Throwback Thursday

FADING FAST – WHEAT BOARD COVERED HOPPER CARS 

by Keith MacCauley

 The 4,550 cu. ft. covered hopper car has to be considered a Canadian railway icon. An enlargement of existing AAR class ‘LO’ freight cars, the so called ‘Wheat Board’ car was constructed by all three Canadian builders; Hawker Siddeley (HST), National Steel Car (NSC) and Marine Industries Limited (MIL) from 1972 until 1994. The ‘Wheat Board’ moniker stemmed from the government funding, both federal and provincial, that spawned almost 20,000 cars. Once commonplace, the ranks of the ubiquitous grain hauler have been thinned by age and wrecks (the last build of ninety-nine cars in 1994 by NSC was in fact funded by monies collected from cars destroyed over the years in derailments). A number have also been sold off to private owners. Of course the movement of grain from the prairies to Canada’s west coast continues. Today this is accomplished in large part by recently delivered larger volume (5,431 cu. ft.) covered hopper cars, built mainly by NSC. While both HST (later renamed Trenton Works) and MIL are no longer active, US based Trinity Industries has also contributed similar volume cars to the Canadian National fleet. The larger volume is a function of the higher available Gross Rail Load (GRL) available since 1995; 286,000 lbs, vs. 263,000 lbs.

CNWX 100653 (original paint) was constructed by NSC in December of 1972. CNWX 10635 (original paint) was built by HST in September of 1983.

Both ALNX 396328 (repaint) and ALNX 396406 (original paint) were built by NSC in 1981. For more information on the Wheat Board covered hopper cars, go to; Canada's Grain Fleet - Covered Hoppers

Wordless Wednesday No. 664

 

  

  

The Rutland Ry. on the Green Mountain Division

A Rutland Ry 70 tonner engine running light on Don Janes layout. Don's photo

I really liked this photo that Don Janes posted recently on Facebook taken on his Green Mountain Division layout. A simple shot of a lone engine running past a barn scene...George Dutka  

More CP Work Cars

CP412536 no date or location. Peter Mumby photo.

A few more work cars scanned from Peter Mumby's prints...enjoy...George Dutka 

CP412572 Cobourg, Ont. Aug. 10, 1990 Peter Mumby photo.

CP412732 May 28, 1988 London, Ontario Peter Mumby photo.

Portland, Maine

GT 7475 is in Portland, Maine in 1956. That is all the information I have from  this view...George Dutka 

 
 

Snapshot - February 2026

CP 412375 March 13, 1989 Guelph Jct. Ontario Peter Mumby photo.

For this month we look at photos I scanned of Peter Mumby's prints recently. These are some of the CP work cars that he had taken photo of 30-40 years ago...George Dutka    

CP 401309 Guelph Jct. April 2, 1994 Peter Mumby photo.

CP 401346 London, Ont. May 14, 1991 Peter Mumby photo.

CP 412486 March 28, 1992 Peter Mumby photo

CP 412486 one year earlier on March 31, 1991 Peter Mumby photo.

February 2026 - Update

One of the Rapido CN covered hoppers in their work car series numbering is getting some weathering last month. 

It has been really cold and snowy around my area this winter and I have not been out much other than going down south for a bit twice since November. I have done a bit of modeling on and off but I have been working mostly on catching up on articles for RMC, the CVRHS, RRHS and CARM. Now that I feel I have caught up on writing I will head downstairs more...and if it warms up a bit maybe some more railfanning...if not maybe I'll buy a snowmobile...George Dutka

A group photo of covered hoppers I weathered in 2025-26.

Close-up view of my Kadee covered hopper.

CN did not put much effort into numbering of this engine. Jan. 3, 2026.

One for the modelers to work on if you don't want to decal. Jan. 3 2026.

The power up at the top end of London, Ontario yard when I stopped at the local deli meat spot I like to frequent. Feb. 7, 2026.

