Caption: CP Rail C424 units 4205 and 4233 roll through downtown Brampton with the northbound "Moonlight" (train #89), crossing Queen Street and passing by the former CPR Brampton Station site, south of the diamond. The old station had previously been under threat of demolition by CP, but was disassembled and removed off-site for future preservation in 1981 by the local historical society. Despite the station's absence, the station grounds here still had a passing track, back track, and ramp/team track. There once was a ramp just north of the station with its own siding, but at some point the old freight shed and loading platform on the right had been knocked down and converted to a ramp, and remained so into the OBRY era (as did some of the siding tracks).

The three empty flatcars behind the power were likely bound for the Brampton Caterpillar plant at Sandalwood Parkway near the Heart Lake community. The new Cat plant had opened two years prior in 1983 (its manufacturing operations had been moved from Cat's old Mississauga plant in the Dixie area) for the assembly of small rubber-tired loaders and logging skidders (often shipped out of the plant on flatcars), but would close in 1992 during a round of plant consolidations due to the economic slump.

The 80's and 90's were a time for the C424's to shine in branchline service, as part of CP's 10 Year Locomotive Program, they were modified from Diesel Road Freight (DRF) to Diesel Road Switcher (DRS) in the early 80's for service on branchlines as roadswitchers (along with the GP30 and GP35 units), to replace some of CP's aging 4-axle 1st generation GMD and MLW power either being rebuilt as yard units, or retired (brand new GP38-2 units were also acquired to help with the displacement). The final C424 units were retired in 1998.

Flowerlea Dairy, in business at 6 Park Street on the left, was established in 1962 when a group of local milk producers purchased the old Pocock Dairy operations (est. 1920). They grew over the years and acquired Bolton Dairy in 1973, and also ran a distribution operation called Dairyland Transport Co-op. The Park Street location in downtown Brampton was their main milk bottling and distribution facility. Flowerlea's history is a little hard to trace in later years, but it appears its operations were sold to Saputo around 1993.

Peter Jobe photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide.