Comments on: I just got to thinking to post this for those of you who knew the old CP St. Marys Sub between Ingersoll and St. Marys when it was a going concern. The southern section from Zorra to Ingersoll as I remember it was taken up in the summer of 1987, and the 24 or so miles from Zorra northward to the end at St. Marys was pulled around 1999, save for a piece to serve industry off the Galt Sub at Zorra. This image is of CP 8777 crossing County Rd 16 just northwest of Embro on its’ way to St. Marys. Not sure, but think 8777 was based out of Woodstock back then.

By: Stephen C. Host

Stephen C. Host — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 13:46:55 +0000

Wild stories thank you

By: RonaldB

RonaldB — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:10:52 +0000

Should also add, I worked a lot of snowplows up there & we had to plow the spur up to Domtar as then run ‘downtown’ to run around the plow for the trip back. One time we had a sick 4200 & it wouldn’t push the snow in the runaround track so we had to back up from St. Mary’s to Woodstock. Snow had drifted back in and when I went to get off the van at Zorra to open the switch, the van steps were bent back enough that I had to get off the other end.

By: RonaldB

RonaldB — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:06:58 +0000

To Stephen Host’s question, we used to go right into St. Mary’s. There was some business at th elevator just beyond the yard, but the main reason was to run around the train for the trip back. Just before the cement plant thee was a spur up a steep hill that went to the CN transfer. Sometimes we also placed cars of farm machinery at he stop block there for ‘team’ unloading. There was also the Domtar paper plant and that is likely where the CP boxcar was going. That spur was accessed on the return trip, hence the need to run around the train. When they shortened the track back to a point just past the cement plant, we would roll the cars past us there. It was a bit of a hill & they would start when the handbrake was released.

By: RonaldB

RonaldB — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:01:33 +0000

When I started on CP in 1973, the St. Mary’s road switcher was a premium job that started at 10 AM Mon. to Fri. and was usually done in 4 hours. Very senior men owned it in summer, that way they could go to their cottages every weekend. In winter it went to more junior men because most lived in London & there was the issue of driving to Woodstock in the winter & railroading up in the snow belt.By 1979, the job was gone & the day 0830 road switcher out of Woodstock handled the yard and the St. Mary’s Sub.

By: Stephen C. Host

Stephen C. Host — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 23:47:23 +0000

Ahh Noe’s just a youngin’

By: awmooney

awmooney — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 21:32:43 +0000

Oh, amuse me, Jason; but also remind me I am old!! )
Glad you like.

By: Noe

Noe — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 20:41:04 +0000

This is awesome Arnold. And taken exactly one month after I was born!

By: Stephen C. Host

Stephen C. Host — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 21:32:06 +0000

This is awesome. I guess that Cement plant in St. Marys was lucrative. Anyone know if they kept going to the end of track by the station and for how long?

There is some track in place in the cement plant that may or may not be considered part of the old St. Marys sub – used to have railhead off GEXR/CN but seems unused for quite some time

By: dhaisell

dhaisell — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 14:35:57 +0000

Three generations of CPR branding in the first three cars of that consist!

Is that a newsprint boxcar?