Old Time Trains

Reminiscences of a Railroader

W.H.N. (Newton) Rossiter

The Late Newt Rossiter was a retired C.P.R railroader whose name has appeared as a credit under many fine photographs including those in three of his own books where his real life experiences were written about.
These paperbacks published by defunct BRMNA of Calgary are long out of print.

To many, railroading was a way of life, to some it was just a job, but to a few it was something to be experienced and documented. Newton Rossiter is one of those very few who took an interest in his vocation beyond work hours, he went out and photographed trains, in some instances the very engines he had worked
on in the roundhouse just hours earlier. Some of these photographs have appeared many times over the years in various publications.

Newt began railroading in April 1946 at John Street, a passenger roundhouse in downtown Toronto. He began as a labourer doing various jobs including greasing, wiping, lighting up etc. following which he was set-up as a fireman, but soon came to dislike the unpredictable hours of spare board work and lacking seniority to hold assigned jobs he relinquished his fireman's position and reverted to being a shopman with steady hours and days off. He worked as a machinist's helper and later on the boiler gang where he spent most of his years before dieselization began the cut backs which in May 1958 affected him. He was able to bump into the Back Shop at West Toronto for a short time and then in the spring of 1959 he went to Lambton roundhouse. Further cut backs caused him to transfer to the Car Dept. as a helper where he worked until the opening of Toronto Yard (in Agincourt) in April 1964 where he worked as a carman doing inspections of outbound or inbound trains. This he did until he retired in October 1986 with over 40 years of service with the C.P.R.

These gallery pages includes history and details of various trains, locomotives and more. I hope you will enjoy reading some of it as much as I have.

Bruce Division

953 and Assist (8458_2464) is seen just south of Bolton, on the Mactier Subdivision, on July 3, 1956

Detailed caption

Engine No. 3691 is seen standing on the shop track at Lambton Yard, Toronto on April 5, 1947.

J.Walder/J.Riddell Collection

Detailed caption and story including East passenger push

Mixed Train M716 is standing at Walkerton station, prior to its 1:00 p.m. departure
for Saugeen Junction and Orangeville on August 20,1954.

Detailed caption

Standing at Scarlett Road near the west end of Lambton Yard, engine No. 536, a D-6b "Ten Wheeler' 4-6-0,
is waiting for the signal to enter the yard and complete its trip from Orangeville on April 25, 1949.
J.Walder/J.Riddell Collection

Detailed caption

Hamilton

Detoured troop train

2925 #732 Lorne Park

Hamilton local 2466	NYC 5276 run through from N.Y. City.	TH&B 15 on #772 eastbound at Lorne Park. Jan. 12,1954. Originated N.Y.City.
TH&B pool power at John Street	CNE Special 1260	CNE Special 2840