Bruce Division

Passenger Service

R.L.Kennedy

First section led by 2235 and another 2200 with short train of old wooden coaches.
Might be First 25 morning train to Sudbury. (Note baggage wagons for Second Section).
This could be CPR Picnic train to Orillia or Army train to Camp Borden.
West Toronto Depot circa 1930. James Adams/Kevin Day

No. 703 eng 1222 "Steam Boat" northbound at Humber races to Port Mc.Nicoll.
This was the last boat train connection in North America.
Saturday, June 9, 1956 Dan Dell'Unto Collection

Great Lakes Steamship Service

No.12 engine 4095 with The Canadian stopping at Alliston. 1970
John Freyseng/James A. Brown Collection

1432 and a B unit power No.11 The Canadian stopping at West Toronto depot. July 2, 1957
. Toronto Public Library/James V. Salmon Collection

Operator is hooping up orders to the headend. Freight trains got their orders at the Diamond tower.
Viceroy Rubber plant in background. Billboards advertise Toronto General Trusts and
New Milemaster Gasolene by Cities Service.

#12 The Canadian southbound at Woodbridge with a typical winter consist hauled
by a very un-typical unit, E-8 1801. April 1960. Randy Masales Collection/Brian Switzer

No. 11 engine 4083 and an RS-10 with The Canadian under Bathurst Street bridge in the Toronto Terminals Railway plant westbound towards Cabin D and Tecumseh Street tower on the Galt Sub.enroute to West Toronto where it will change to the Mac Tier Subdivision on its way to Sudbury. 1967 L.B.Chapman Coll.

The two Sudbury sections of The Canadian meet at West Toronto, On Time at 1725 after No.12 (right)
has brought passengers from Vancouver, 3000 miles away! No.11 has RS-10's 8477 and 8482.
August 12, 1967. Robert J. Sandusky

8467 at Bala, August 1957. Randy Masales collection

Passenger service on the Bruce Division over the decades ran the gamut from the finest; Trans Canada Limited, The Dominion and The Canadian to the nameless branchline mixed trains.

Public Time Table 1906

The name trains ran between Montreal and Vancouver with a Toronto section that usually combined at Sudbury with the main train. In times of heavy traffic, especially before The Canadian (#11 and #12) was inaugurated in April of 1955, The Dominion (#3 and #4) would run as separate trains. Express and the Royal Mail was so heavy it required a long train (#5 and #6) which followed right behind The Dominion between Toronto/Montreal and Vancouver. It carried only coach passengers out of Toronto (and Montreal) even though it left near midnight, with sleepers only between Fort William and Winnipeg. Additionally, there was a Daily Toronto-Sault Ste. Marie (#27 and #28) and a Toronto-Sudbury (#25 and #26) Daily except Sunday local for many years along with a special "Steam Boat" (#303 and #304) train to connect with the Great Lakes steam ship service and the Bala Weekend (#317 and #318), a special service to the Muskoka resort area.

Steamboat with 1271 meets Budd Car at Emery

Camp Borden

1081 with Camp Borden train in the Spring of 1957. Ian Jackson

Public Timetable 1916
Mike Filey Collection

During the Great War (World War I) a 3.3 mile branch was built into Camp Borden, site of Canada's largest training ground (21,000 acres, opened July 9, 1916), from a junction point named Ypres, at Mile 52.8 MacTier Sub. This enormous Army Camp was also served the CNR off their Allandale-Collingwood line. The CPR stationed a little D4 class 4-6-0 (439) there in the last years of steam to run shuttles over the Camp Borden Sub. connecting with main line trains as well as handling freight. Following removal of #25 and #26 Toronto-Sudbury, a Toronto to Camp Borden local passenger service was operated starting with the October 27,1957 time table. #309 & #310, operated Daily Except Sunday, using a single RDC-2. (9110). It ended with the change of time table effective April 30,1961. The 3.21 mile long Base Borden Spur, was approved for abandonment November 7, 1990, although most of it remained in place until dismantled in September 1997.

Topographic map of Camp Borden 1945

CNR and CPR stations shown near B
CPR station near wye Dieppe Road near Lundys Lane above D
This is believed to be Bog Road station.

Hamilton Subdivision

Public time table 1940
Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal
Hamilton-Buffalo-NY City etc.

No.801 leaving Union Station 6.05 PM for Buffalo, April 1943. Engineer Sam Fielding.
Al Paterson Collection

2332 taking water at West Shore (NYC) shops in Buffalo 4/16/1939 Bud Laws Collection

In 1929 four passenger engines (all Pacific 4-6-2) were equipped with Automatic Train Control (ATC) to operate over the NYC between Welland and Buffalo. G2 class 2659 and 2662 and G4 class 2714 and 2715. G3's 2332 and 2337 replaced 2714 and 2715 which were transferred to Western Lines in February and July
of 1938. In 1948 all four were replaced by three modern Pacifics 2398 and brand new MLW built G3j 2465 and 2469 built in June and July after which only three more 2400's were built. Note: 2662 may have been kept as a John Street protect engine with ATC. See 1950 photo below at TH&B Hunter Street station.

ATC equipment connected to right side tender truck second axle.

