A Busy Day on the Ontario Southland Railway - October 9, 2020
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- Sometimes it is interesting to look back and take stock of things that have changed over the years. In this case, a lot has changed over only two years for the OSR and at the time I didn't realize that change was pretty much just around the corner. Much of the change is resultant from external economic and political factors, but in short, much of what occurred in this video isn't possible to shoot anymore.
The most meaningful change is that the CAMI automotive plant has shut down manufacturing of gasoline-powered vehicles and (at the time of uploading) is in the midst of a retooling for electric vans. This means that the railroad's largest customer has gone from a peak of 90 cars/day (when CAMI was running three shifts) to just a handful of inbound loads for distribution to local dealerships. It is not clear when manufacturing will resume, if the EV's will be shipped by rail, and if so, the required daily caloadings. Consequently, a third job is rarely, if ever, called these days (no more CAMI-only job).
Additionally, high fuel prices have forced a change in motive power selection with the railway now using their SW1200RS's as much as possible with their 12-cylinder prime movers being more economic to run than the V-16 powered locomotives. This, coupled with decreased traffic and concerns about crew safety, particularly during switching moves, has meant that the FP9A's are essentially in storage with exceptional use on excursion trains or plow runs. In fact, many trains in 2022 have been run with a single SW1200RS, something fairly uncommon in modern-day railroading. It's not all bad news however, as SW1200RS #1249 was recently repainted into the railway's corporate colours. I guess this day was very much a lesson in being grateful for what you have since things can always change...
Apart from rambling on about the stark contrast to today's OSR, I encountered some pretty good luck this day that resulted in some interesting operations/catches. Starting at Salford, the St. Thomas job first head south to Tillsonburg to switch Future Transfer with ex-SOO GP7's #378 and 383 before retuning northbound toward Ingersoll. Back at Salford the Woodstock job comes on duty with FP9A's #6508 and 1401 in the railway's magnificent TH&B-inspired paint scheme. The two jobs almost seemed attached at the hip for a while before going their separate ways at Thomas road. There, I caught up with the CAMI job using SW1200RS's #1244 and 1249 and van #67 in L&PS paint. The CAMI job shoved a long string of autoracks loaded with GM Equinox's to the CN interchange at Beachville while the Woodstock job worked at Putnam.
With the Woodstock job then eastbound to its' namesake city, the CAMI job heads back to the auto plant for more switching. From there, it was a nice autumn chase with the F's back to Ingersoll before the crew spotted three inbound loads at CAMI, something that was fairly unusual. Back at Salford, we get a view of the railways' deadlines featuring MLW's and power that had recently returned from Guelph after the end of OSR operations on the Guelph Jct. Railway.
As always, thank you for watching!
00:00 Morning at Salford
04:07 Tillsonburg Switching
20:13 Woodstock Job at Salford
22:33 Switching in Ingersoll and Thomas Rd
37:35 Downtown Ingersoll
41:06 Woodstock Interchange With CP
49:31 Westbound Chase Back to Ingersoll
53:22 CAMI Again
55:50 Home to Salford
Well done. Photography is so sharp.Vintage Engines.
Thank you
There are 3 jobs on Tuesday and Thursday. St Thomas runs Monday-Friday, Tillsonburg (separate crew) Tuesday and Thursday, Woodstock runs Monday-Friday.
Factor Gas is in St. Thomas, NGL Propane is in Putnam.
And yes, OSR 67 used to be PSTR 67. Still fully furnished inside with a generator to run the lights.
Great video! Really enjoy the style of them makes for a Easy watch. I need to go see some OSR action soon. That customer in Tilsonburg is the last one down there now?