Spadina Roundhouse, Toronto

[Alan]

My first contact with North American Railroads, was in 1985 during a family holiday to Toronto, Niagara, and Michigan, USA.

Here is a photo of Spadina Roundhouse and environs taken from the lounge of the CN Tower.

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/spadina.jpg

. . . and some RDC's in the roundhouse yard

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/rdc.jpg

. . . also VIA FPA4's

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/FPA4s.jpg

[ 11 January 2002: Message edited by: Alan ]

[Telegrapher]

"WOW" That looks like a good place for a few cars and engines to get lost in.

Fantastic photos Alan

Dick

[Robin Matthysen]

Thanks for the great pictures Alan. History preserved as this roundhouse and surroundings have all been torn down. A new development is taking place there. I used to pass right by this roundhouse and engine servicing area when I used the GO commuter service to get to downtown Toronto where I worked. There was also a great big concrete coaling tower there. The old John street CPR roundhouse still exists and is now the Whistle Stop brewery. The roundhouse and servicing area of the MAT is based on these old Toronto ones so it is great to get pictures. I was lucky enough to find a book titled "Engine Houses and Turntables on Canadian railways 1850-1950" by Edward Forbes Bush. It has been of immense help too.

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[Alan]

For those who don't (didn't) know the area, some pointers below the pic.

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/spadina.jpg

to the left of the roundhouse is QEW highway, and crossing the tracks is Spadina Bridge. I will post some more photos taken from the bridge.
Just beyond the bridge is the washing plant. We saw a VIA FPA4 and passenger cars slowly passing through this, going in dirty and coming out clean! Just to the left of the washer is the refuelling racks, barely visible in this shot.

Also beyond the bridge to the right are some GO trains parked (you can just make out the white roofs). During rush hours, these sidings were empty, but at slack times they were about full.

At the top of the picture a GO train can be seen on the main line.

I have several more photos to post, but also some on slides, which I am unable to scan yet.

Note that in the shot of the RDC's, one of them is still in CN paint!

[ 11 January 2002: Message edited by: Alan ]

[Robin Matthysen]

Thanks again Alan, just want to point out that the highway to the left of the roundhouse is called the Gardiner Expressway. It is an above ground highway that stradles the Lakeshore boulevard. The Gardiner turns into the Queen Elizabeth Highway just a bit further west of this picture. As well as the washing facility you can see the old concrete coal tower just on the otherside of the bridge on the tracks leading to the roundhouse. The odd time the GO train I was riding on would go through the washer. Just like a huge outdoor car wash. Annoying because it slowed the train down and commuters don't like that.

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[BryGy]

Thanks for the great photos and commentary. As I begin building my little layout, I have been afflicted with "the Disease" (as my wife teasingly calls it) about my fascination with Railroads. While I don't have access to CN equipment and activity like a lot of you guys have up North, I do get to see some activity through their Illinois Central line here into Cedar Rapids.

Here is CN #4009. Most of the local CN traffic I have seen have all been GP9. Illinois Central has had an SD40-2 here, but I haven't seen it in a while.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1245443&a=10448894&p=35408390

Anyways, hearing about the main activity of CN from you guys helps me create the great mental image of what I eventually want my layout to look like. PLEASE keep the pictures and the news coming. Its great stuff. Everytime I tell my wife that I am going to go down the the train yard, she gives me that look, you know the one where she looks at you like you have gone off the deep end, only to say "Have Fun." So with my new digital camera, I will have more pictures of Cedar Rapids rail activity on the way. And with luck, it will include more and more CN.

Bry


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[This message has been edited by BryGy (edited 08 January 2001).]

[Alan]

Thanks for the lovely picture Bry http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif I love those stripes! I think I prefer the all-over orange cab, though.

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Alan Curtis. Moderator. Member #12

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[Robin Matthysen]

Thanks Bry. I am pleased you like the CN stuff in this forum. I must take some more pictures before CN and CP merge as they may do in the future. I will be sure to post them here.