Jan 3 2026 the local power is switching the top end of London, Ontario yard with a trio of older CN power.

I had thought I glued this Monster Modelworks structure together pretty good but I found it the other day warping at the top and lower joints. The warps are a good size as you can see. I had glued the walls together without any corner bracing as the walls are pretty thick and I have never had problems in the past with their kits. They don't offer bracing also making me think it did not need it. Guessed wrong...corner bracing going in now and in future builds of their kits.

My Monster Modelworks tower gets a better glue job and clamping. Hope this helps. It is all glued back together again and all is well.

The GTW Holly Mi. station is on the move last year. It seems there are more stations being saved by removal from their original site. From a Facebook post.

This was posted on the South River Modelworks blog a day ago. You might want to get a copy of the March RMC.

Throwback Thursday - All but Gone

SWITCHER LOCOMOTIVES AND PIGGY BACK TRAILERS

by Keith MacCauley 

Lower HP, end cab locomotives were at one-time commonplace. Purpose built for switching duties, the relatively diminutive units were for the most part confined to yards, rarely able to access the mainline. Some, however, did escape; witness CN 7005 plying Canadian National’s Oakville subdivision high iron through Bayview Junction. The reason? To facilitate trailer off-loading at nearby Stuart Street Yard, the coupled flatcars needed to be ‘Y’d’ (reversed). While many SW type locomotives are still around, virtually all toil away on short lines or industrial sites. Fortunately, a number have been preserved. Overall, most are well past the half century mark in age and many are existing on borrowed time. While yard switching is of course still required, virtually all Class One railroads have cascaded former road units into such back and forth duties.

Piggy back (trailer on flat car or TOFC) traffic? While still a practice in the US, aside from special needs, virtually absent from the Canadian railway landscape. Even Canadian Pacific’s dedicated, purpose built ‘EXPRESSWAY’ could not sustain profitability; the economics of so called ‘double stack’ container traffic has prevailed.

What about SW9 CN 7005? Built by GMD London in 1952 the end cab unit would be renumbered CN 7705 in 1985, and off the roster by 1990.

Wordless Wednesday No. 663

 

 

Green Mountain Division!

Think that is a Rapido model with a brass milk car in tow. Don Janes photo

Another view of Don Janes with a nice looking train departing his WRJ yard...George Dutka     

Champion Oils Sterling Fuels - Tankcars

 

HJMX 6002 is part of the PSTR collection, seen here in Pt. Stanley. Peter Mumby photo.

by Keith MacCauley 

As noted, the green tank cars were very old. You can pinpoint the build era by some tank details. I couldn't tell from the photos, but I believe that the larger diameter tank cars have a single row of rivets joining the tank head whereas the smaller diameter have a double row at the head. The single rivet row identifies the tank car as a 'Type II', manufactured between 1903 and 1917. Tank cars with a double row of rivets, known as 'Type III', were manufactured after 1917. As fusion welding (no rivets) was not adopted until 1941, the Type III HJMX tank cars could have been built from the 1920's through the 1940's. In a WRD post (11/28/2019), Peter Mumby indicates that HJMX 6002 was built 8/1920. While wartime demands extended the life of already old rolling stock, my understanding is that the AAR did not adopt freight car age limits until the 1960's. The current age limit is fifty years for freight cars manufactured after July 1, 1974. There is also a mechanism to extend the life of certain car types (not including tank cars) to sixty-five years.

RailroadKITS - Kitbash

A RailroadKITS model was used to come up with this structure.

MMR Gary Shurgold sent me these photos of his completed structures build during our November WOD-NMRA laser kit-build held in Sarnia, Ont. Gary used two kits to construct these structure. Of course he has added additional lumber to come up with this creative building. Interesting looking builds for sure...George Dutka 

The second kit was turned into this interesting looking model.

Champion Oil Tank Cars

Champion Oil 6006 Aug 1977 Pt. Stanley. Peter Mumby photo.

