Canadian Railroads > CN Montreal electric MU's

These trains were so mundane I rarely made any attempt to photograph them, yet another regret. 

1 & 2) On the stub end line to Cartierville, going past United Railway Supply, a small contractor who were famous for upgrading some Mexican FM 16-44's and ex Reading RS-3's. On this day there was an MLW S-3 in fresh paint.

3) As I look back on them; these were impressive cars. I remember riding them in winter; freezing cold with snow blowing through the doors! But they looked nice!

Brian N.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/20 05:33 by briancdn.

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4 & 5) Coming into Deux Montagnes
6) St Laurent

The entire line will now be shut down in order to complete the REM light rail project. And I never shot the new electric MU's!

Brian N.

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Before the MU trains, wasn't this English Electric boxcab territory?

Posted from Android

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Before the MU trains, wasn't this English Electric
> boxcab territory?

They ran together up to the rebuild point in the 1990s.

Ray_Murphy Wrote:
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> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Before the MU trains, wasn't this English
> Electric
> > boxcab territory?
>
> They ran together up to the rebuild point in the
> 1990s.

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In fact the Box Cab that had hauled the first scheduled train through the tunnel back in 1918.....was still in service on the last day in 1995! Here's a link to some tunnel history:

https://churcher.crcml.org/candate/tunnel.htm

And reading the history....I note this about the first day of operation:

"Opening was little noticed; a flu epidemic resulted in a ban on large public gatherings"

The Box Cabs also handled mainline CN and later VIA passenger trains to Northern Quebec...and after VIA transferred the xCP 'Dayliners' that ran to Quebec City via Trois-Riviere to Gare Centrale from Windsor Station......you could see a Box Cabs (usually a pair) hauling one or two RDC units.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/20 08:02 by ghCBNS.

Thanks to each of you.

Posted from Android

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Thanks to each of you.
>

And thanks to Brian for starting the post. Those old MU's were a favorite to ride.....standing at the front for an engineers view.

First-rate set of photos. I missed this operation when I passed through Montreal in 1977.
Bob

Here's a pair of the English Electrics at Portal Heights in 1984. So now we have an example of each of the electric types used on the CN electrified lines up until they were replaced in the early 90's. I have some great videos of the EE's, complete with wheel spinning and the spoked wheels. If I ever learn to edit videos I'll post one someday!

Brian N.

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Here's the same location as the photo above....'Portal Heights' then....now 'Canora' after the rebuilding of the line.

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briancdn Wrote:
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> I have some great videos of the EE's,
> complete with wheel spinning and the spoked
> wheels. If I ever learn to edit videos I'll post
> one someday!
>

Looking forward to that!

None of the electric locomotives had steam generators, and the commuter coaches were steam heat.

My girlfriend back in the 1970's lived toward the far end of the line. In the winter, the cars would get very chilly by the end of the run.
When not in service, the cars were kept on steam at Central station.

Going home in the evening, they would be stiflingly hot leaving Central station, and freezing cold at the end of the run. As a passenger, she practiced "layering", adding layers of outerwear as the trip progressed. There was an etiquette among passengers, making sure the car end door stayed closed. Off course, other passengers seeking seats would pass through the cars in a hurry, not closing the doors.

The inbound trains in the morning were chilly all the way, even though they had deadheaded out to the end of the line with the heat remaining from overnight storage.

The MU's had the advantage of electric heat.

The Colonist coaches they used behind box cabs, didn't they have storm windows ?
I think the MU's ran on occasion to North Montreal, on what is now the Mascouche line.

The Portal Heights and Mont-Royal stations have been closed for REM rebuilding for a while now, replaced by a single station mid-way between them (Picture #1).

For just one more week (before the line closes for good), we still have locomotive-hauled trains, too (Picture #2).

Probably my last ever from this location.

Ray

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joemvcnj Wrote:
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> The Colonist coaches they used behind box cabs,
> didn't they have storm windows ?
> I think the MU's ran on occasion to North
> Montreal, on what is now the Mascouche line.

In the final years, the heavyweight coaches had aluminum sashes, with permanent storm windows. Earlier they had wooden sash storm windows.

For awhile, CN operated streamlined cars with aluminum storm windows too on this route.

Nice Switcher Saturday post, too. Does anyone know anything about #44? That's a beauty.
Fred

feclark Wrote:
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> Nice Switcher Saturday post, too. Does anyone know
> anything about #44? That's a beauty.
> Fred

"URS 44 (nee CNR 8482) S-3 660 hp MLW 79142 11/1953
This unit was overhauled and sent to Canada Starch for their private line at Cardinal, ON.
There was no sale. It was then leased 5/15/1976 to 7/15/1976 to Union Carbide, Beauharnois, Que.
Eventually it was sold 6/1978 to Donohue, (kraft pulp mill) Saint-Felicien, QC."

Brian N.   info from 'Old Time Trains on trainweb
 

Thanks, all, for answering a question that I'd had for years. I rode that line in February 1978 on a railfan trip up from Albany with a buddy of mine. It was the day after a big storm, one of those days when the northwest winds behind the storm cut like a knife. We rode out on conventional equipment and froze our asses off. Then rode MUs back to Montreal in relative comfort. 

I never suspected we were on an unheatedtrain. In Canada? Who'd a thunk that?