2659 Squaw Island, Buffalo, New York. January 7, 1939 Bud Laws Collection

2662 northbound for Toronto in Buffalo, New York. Bud Laws Collection

2662 with Buffalo train bound for Toronto. TH&B Hunter Street station Hamilton. Circa 1948

Digital restoration; Walter Pfefferle

Mystery at Black Rock

Canadian Pacific in Southern Ontario
by W.H.N.Rossiter

Hamilton local	NYC run through	TH&B 15 on #772 eastbound at Lorne Park. January 12,1954.
TH&B pool power at John Street	CNE Special	CNE Special

Randy Masales Collection courtesy of Brian D. Switzer

Spotless 2399 eastbound Number 322 from Buffalo at Gallagher Rd., Burlington. 3/10/1959

No. 322 eng 2857 passing CNR Cabin E (hidden) about to cross Wharf Lead.
CNR Extra East from Mimico taking it easy. Circa late 1950's.
Dan Dell' Unto Collection

2857 rapidly accelerating eastbound from Sunnyside with "Buffalo". (No. 324 Sunday Only due at Sunnyside 9.04 A.M. which is 30 minutes later than No. 322 Daily ex Sunday. These trains carried sleepers originating in New York, Boston, Pittsburg and Cleveland). Note the lack of traffic on Lake Shore Boulevard West in "Toronto The Good" on this Sunday morning in November 1959. Dave Page

2839 eastbound on the Joint Section with TH&B and NYC equipment. John Biggs

2856 has just arrived at Union Station from Hamilton. 11-10-56 Joseph Testagrose Collection

Hamilton Subdivision trains operated over a Joint Section of Canadian National trackage between Bathurst Street (Mileage 1.1) in Toronto and Hamilton Junction, Mileage 37.3. A straight and almost level stretch of track that permits high speed operation of passenger trains. The CPR in connection with the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo and the New York Central, operated the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Line, a jointly owned and operated through passenger service between Toronto, Hamilton, Welland, Fort Erie and Buffalo, New York. It began with the joint purchase in 1924 six baggage cars, six smoker and ten regular coaches at a cost of $916,019.69. An agreement effective January 1,1935 covered all aspects of operating, servicing, and repairing of equipment including supplying spare cars. This was apportioned Michigan Central 29.73 per cent, TH&B 34.23% and CPR 36.04%. Mileage operated was CPR 40.25 miles (39.06%), TH&B 37.57 miles (36.46%), MC 25.23 miles (24.48%).

1421-1408 with the "Buffalo" near Bayview. 7/1955
Newton Rossiteras published in Passenger Train Journal, August 1988, page 24.


Note the icicle breakers on roofs to protect domes going through tunnels.

These units were part of an elaborate utliization of power for a number of trains including The Canadian.
Their 89 mph gearing was well suited to operation over the Joint Section compared to usual 65 mph gearing.

1421_19xx eastbound with "Little Ham" leaving Sunnyside for Toronto Union.

13 years later and the "Buffalo" is much reduced in importance as depicted here leaving Toronto Union
with a single A unit 4095 with REA express on the headend and old heavweights behind.
6/1968 Mike Schafer as published in Passenger Train Journal, August 1988, page 24.

NYC 4042 EMD E8A leads TH&B 372 from Hamilton to Welland and Buffalo enroute to New York City. This equipment ran through from Buffalo to Toronto over the NYC to Welland, TH&B to Hamilton and CPR CNR Joint Section although the diesels were changed at Hamilton. Stoney Creek, Ont. 8/21/1963 Peter Cox

There was also an important through service from New York City using mostly NYC equipment including many sleeping cars that were heavily patronized. Trains operated into the Central Terminal in Buffalo, built just before the Great Depression, (opened June 22, 1929) until it was abandoned when Amtrak left in October 1979, after which the new Exchange Street station was used. It remains in use and is the latest in a long line of Exchange Street stations dating back to the 1840's. The previous Exchange Street station was in use from 1952-1965. Trains always stopped at Black Rock in Buffalo for US Customs clearance although the Inspectors travelled to and from Welland on the trains to do their work as it proceeded.

Through service to Buffalo and New York on a day time schedule ended on April 25, 1964.

RDC-2 9115 and RDC-4 92?? Central Terminal Buffalo November 1971 Mike Harrington

Night sleeper service between Toronto, Buffalo and New York City ended when decrepid Penn Central equipment was replaced with CPR RDC equipment on a day time schedule between Toronto and Buffalo.
First train was #321 on October 25, 1970 with RDC-4 9251 and RDC-2 9103. This lone train carried on jointly with Penn Central (which had been created February 1/1968), Conrail (April 1/1976), CP Rail (100% ownership of TH&B, April 19/1977) and finally VIA Rail in 1978 until its last run on April 25,1981.

Automobiles, trucks and airplanes all combined to affect train service. Gradually, over the years passenger service declined with mixed (freight and passenger) trains replacing some passenger trains until they too were eliminated. Fewer and fewer through and local trains ran until finally, only The Canadian and a lonely, lightly patronized service to Buffalo, utilizing two RDC's, (mostly to ensure operation of signals), remained to be taken over by VIA Rail Canada in 1978. Note: There was also a single service remaining on the Trenton Division between Toronto and Havelock which was heavily used by commuters.

9021-9023 RDC-3's on the Buffalo train enroute to Toronto (going away from camera).
Four days later, this equipment and most other CP Rail passenger equipment was sold to VIA Rail Canada.

VIA Rail

VIA 9115 9308 two views coming and going on the Joint Section at Oakville.
Still painted in CP Rail paint scheme. 7/24/1980 Kermit Geary Jr.