Caption: I post this to share the shot, but to also share a bit of an update on Niagara area operations. I went down to Port Rob today on a hunch – the hunch being that CN has been keeping a unit in Port Rob lately, and that 562 was starting much earlier than they used to. For those who are unfamiliar, the jobs out of Port Rob (531/530, 539/538, 562, the rare 563, and 564) all use power that arrives on 421 and 330, which then typically leaves the following day on 422 or 331. Now it would seem there is a dedicated unit kicking around the yard for a number of days at a time. Port Rob formerly had four axle yard units assigned to it, though from my understanding it has been a number of years since this was the case.

This hunch began when I went down to Port Rob last Saturday, as 421 had an SD40-2W trailing in third. When I got there, 562 was already working, using 2134. Based on an OS elsewhere, the unit had arrived on a 421 several days prior, which had me a bit curious. Yesterday, I heard 562 talking to RTC after they had been taxied to Aldershot to relieve 421 in the afternoon, and they told RTC they were on duty at 0900 (as opposed to the 1400 or so I would normally expect). This also had me a bit curious. Given the two observations, I went to Port Rob today to test the hunch. I arrived and saw 422 leave, watched the crew of 562 build 331 (562 was on duty at 0900), and then watched 562 work the yard and make the run to Southern Yard and Feeder with the 3179. From an OS elsewhere, 3179 had been in Port Rob since November 12. The hunch was indeed confirmed, and CN has been keeping a unit assigned to Port Rob of late.

Pictured here, 562 is on the CP Hamilton Sub, pulling ahead to clear the switch for Rusholme Siding (formerly Brookfield Siding, where the racks are stored), on which they will shove back on to clear the switch for the Trillium Cayuga Spur (in the foreground) to access Feeder Yard for interchange. Note the CP sign indicating the limits between Trillium/CP. I should also note that when CN sets off its interchange traffic for CP at Southern Yard, they typically make their lift of traffic returned by CP at the same time. Meaning, not everything pictured in this shot is necessarily for set off Feeder, but rather some of it is just along for the ride. Ultimately, they returned to Port Rob with a good 50 or 60 cars.