Comments on: CPR N2a class 2-8-0 3632 shown by the roundhouse at Port McNicoll during its last week of service. Built by the Canadian Locomotive Company in October 1911, it was a regular on the Port McNicoll line in the last days of steam in regular freight service (the final day of regular freight steam service on the CPR was April 30th 1960, according to Ray Kennedy’s Old Time Trains website).

By: PRR5406

PRR5406 — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 19:48:24 +0000

Must have been painful for the shop and crew guys to say goodbye. Classic shot of a classic locomotive.

By: MrDan

MrDan — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 19:55:50 +0000

Sort of like everyone flocking to OSR to shoot F-units in everyday freight service, I suppose.

I’ve read that a lot of American railfans traveled to Canada in the mid-late 50′s to shoot what was still a decent steam show, as most of the fires south of the 49th parallel were cold by then.

By: Stephen C. Host

Stephen C. Host — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 19:34:18 +0000

A historic view, thanks for sharing.

It’s hard to translate what this meant to railfans of the era.. to today’s young fan

but if all the diesels on a Class 1 dissapeared over the next 10 years and there were two diesels left, say in Goderich, Ontario… you’d flock to Goderich to photograph it.

Port McNicholl was that place as it was the last bastion of Steam on a major railway in Canada, and probably North America – for a few months!