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Caption: Here's a complementary view to go with Woodbine East along the Weston Sub: CN Woodbine West, Mile 14.1 CN Weston Sub. Our view is trailing eastbound aboard GO cab car 241 on train #260 (Bramalea-Georgetown) after making our stop at Malton GO station, hidden by the approaching train. CN #577 with sister GP40-2LW units 9411-9410 is about to crest the grade on the north service track and will follow us downhill, enroute to West Toronto to interchange traffic with CP. In the distance one can see the Highway 407 overpass at Halwest, and faintly the Owens Illinois glass plant in Brampton.
The siding on the right is for the Home Depot's Malton lumber distribution facility (receiving boxcars and centre beam flatcars). The switch to the left was the old American Can Lead that lead into the Northwest Dr industrial area, serving customers in the business park that once included IGA, American Can and Kuehne & Nagel (Brenntag Canada was the last active customer before removal). Fairmont Motor Company even had a warehouse and siding at 6320 Northwest Dr. This area of Malton also used to be home to a variety of aircraft manufacturing facilties, including the large McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing Malton plant at Airport & Derry (of Avro Arrow fame), Orenda Engines, and DeHavilland (now the International Centre), all of which used to receive rail service from various sidings off the Weston Sub.
The tracks here have since been upgraded, and the signal bridges replaced. Most of the old sidings and spurs have been pulled up, with the only remaining customer being Home Depot.
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Wow, that’s a nice image !
I never knew how good the Weston used to be until you started posting!
These Weston shots are awesome. I was taking VIA through here regularly around this time and always found there was a lot to see. One of the active industries – I have no idea which one – was shipping or receiving in 86′ hi-cube boxcars, on a siding with a tight curve that made them look rather awkward.
I figured some of the Guelph/Kitchener guys might find these interesting, as those VIA trains took the Weston Sub as well.
If it was on the Weston Sub, the tight curve makes me think XTL at Etobicoke North GO station, just before Highway 401 near the old Simpsons-Sears warehouse (XTL there used to be the old Steinberg’s/Miracle Mart warehouse and offices for their Ontario division). Not sure if they got 86′ers though.
As you say that Dan, thankfully XTL is still very busy with rail traffic today. I am curious when they took over the property though? Also a shot in the dark here, but maybe the industry that took 86ft cars was one of the Malton aerospace manufacturers?
By this time (mid-2000′s), not too many of them were around or getting rail service anymore. Orenda Engines became Magellan Aerospace, and their sidings were long-unused. Boeing had apparently stopped shipping out wings by rail in the early 2000′s in favour of trucks, and that plant was winding down and closed in 2005 (another post on that in the future).
It’s likely the 86′ cars were for some warehouse or plant that did automotive parts assembly or shipment, but I can’t think of any locations off-hand. There was one on the Halton Sub (Deco Automotive) that #559 always had 86′ high-cubes from, but I don’t recall any on the Weston Sub at that time.
A similar frame is actually still possible of this scene if you drive into the back of one of the industries to the left. Ive been in there plenty of times to see CN 529 and have never been bothered. The scene itself has obviously changed drastically