train orders.

 

    At this time, Ottawa got its fuel oil from Montreal via train.

  

     There was a fuel tank farm on the west side of Bank Street south of Walkley Road, and CP would bring in tank cars of oil on train #75 which left St. Luc a little after midnight Tuesday to Sunday.

 

     This tank farm had several business tracks off the Sussex Street Subdivision, and if #75 was not a big train, he would spot the cars in the respective tracks.

 

   However, if #75 was a long train, he might end up blocking Walkley Road, so Ottawa West would send a van hop up the Ellwood so #75 could set off his block of cars in one track, and turn northward on the

Prescott Subdivision to Ottawa West.

 

    The running of trains from Hurdman to Ottawa West involved two subdivisions and two directions.

 

    Leaving Hurdman, coming off the M&O Subdivision westward at that point, #75"s train would head south on the Sussex Street Subdivision to Ellwood.

 

    At Ellwood, he would turn on the wye and head north to Ottawa West, the tracks that today"s O-Train uses.

 

    However, for the longest time, the Smiths Falls dispatching office did not put schedules in the timetable for #75 and #76. 

 

   The Prescott Subdivision southbound out of Ottawa West, and the Sussex Street Subdivision north from Ellwood had several fourth class schedules, #92 (Rigaud wayfreight Monday, Wednesday and Friday), #94 (the Prescott wayfreight Monday to Saturday, #96 (daily except Sunday transfer oil train to bring more oil from Montreal to Ellwood off the north shore freight train #85), and #98 which was a catch-all schedule...for the Sussex Street  transfer, any light engines moving to Ottawa Union via Hurdman, and #76.  #76"s schedule originated at Hurdman on the M&O Subdivision to Vaudreuil Quebec.

 

    But there was no corresponding schedule for #75, so he had to run as an extra.

 

   There was a day operator at Ellwood station Monday to Saturday, but on the afternoon and night shifts, no one was normally employed.  The regular operator for years was Bruce Gillies who worked Tuesday to Saturday, and on Monday it was Jimmy Cuthberson who had a swing job, 4 days at Hull West and one day at Ellwood.

 

    Ottawa West decided to send the 3408 up to Ellwood to spot the oil cars off #75.

 

   But as #75 was a train that wasn"t switching anywhere, the train dispatcher, John Dupuis put out this 31 order which gave the 3408 until 4:01 am to get up to Ellwood from Ottawa West, 4 miles up a severe grade.

 

    #75 changed direction at Ellwood, so therefore the direction south and north in the train order.

 

    As for the 4:01 am, in the rule books before the UCOR, the exact hour could not be used on train orders; it had to be one minute before or after the exact hour.

 

    Had there been an operator at Ellwood, the order would just have said "Extra 8766 north".

 

    The train crews involved had to sign the 31 order...Charlie Jodoin, who I knew well, lived on Carruthers Avenue just west of Ottawa West station and could walk to work every day. I used to hang around Ottawa West station during my teenyboopper summer holidays from school and often Charlie was the yard foreman on the work extra (engine was always another elderly M4, 3510)..he"d ask me if I wanted to go for a ride in the van while they did their switching west of Ottawa West, like Zagerman"s, Beach Foundry, Independent Coal and Lumber, Cummings Coal at Churchill Avenue, the Westboro team track which serviced Fentiman"s, and on out to Leafloor Coal east of Woodroffe Avenue.

 

     The engineer on 3408, George Allen, had a nickname behind his back of Gracie Allen....for the younger crowd, Gracie Allen was on a comedy show on TV on the 1950"s consisting of George Burns and Gracie Allen.

 

    The Winchester train dispatcher who put out the train order would start his train order numbers at 201 every day, so this was the first train order that he issued on his shift.

 

        The operator Sigouin who I also remember, was of the French persuasion.  The train dispatcher, John Dupuis, signed his initials as J.E.D. on train orders.  However, in French, the letter "J" is pronounced "gee", while the letter "g" is pronounced "jay", so we always could figure out what was going on...the train crew took the train order even though they knew that there was no train dispatcher in Smiths Falls with the lettered G.E.D..

 

   And I should mention the unit on #75 was RS-18 8766.   This was an MLW product and outshopped on April 17th, 1958..so the unit is just 11 months old, while 3408  is 55 years old.

 

   The 3408 operated only three times after this trip to Ellwood.  Thursday April 2nd 1959 in the yard at 0001 and Thursday April 9th at 0500.  D10 899 worked almost every day, so perhaps the crews liked the D10 better than the M4?

 

   That elderly 3408 ran in the yard at Ottawa West until Thursday, April 19th, 1959 when it made its last run.  It went dead to Angus for scrapping on #76 behind the RS-18 8798 on Thursday, May 7th, 1959 and was scrapped in September 1959.  So it didn"t sit too long in the scrapline.

 

As for the 8766, it was rebuilt at Angus to the 1857 on April 26th 1989, and then sold to the New Brunswick East Coast Railway on April 1st, 1996.

 

Bruce Chapman

Ottawa, ON

 

 

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Hi,

This is a shot of the CPR station at Leonard (CP M&O Sub) and one is of the wreck there in August of 1964. (Via Bruce Chapman with thanks).

Regards,

Graeme Roy

 

 

 

 Doug Phillips kindly provided the backgroud on this incident: 

 August 21st, 1964 (Friday), at Leonard, Ont.

A crossing collision occurred at Leonard, Ont., 17 rail miles east of Ottawa, when a heavy gravel truck hit the side of the Ottawa to Montreal Canadian Pacific passenger train No 232, the "Business Man"s Special", derailing it and bringing about the death of seven passengers plus the truck driver.

The Consist:

 

CPR 1410-

CPR 4403                    express

CPR 4811                    baggage express

CPR 2229                    coach

CPR 2216                    coach

CPR 2294                    coach

CPR 6664                    buffet parlor/coach                   

CPR 6761                    parlor                                      

 The morning express to Montreal (No. 232) was struck behind the engine by a northbound [gravel] truck at the crossing in Leonard and the coaches and heavyweight parlour cars derailed.  At least one 2200-class coach (no 2294) rolled on to its side and skidded several hundred feet before coming to a stop (end-on) against large trees, the only thing that protected an occupied CPR house.  As this coach bounced along the roadbed, passengers were ejected through the shattered windows and crushed or severely injured.  The number killed was 8 immediate, possibly more afterwards.

Doug Phillips.

 George Manely forwarded this terrific photo from SP in its heyday taken by Elmer Wright.  Elmer worked for Southern Pacific for 42 years.  At one time he was Yardmaster of the SP Bayshore Yard.  SP 6452 leads Train 51,the "San Joaquin Daylight",  headed to Oakland, from Fresno, CA. ... Oh and a also the steam engine on the other mainline SP 4460!

 My buddy Trey Holland managed this great air view shot of the five remaining CN HR616's in the world still stored at NRE in Silvis, IL in September 2015. We really need to repatriot one of these to Canada before it is too late!

 

FROM THE EDITOR

 

 

Now the weather in Canada is getting very nippy, and by the time this issue of CRO comes out, we may have a new Prime Minister!  

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