Throwback Thursday - Working the 3M Plant

On August 10, 1987, CP 4223 and friends are making up a short train which will soon be making its way back to the Havelock yard.

By Peter Mumby.

During the late 1980s three trains were made up to operate out of Havelock yard each weekday.  The major train was the Nephton Roadswitcher, which made the daily run to Blue Mountain.  The two smaller trains were the Peterborough job and the train which travelled the short distance east to the 3M plant.  The cars for these three trains arrived early in the morning from Toronto yard.  Regular motive power for this Toronto train consisted of four MLW units, normally a mix of C-424 and RS-18 locomotives.  At Havelock, one of these road units would be set aside for use on "the Peterborough," while the other three would be used first for the 3M run, then later for the Nephton train.  This pattern was subject to change depending on the specifics of the day's work loads.  The 3M job was sometimes handled by the single unit assigned to the Peterborough crew.  By the early 1990s a dedicated SW1200RS unit, usually the 8158, was assigned to Havelock for the use of the Peterborough Roadswitcher.

Today's photo features C-424 units 4223, 4215, and 4203, all 1965 products of MLW belonging to CP class DRS-24b.  They are just heading up the short grade out of the 3M plant.  At the time of this plant's opening in 1960, it was Canada's only producer of ceramic-coated roofing granules.  This facility continued to be a CP customer until its closure was announced for late 2001.