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[Alan]

Here is another pic of the Spadina Roundhouse yard. The nearest locomotive is an Ontario Northland FP7A. I have a better pic of it, but it is on a slide, and I cannot scan them yet http://www.trainboard.com/frown.gif

I assume the hump in the foreground was underground fuel storage?

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/spadina2.jpg

[ 11 January 2002: Message edited by: Alan ]

[fitz]

Alan, that photo from the tower is incredible. You could build an entire N gauge layout of the yard alone. To think that historic yards and roundhouses, coaling towers, etc. are being torn down all over this country to "pave paradise and put in a parking lot" is sickening.


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[Alan]

Yes, difficult to believe all that is gone http://www.trainboard.com/frown.gif Also, the tinted windows of the tower observation lounge made the photo a bit dark, and lost some detail. But still glad I took it http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif

From the opposite side of the tower, we could make out a row of THB GP7 or 9's. I think that 1985 was around the time the THB was taken over/absorbed/abandoned? Any info, anyone?

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Alan Curtis. Moderator. Member #12

The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale!

www.alancurtismodels.com (http://www.alancurtismodels.com)
Andersley Western Railroad (http://www.trainweb.org/andersleywestern/)
Alan's American Gallery (http://www.trainweb.com/alansamericangallery/)

[Robin Matthysen]

Dave Winters has a picture of this scene posted in this forum.Taken on a sunny day See it at http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=1044719&a=7715009&p=29102670
At the top left you can see the passenger car storage and maintenance area.
I will have to look up th THB history Alan and get back to you.

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[This message has been edited by Robin Matthysen (edited 09 January 2001).]

[Alan]

Thanks Robin. I remember seeing that pic. before, but had forgotten it was on here!

Do you know what the area to the left of the photo by the side of the roundhouse was used for? Repairs/maintenance?

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Alan Curtis. Moderator. Member #12

The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale!

www.alancurtismodels.com (http://www.alancurtismodels.com)
Andersley Western Railroad (http://www.trainweb.org/andersleywestern/)
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[Robin Matthysen]

Hi Alan, I used to see them working on wheels there. Rows and rows of them. Just wheels and axles.

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[Alan]

Here is GO GP40-2W 708 passing the depot, with a train of single deck passenger cars. Above the first car are, I think, some steam generator cars.

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/GO3.jpg

At the rear of the train was this cab control car, FP7AM 901. Anyone know if these passenger cars are still in use? I suspect that soon after we were there, GO had sufficient double deck cars to replace them.

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/GO4.jpg

[ 11 January 2002: Message edited by: Alan ]

[Robin Matthysen]

The Go system uses double deck cars exclusively now. Power is still gp40s.OOPS my goof. Should be F59PH. The fp7s are no longer used. Instead there is a control cab built into the end double deck car and GO trains are now the push pull variety. Very efficient. Tickets are on an honour system. No ticket collectors on board. At random, GO POLICE do a check and woe is the person found without a ticket. They get removed from the train at the next stop and I don't know what happens next. Embarrasing to say the least. Once I got into a sweat looking for my ticket until the cop said,"What is that sticking out of your top pocket" and sure enough it was my ticket.
Now single, weekly and monthly tickets are available.

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[This message has been edited by Robin Matthysen (edited 11 January 2001).]

[Alan]

At the time we were there, some trains were hauled by F40PH locomotives, with a cab control car at the rear (or front) of the double deck train, and operated push-pull.

I thought GO had gone over to F59PH locomotives, or was that just some of them?

At that time they also had some GP40TC which had HEP generators in the extended long hood. I believe they went to one of the eastern commuter lines in the USA.

