The Budd cars return to Windsor after dark

This is part II of my Windsor history series. You can read the first entry by clicking here.

In August 2022, when I was taking photos of the interesting pieces of rolling stock at the Waterloo Central Railway's St. Jacobs yard, I spotted an RDC unit tucked away in the yard, far enough away from my vantage point on a nearby street that I couldn't get a clean photograph of it. But I got a reasonable shot. I give the volunteers running this operation credit. They painted the unit in the Canadian Pacific maroon and gold scheme, albeit lettered for the Waterloo Central. This maroon scheme predated the ubiquitous CP multimark scheme that was adopted in 1968. It got me to thinking.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was clear that highways had supplanted passenger rail services as the dominant form of short-distance travel in much of Canada. Despite various attempts to modernize their service or innovate after the Second World War, both CP and CN were hemorrhaging money on their passenger services. In CN's case, it was a government owed corporation, which tended to soften the blow, but also force its hand to stick with its passenger services. CP was a different story, as it was not a publicly owned entity, although it was still subject to the same regulation that mandated passenger service standards at the time. So, in a sense, CP had the worst of all worlds.

That said, CP and CN were going in different directions as the 1970s approached. One was investing and another was actively bailing out.

At this time, my Dad had moved with his family to Windsor, Ont., as my grandfather was transferred from CP's facilities in Chapleau, in Northern Ontario, to the Windsor shops. In my Dad's case, this meant, as a teenager, he found himself with his first job at the CP yards in Windsor alongside my grandfather, who was a rolling stock mechanic.

My grandfather usually worked the RIP track, which is short for the repair-in-place track. He sometimes would work in the shed near the roundtable as well. There were times that he would be dispatched to wrecks around southern Ontario to ensure that the main line would be clear as quickly and safely as possible following an accident. In short, my grandfather did a little bit of everything. By contrast, my Italian grandfather (Nonno in Italian) was also living in Windsor at this time, but he had long since moved on from his work as a general track labourer with CP, which he did in the Crowsnest Pass district of B.C.

My Dad often worked nights at the CP yard alongside my grandpa. At the time, CP was still maintaining a national passenger network. A peak at the CP schedule from 1968 shows that there were two daily trains between Toronto and Windsor in both directions. This image below was taken from Steve Boyko's collection. Steve is the author of the traingeek.ca blog. He graciously allowed me to use this image for this post. 

The timetable gives you clues as to CP's state of mind regarding regional passenger rail at the time. The four trips were all made with Dayliners, which is a fancy term for RDCs. The schedule shows two RDCs made morning runs, one from Toronto heading west at 8:30 a.m. and one from Windsor heading east at 7:15 a.m. The eastbound to Toronto arrived at 11:20 while the westbound to Windsor arrived at 12:40 p.m. That means a four-hour trip. A bit slow, but not bad considering the stops made en route. 

The evening trains followed similar schedules. The evening train out of Toronto heading west left Union Station at 6:30 p.m. and arrived in Windsor at 10:40 p.m. The eastbound out of Windsor left at 5:05 p.m. and arrived in Toronto at 9:15 p.m. 

So what are the clues that CP was not prioritizing the passenger service, other than the fact that the Budds were doing the hauling? Look closely at the left of the image and you see that the schedule advises that there are "Meal Stations" en route where food can be purchased at city prices. In other words, there appears to be no service on the train. It's also worth noting that CP has a bus service to Kitchener from its Galt passenger station, since Galt (part of Cambridge now) is quite a way from Kitchener and Waterloo.

The final clue as to what CP was thinking at the time can be found on the notation at the bottom of the schedule which lists Windsor's passenger terminal as "Tecumseh Road and Crawford Avenue." This is what my Windsor rail friend and blog contributor Kevin O'Neil said of the CP passenger terminal.

"CP’s Budd Cars stopped at Tecumseh W and Crawford. The whole intersection was realigned a few years ago so the two distinct wings of Tecumseh were connected with a sweeping curve, covering part of the Crawford right-of-way. The building that held the CP Express transfer docks is still there, although it hasn’t belonged to CP in the years of my conscious memory. It belonged to a private cartage company for many years, and now it’s a warehouse for a restaurant equipment supplier. I’ve never been able to pinpoint the location of the Budd waiting room."

 

So, in other words, CP had some sort of makeshift waiting room for passengers in a freight facility. Not uncommon in the days where railways were actively trying to discourage passenger travel. Now compare that image in your head to the Canadian Pacific's terminal near the Detroit River, which served from 1880 into the 1930s. I don't know that I have ever seen anything like this.

 

Image and the one that follows beneath are from the Southwestern Ontario Digital Archives at the University of Windsor and are used for informational purposes only, as per the disclaimer stated on the SWODA website. 

 

After this station was demolished, CP moved its passenger operations into the Michigan Central station on Pelletier Street until it improvised a waiting room at the former corner of Tecumseh and Crawford in the 1960s. The MCR station was used by the New York Central's Canadian operations (legally the Canada Southern Railway, a subsidiary of MCR, which was owned by NYC) before its operations were merged into Penn Central and eventually Conrail. At this point, there were no passenger services offered by this successor railway, as Conrail's birth came after the establishment of Amtrak.

 

Sadly, this station is no longer around, as it was a victim of arson some years back. I do recall reading about this, but my thanks to Kevin for reminding me. 

 

So back to my Dad. I do recall him telling me about his two most vivid memories of working in CP's yard during his early years. He told me he recalled walking alongside freight trains that had just arrived and filling the journal boxes with oil. This was, of course, at a time when there was still rolling stock around that used journals instead of roller bearings. Essentially, the axles were kept in running condition by fabric that was coated in oil. When these boxes containing this fabric and oil leaked and the oil spilled out, the axles would get hot. This is the origin of the term "hot box" I am told. 

