A group of Real Rails 2025 attendees toured the Ontario Southland Railway‘s facility in Salford, Ontario. These are their stories. dun dun
Well, OK, it’s just my story.
We assembled outside the hotel to meet the bus that would take us there. It was a yellow school bus, not the most comfortable ride, but it did the job.
As we pulled up to the shops, cameras started snapping at OSRX 51, the EMD NW2u on display at the head of the line. It is still lettered for the railway it served for many years – the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway. I don’t believe it’s operational.
We went into the shop, where we were given a safety briefing (which was mostly “watch your step and don’t fall in the pit”) along with a brief history of the OSR. Then we were set loose!
The OSR has a fleet of EMD, GMD and MLW products, mostly small road switcher locomotives like GP7, GP9, SW1200RSu and their famous FP9Au “F units”. On this side of the shops, GP9u OSRX 1620 and 1591 were receiving some TLC.
The intermittent rain didn’t dampen our spirits as we wandered through the parked and stored locomotives behind the shops. The OSR has a bit of a power surplus at the moment, since the CAMI auto facility has been idled and the Guelph Junction Railway is now operated by the Goderich-Exeter Railway.
I was up in the cupola of their snow plow when I took the photo above.
These are the locomotives that I saw / photographed:
- 51
- 102
- 175
- 180
- 181
- 182
- 183
- 184
- 378
- 383
- 500
- 503
- 1210
- 1244
- 1245
- 1249
- 1401
- 1591
- 1594
- 1620
- 6508
- 8235
Many of these units are ex Canadian Pacific locomotives, like CP 1594 below. I saw that unit in Winnipeg from 2010-2012.
A few of the locomotives were opened up so we could climb up and into the cab. We were given instruction on the proper way to ascend / descend – always face the equipment, these are ladders, not stairs.
Unfortunately the warranty for OSRX 1401 has expired.
The rain came and went, but I was determined to capture each locomotive. It’s not like I have any hair to dry out…
Returning to the shops, I admired the fresh paint on 1249 and 1594. Beautiful locomotives.
CP 24 was a big surprise to me. I had no idea that there was a passenger car here. This was a superintendent’s car when it was owned by Canadian Pacific. We were given a quick tour through the car. In the interest of privacy I won’t post photos, but I can say that it is nicely appointed inside with mostly original fixtures. The electrical equipment and air conditioning have been upgraded, of course.
A view from inside 8235, near the end of our visit.
C.J. the shop cat made an appearance.
As we were preparing to leave, they rolled 1401 and 6508 into the shops, and we posed in front of it.
Thanks to my son Nick for taking the photo.
I want to thank the Ontario Southland Railway for hosting us. We really appreciate the employees taking the time to show us around and answer our many questions. The OSR is a first class operation and it shows.
Thanks also to the organizers of Real Rails 2025 for a great conference, and to Christopher Greenlaw for organizing / supervising all of the outings.
Steve –
Very interesting Loco list and shop bay area’s – A well maintained and clean modern pre-engineered building I presume. What is used to remove anything heavy – Hoists ? as I
presume no overhead crane.
Thanks
Hi Richard, they said that if they need a crane, they rent one and do the work outside.
CJ needs a good brushing!
Looks like it was a great tour
Belated thanks for this post, Steve – great coverage of the tour!
I like how each person takes in the view differently, and you saw a few perspectives I didn’t.
I don’t disagree with David’s comment about CJ, although the crew did say she gets a bath every 3-4 months (and it’s probably a good thing she’s learned not to lick all the shop gunk off her fur!) At one point she led me to her shelf with multiple bowls of food and treats, which tells me the OSR team cares for their old lady mouser.
While I knew OSR had an ALCo/MLW treasure trove, was unfamiliar with their complete roster. I was thrilled to discover former Essex Terminal 102 (nee Algoma Central 172 and the last GP9 built by GMD) and number 175, the former Chessie unit in their dead line, was unexpected – I can still hear the youngest member of our tour’s delighted “no way!”
Great group photo, too 🙂
Hello Stu, I agree, it’s always interesting to see the photos that different people take of the same thing – even when they are standing next to each other!
That ETR 102 was pretty cool, and I’m glad we were able to go in its extra-large cab.