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Alan Curtis. Moderator. Member #12

The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale!

www.alancurtismodels.com (http://www.alancurtismodels.com)
Andersley Western Railroad (http://www.trainweb.org/andersleywestern/)
Alan's American Gallery (http://www.trainweb.com/alansamericangallery/)

[Robin Matthysen]

You are right Alan, GO purchased 49 F59PH locomotives specifically designed for the commuter systems. They were built in London Ontario between 1988 and 1994. They are numbered 520-568. Two of them were sold to a transit agency in Fort Worth Texas.
They have 12 cylinders producing 3000hp or 2240kW with . They are 4 axle and weigh 130 tons. They have a separate auxilliary engine generating 500kW at 575V. This powers the cars and head end. Most other North American transit systems use 480V. The old GP40s were sold to Amtrack in 1988. There were some GP40-2s that were also sold

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[Alan]

Here is a GO F40PH approaching Union Station, photo taken from the covered walkway to the CN Tower

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/GO.jpg

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/GO2.jpg

[ 11 January 2002: Message edited by: Alan ]

[JudyMack]

Great pictures,
It is a very large yard. My husband used to work at it about 12 years ago.
Judy

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Judy Mackenzie
Suchiu Galleries
http://www.suchiu.com/ctst
Suchiu Art

[Alan]

Hello JudyMack. Welcome to trainboard (my second home) http://www.trainboard.com/biggrin.gif

It seems a long time since I took those pictures http://www.trainboard.com/frown.gif We all enjoyed our visit to Toronto, especially the trains, trams and subway http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif

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Alan Curtis. Moderator. Member #12

The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale!

www.alancurtismodels.com (http://www.alancurtismodels.com)
Andersley Western Railroad (http://www.trainweb.org/andersleywestern/)
Alan's American Gallery (http://www.trainweb.com/alansamericangallery/)

[Robin Matthysen]

Welcome to this forum JudyMack, Now that you have mentioned that your husband worked here, we may have questions that he could answer regarding the yard and roundhouse. Would you or he mind?

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Robin member #35
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[watash]

Hi JudyMack, wives are part of the family here! Welcome aboard, sit a spell and lets hash over the good old times together! We got lots of questions, because some of us have not had the chance to see or experience all that. Photos are prized too as you can see! http://www.trainboard.com/biggrin.gif

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Watash #982 http://www.trainboard.com/smiles/092.gif

[Alan]

Here is an Alco/MLW S13 switcher passing the CN Tower, photograph taken through the glass of the footbridge to the tower entrance.

I rather liked the look of these, as the drop portion of the walkway makes them a bit different.

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/S13.jpg

This one is passing the roundhouse

http://www.alancurtismodels.com/S13s.jpg

[ 11 January 2002: Message edited by: Alan ]

[Davecn5623]

Those are AWESOME pics Alan http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif If I remembered right you have been over the GT railroad from Port Huron to Flint .

Man , this is a small world . I go up and down that portion everyday I work

[Alan]

Dave, the only rails I have ridden in north America, is from Toronto to Flint and back a month later http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif

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Alan Curtis. Moderator. Member #12
The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale!

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Andersley Western Railroad (http://www.trainweb.org/andersleywestern/)

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[Alan]

Was looking for a photo of the back end of an Alco FA, and remembered the pictures I posted here, so thought I would resurrect the thread, for those newcomers to the site.

Does anyone have any more photos taken in Toronto? Especially around the time we were there (1985). I have some more but unfortunately, they are on slides, which I cannot scan (yet)!

I have some shots of a CP Alco RS2, I think, which pushed a string of Railbox cars over the intersection of front street? and Spadina, halting all the traffic smile.gif These are also on slides.

This seemed to go into a small yard (CP yard?) I wonder how much is left, I know the roundhouse is long gone :(

[watash]

Thanks for posting Alan, that roundhouse looks a lot like mine! However long I look at all those tracks and switches, I still can not get up enough energy to lay all of those tracks on my layout! WOW! :D

[E&NRailway]

That sucks that the building and yards are now the parking lot for the Skydome. I hope that nothing like that happens to our roundhouse out here.