 

My Dad's other memory? He told me one of his jobs was to clean out the Budd cars that had arrived from Toronto. This is where his job got interesting. He often found that the cars were quite a mess when they arrived in the yard for servicing. He said it was quite common to find beer and liquor bottles on the cars, as well as a surprising amount of money. His suggestion was that there was usually an unsavoury element that rode these trains into Windsor at night. 

 

Luckily for my Dad, Ontario Hydro offered him a better job with benefits and hours at the J. Clark Keith thermal generating station in Windsor (long since closed). His life on the railway and cleaning out the Budd cars was mercifully short.

Anticipation

I assume this feeling is as old as railways themselves. You know that feeling you get, whether you are a railfan or not, when you first see the light of the engine coming your way? Perhaps it's that feeling you get on a station platform, knowing that your train will soon be arriving, and thus, taking you to where you want to go, whether it be home for a rest (pun intended) or to the waiting arms of a loved one elsewhere. 

Or it could simply be the feeling that a train will soon rush by where you are standing, breaking the momentary peace. You can already smell the creosote and hear the clicking and buzzing of insects trackside. Perhaps it's just a light hush of wind over the shimmering snow in winter. 

It's the feeling of anticipation.

You see your quarry before you can hear it. Sometimes, it's the faint rumble you feel before the horn sounds. Sometimes, there is no horn at all, just a bell (or possibly an electronic approximation). But the train always comes and the moment is usually charged. It might amble by you slowly, as you bathe in the heat and exhaust lines emanating from the power. Or it might rush by you, swallowing you up in its slipstream, carrying you a half step off kilter with its wind.

I've always enjoyed that feeling that something is coming and you don't always know what it is. Will there be an old car from a long-forgotten fallen flag in tow? Will it be a unit train with an endless line of tank cars? Is it a container train, with its colourful assortment of boxes stacked two high for a mile? Or is it simply a sleek, streamlined, orderly Venture set?

When I was growing up in my hometown, the rail line was a quick minute bike ride from my house. The crossing had very few visual obstructions, as there was no town to speak of where I used to watch the trains go by. Now, there are homes, a car wash, commercial development and other developments of all sorts. 

One time in Peterborough, as I was going for an evening jog along Lansdowne Street, I saw the crossing signals go down and heard the train coming. I had more than enough time to cross the tracks, but I didn't. I stopped, took a breath, and watched as two SW1200s and a mixed freight rushed by, on their way to Havelock. 

When I lived in Kitchener, my gym backed onto the tracks, and there were a few windows for train watching. I recall a time when I stopped what I was doing, and watched a local shunt a few cars into the Lancaster Street yard, with the conductor braving the elements, manning the switches.

Even now, with very little to see, I can still sometimes hear the passing Via Rail trains a ways off from my home, breaking through the hum of the city, letting me know they are on their way to their destination.

And that feeling returns. Anticipation. What does that train look like? Where is it going? What stories does it hold?

Timeless.

'Til the midnight hour

Last month, I had to go for a test at the General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital (nothing serious). The hospital runs many of its diagnostic equipment around the clock, which meant my appointment was at 12:30 a.m. Not exactly ideal, but it did provide a rare opportunity for me to get some nighttime rail photography. I will readily admit that I am not a photo expert, nor can I describe the technical aspects of what you do to maximize nighttime photos.

My two techniques are simple. The first was the mount my camera on a solid surface while ensuring my camera was on night mode. Then, when the shutter activates to get a shot, let the process play out as the camera takes the time needed to get the shot. That was the first technique. Check.

The second technique was to find a source of artificial light when available. In my case, I made sure to use the lighting at the Ottawa train station on Tremblay Road to my advantage, as it makes the camera's job easier. So that is what I did as a second step. Check.

The Ottawa train station is not all that far from the General so I made sure to head out for my appointment early, just in the off chance there might be something interesting to shoot at the station at night.

This first shot I got through the fence next to the station yard. In recent years, Via Rail has stepped up security at the station, with fencing installed around the entire platform area. This is likely a good thing, but it does tend to complicate photography. Luckily, there are square holes in the fence where you can get some shots. These holes are likely for fire fighting purposes, but I like to think it's also for us railfans. Likely not, but we'll go with that. This image is of F40PH-2 6446 idling close to a bumper while a Venture set idles further out from the station. Not the most exciting image, but it is something different.

Next, I ventured onto the Belfast Road overpass, where it was significantly darker, which would complicate photos, but I had to give it a try.

This shot isn't as crisp as I would have liked, but I did like how it turned out nonetheless. The wires next to the overpass are largely hidden. You can see the F40-led string of LRC cars that I had just shot, as well as the Venture set a few tracks over. What you can also see is a third Venture set on the edge of the yard. Three trains idling at midnight. They will all sit until morning, no doubt, for the first departures for Toronto or Montreal/Quebec City. The day is done for Via in Ottawa at this time.

There's also a very bright light on the platform in the middle of the image. That is a cart being used by Via crews who are servicing these trains. I also like how the station is lit up like a lantern at night. The Ottawa station is a decidedly modern-looking depot, but some of its style choices make it an appealing place to wait for your train. It has won architectural awards in the past. Normally, I prefer the classic train stations, but this train station is right up there with my favourites. I've always liked it.

That was my brief foray in March into some nighttime rail photography. The other images did not turn out. But I did like that these two images told a story of railways that we don't always see.The city was pretty quiet when I got these shots. The nearby Queensway was pretty empty and the sound of the idling diesels was pretty evident at that hour, when all else was pretty still.

It was a neat moment to capture.