Comments on: No plow? No problem! Coming up on 45 years ago this month, CN 1323 leads the way freight into Jarvis from Hagersville on the west leg of the wye which is the Hagersville Sub. The Roadmaster (my Dad) has inspected the front of the unit and is satisfied that the cuts between Hagersville & Jarvis have been cleared. :-) The Pyle National dual sealed beam headlight with incandescent bulbs produces enough heat to keep the snow melted from the lenses. That won’t happen with todays LED lights. The radiator is completely covered so the cab should be nice and warm. While there is not much snow on the ground, the numerous cuts along the route from Rymal in Hamilton to Jarvis can fill in quickly and become major problems if not attended to. CN 1323 taken care of that on this cold January 25, 1978 day.

By: Stephen C. Host

Stephen C. Host — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 03:06:04 +0000

LED’s are making inroads though. Some shortlines have begun deploying them because LED’s last far longer requiring less maintenance.

The three NSC switchers all seem to have LED lights too.

Some GEXR motive power also has LED’s.. some…

By: cp5756

cp5756 — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:52:13 +0000

LEDs for the most part are not used as headlights on rail equipment, mostly on modern passenger trains. I believe incandescent bulbs are mostly used still

By: Stephen C. Host

Stephen C. Host — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:09:10 +0000

Led’s do basically nothing as they have 1/10′th the heat output

They can melt snow Judt not as fast and most certainly not much of it. But it will happen.

By: RonaldB

RonaldB — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 17:14:09 +0000

The comment about the incandescent bulbs was interesting. I’ve seen ditchlights melt through packed snow too. And, I also have wondered how LEDs will fare under similar conditions.

By: RonaldB

RonaldB — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 17:09:38 +0000

I love this type of winter photo, they remind me of my early years on the CPR. On CP, SW1200RS often had plywood panels applied in winter, on the front railings to prevent radiators from being packed with snow. Also, it was always interesting to use one of these units cab forward to plow snow. I took Some Super 8 film in the early 1970s of that very thing, when I was working the Woodstock/Port Burwell wayfrieght.

By: Noe

Noe — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 14:35:45 +0000

This is really awesome.

By: Brundle

Brundle — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 20:55:36 +0000

Good job bringing this photo back to life Paul. If you’re like me, it is kinda neat having your Dads stuff get one more viewing by an audience. And, in this instance, it’s a big audience.

By: Paul O'Shell

Paul O'Shell — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 14:30:08 +0000

Good morning Bruce. The gentleman in front of CN 1323 is my father Wilfred J. O’Shell. At the time of the photo he was the CN Roadmaster headquartered in Jarvis. He held that position from 1969 until 1985 when he retired.

Thanks Michael. I appreciate your comment.

Good eye on the van Terry! For many of the years we lived in Jarvis, the way freight had an old wood van on the tail end but I guess by 1978 they had moved up in the world! I was stationed in Capreol during the Blizzard of 78′ and have photos from there showing 4+ feet of snow and higher drifts. Sure made railroading a challenge!

By: terry.oshell

terry.oshell — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 12:37:04 +0000

A day later they would be pushing through even deeper drifts as the Blizzard of 1978 took hold. Coming south one of the most difficult cuts was about two miles north of the station. Looks like a steel van bring up the rear. Great photo.

By: Klaucker

Klaucker — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 11:42:30 +0000

Fantastic Paul