Canadian Railroads > MLW Monday

Bayview Junction, October 1978, the "Starlight" has departed the TH&B trackage at Hamilton Junction and is throttling up on the CN Oakville sub heading for  CP Rail Agincourt yard in Toronto. A low light image "shootem while you can", I suppose with the ditch lights off helped.

Doug 

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You're not kidding about "low light".  The class lights seem as bright as the headlights!

I'm not familiar with operations around Bayview at all (either now or back then).  Was this a normal occurrence for CP to run on the Oakville Sub, instead of going up to Campbellville, and then along their own track to Agincourt?

GTD

The "Starlight" originated in CP Rail Agincourt (Toronto) and was a turn that ran from Agincourt to the TH&B Rly Aberdeen Yard in Hamilton.  The train would depart Agincourt on CP tracks to Canpa Junction and run from there on CN Oakville sub to Hamilton Junction at Bayview Junction and depart CN track onto the TH&B. When the train departed TH&B Hamilton back to Agincourt , did the trip to Canpa on CN then over to CP tracks at Canpa and into Agincourt.
Doug

cn6218 Wrote:
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>  Was this a normal
> occurrence for CP to run on the Oakville Sub,
> instead of going up to Campbellville, and then
> along their own track to Agincourt?

Yes, TH&B had trackage rights on CN between Hamilton and Canpa on the Oakville Sub.  Historically, I believe it was CN's way to stop TH&B from constructing their own track to Toronto.  The Oakville Sub. was the preferred route as it avoided the steep climb up the Niagara Escarpment on the CP Hamilton Sub. up to Campbellville / Guelph Jct.  For whatever reason CP gave up those trackage rights around 2007/2008, and now all CP trains to / from Toronto take the Hamilton Sub. up to Guelph Jct. and the Galt Sub. to Toronto.  Heavy trains require the Hamilton local crew to give the train a push up to Waterdown.

Rob Smith
Hamilton, ON

cn6218 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You're not kidding about "low light".  The class
> lights seem as bright as the headlights!
>
> I'm not familiar with operations around Bayview at
> all (either now or back then).  Was this a normal
> occurrence for CP to run on the Oakville Sub,
> instead of going up to Campbellville, and then
> along their own track to Agincourt?
>
> GTD

It is possible that the headlights are on dim!