There was a day one would see Champion Oil tank cars traveling between Pt. Stanley and London, Ontario. The L&PS Ry and later CN handled the traffic. For years once retired they were stored in the Pt. Stanley area. One still survives in Pt. Stanley. Others maybe in museums that I have not visited. 

These views are by Peter Mumby that I scanned of his slides. I built a model of one of these cars back in the 1980's. It was in RMC back then...George Dutka  

Champion Oil 6012, 1985 Peter Mumby photo.

A string of Champion Oil tank cars in 1985. Peter Mumby photo.

Champion Oil 6015, 6005 and 6022 in 1985. Peter Mumby photo.

Trains at Petersburg - White River Division

My Bachmann factory painted B&M RS-3 passes the station at Petersburg with a string of tank cars. The engine got a few coats of Rapido Proto Paint flat haze and some powders.

I recently went through my photos from a few years ago (2014) that I took around my Atlas kit-bashed station that emulates a Rutland Ry structure. It is mainly the roof that was changed. Enjoy...George Dutka  

In this view a Rutland Ry. RS-1 is seen passing Petersburg with a flat loaded with new tractors. I painted and decaled this unit back in the 1990's. Since then it had received a DCC sound decoder and new LED's.

Throwback Thursday - Long Gone Dispatchers Boxes

 

by Keith MacCauley

While no longer standing line side, I do recall seeing the little black pole mounted boxes with a phone symbol. Over the years I never gave them much thought. Who could one call? When did they disappear? No doubt they were connected to the line side pole mounted wires, now also gone (of course the poles and wires have been replaced by buried fiber optic cable, albeit for a different purpose). 

Some help from George filled me in; ‘one would go down to the phone and call the dispatcher to get permission  (a rule 564) by the signal when it was red and the dispatcher could also not set the switch route properly. There was 564 or 566 forms in the box to fill and take back to the engineman once completed or read back to him. At that time the radios were not used to contact dispatchers to take these forms. Almost every control point had a dispatcher boxes.’ So who did one contact by radio? Again, some help from George; ‘ radios are used for talking to train crews, section crews, yardmaster, car control and for the dispatcher to call. Things have changed most of the guys use their cell phones to make a lot of the calls required. I did not have a cell to use till after I retired although many of the conductors did. Not a lot of paper work to do also by the time I left...everything was on the computer including booking on and off duty which once was done on a paper ticket. The phone boxes were later used to hold bills and journals at locations lifts were made or setoff such as Paris Jct. BIT yard and Aldershot.

What about GP40-2L(W) CN 9427? The venerable ‘Safety’ cab equipped unit left GMDD London in May of 1974 and is still active on the railway; now equipped with remote control gear, ditch light and ‘Peeling Paint’ dress. While high priority intermodals and hot shot freights were early assignments, current duties appear to be mostly locals. Another long gone? The generous smoke cloud generated by the turbocharged 645 prime mover! 

The phone box in a cropped view.

Wordless Wednesday No. 662

 

   

Auto Parts DD Boxcar

Ready to roll on the WRD. 

This is one of the cars I took from Peter Mumby's collection that I am not sure if he assembled and weathered or was a show find. It was missing a coupler and the shell needed to be attached better. The weathering is nice but I added a bit of my touch to the roof and very little to the sides...George Dutka        

The roof recieved a bit of a medium gray PanPastel treatment on the raised panels. Some raw umber shade is used on the walks and edges of the roof.

The patching and rust steaking was already on the car when it arrived home.

Away for a Bit

The next building in the trio of builds using a ITLA kit. Once the windows are in the back wall will be added and the roof, both made from styrene. 

I'm off to somewhere warm today so no posts for a bit...see you shortly. This morning an extra post to fill in while I am gone...George Dutka

The front wall is completed. The loading door is part open with some details showing through. The building is emulating the back of a grocery store with a variety of signs.