Comments on: Heading down CP’s Don Branch (Belleville Sub) between Leaside to downtown Toronto, CP van (caboose) 438811 brings up the markers on a transfer move from Agincourt to Parkdale/West Toronto, with the “Empress of Agincourt” RSD17 8921 leading the charge solo on the head end. The rear end shown here is ducking under the Queen St. bridge spanning the Don River (entering the “Toronto Terminals Railway Company” trackage as the signalbridge sign denotes), passing CN S2 8136 with a short consist waiting at “Don” on CN’s Bala Sub (judging by the CP cars, either lifting or setting off interchange traffic from the Cherry St. freight yards, or switching some of the local industries like S.McCord cement on the right). Some blue CAST containers and piggyback traffic add a nice touch to a gloomy snowy day. 438811 sports the short-lived “action script” livery that CP switched to a year or two before the CP Rail and multimark rebranding of 1968 were introduced. This brief paint scheme was applied to some freight cars (mainly those built new) featuring larger script lettering and number fonts, with various colours applied depending on the use: yellow on insulated boxcars, green on newsprint boxcars (with the pine tree logo), silver on mechanical reefers and pressure-unloading hoppers, and on vans it was red sides with yellow ends. Most of these colour denotations were carried over into the CP Rail era, with vans getting full yellow instead. Original photographer unknown, Kodachrome from the Dan Dell’Unto coll.

By: MrDan

MrDan — Sat, 31 Oct 2020 13:22:56 +0000

Just a note I forgot to mention, CP 438811 still survives today – on the YDHR under its final CP number as 434908!

And a correction: the date for these is actually around mid-February 1973 (the slides were processed late, in November 1973).

BradKetchen — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 13:11:49 +0000

Sorry read the bottom caption.

BradKetchen — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 12:42:08 +0000

Was this a unique scheme? Or were there more like it? Very nice.

Mike Lockwood — Mon, 14 May 2018 14:01:35 +0000

Love the Script, excellent image and far too short lived.

Alexander Medora — Sat, 12 May 2018 21:42:50 +0000

There is a God… and his name remains unknown.