Historical Note: 1941 UCRS Excursion Report

What follows is a report of the first excursion held by the Upper Canada Railway Society (UCRS) on November 23, 1941. It has been copied verbatim from Number 3 of the UCRS newsletter, although it did not have that name yet and was simply three sheets of stapled mimeographed paper. I've added some information in brackets since the trains and engines are not as familiar to people today as they would have been in 1941. At the time, the New York Central had about ten passenger trains a day crossing southern Ontario between Buffalo and Detroit. . This is the first recorded case of an organized railfan trip operating out of Toronto. It's an amazing piece of nostalgia from 68 years ago that took place exactly two weeks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor!
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"The excursion which the Society held on November 23, 1941, though attended by a relatively small number, six members and one guest, was a great success from the standpoint of interest. The party assembled at a central point in Toronto at 9:30 AM on what was unfortunately, a dull and cold Sunday morning. From there the group, in two cars, headed west.
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The first stop was at the CPR Cooksville station where an excellent view of # 21 (westbound Chicago Express) at high speed was afforded. It was hauled by (4-6-4 Royal Hudson) 2856 and consisted of a baggage car, two CPR sleepers, two Pullmans, parlor car, diner and observation sleeper.
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The party halted next at Oakville to see CNR # 94 eastbound (overnight from New York City), hauled by (4-6-2 Pacific) 5250, with a Central Vermont baggage car, a cafe-parlor and three Pullmans.
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The long and least interesting part of the drive then followed, over the Hamilton Mountain, where everything was covered by an early snow, and so to Waterford.
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At the New York Central Station the excursionists arrived in time to see a fine passenger train hauled by Engine 5329 grind to a halt to pick up a flag passenger. All were struck with the extreme super- elevation of the curve right at the station, which is usually passed through at speed. The train contained two beautiful, streamlined coaches with folding steps.
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From here the group drove a few hundred yards to the Waterford station of the Lake Erie and Northern electric line. The station sits on the southern rim of the valley through which the New York Central line passes; hence the LE&N crosses the Vanderbilt road on a long bridge of steel resting on concrete piers. From their position on this height the group saw what all agreed was the finest sight of the day - an extremely fast solid baggage train double headed by two of the famous Hudson engines 5362 and 5242. It was impossible to count the number of cars due to the strong wind which obscured the train for most of its length in dense clouds of smoke.
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Also immediately along came the Lake Erie and Northern northbound electric and the car stopped in a very convenient place for taking photographs. As soon as this had passed over the bridge and made its meet with a southbound car, the latter arrived and the party boarded up for the trip to Port Dover on the shores of Lake Erie.
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The group was fortunate in striking a very amiable crew and some of the members rode the whole trip in the cab with the motorman. Others found the conductor a source of much information. At the spot where the line crosses the CNR there is an interlocking plant, always set in favor of the big road. As a result, on every trip, the conductor of the electric train has to get out and change the plant over. He very graciously took the excursionists with him into the tower, part of the party on the southbound trip and the remainder on the return.
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Following a 25 minute layover in Port Dover the train returned to Waterford, reaching there at 2:40 PM EDT. The New York Central again put on a good show. Two high-speed freight trains passed through at the excursionists' feet hauled by engines 2048 and 2026. Another passenger train was also seen hauled by Engine 4643 with two express refrigerators, five baggage cars and a coach.
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The party then drove to Brantford, only stopping as it was leaving Waterford to view the track pans where the New York Central trains can take water without stopping. At Brantford the yards of the LE&N were visited, several passenger cars and freight motors being out in the open, where they could be seen.
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At a point on the way to Hamilton the party pulled up by the CNR tracks in time to see # 183 (Toronto-Detroit) pass at speed with (Pacific) 5304, a baggage car and three coaches. Although it was moving along at a satisfactory rate it was impossible to avoid drawing comparisons between it and the really high speed witnessed on the New York Central.
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At the smartly modern station of the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo in Hamilton the party saw No. 79 with New York Central Engine 4390, a baggage car, 3 TH&B coaches and two Pullmans. (There's no such train listed at this location; probably No. 801 with the sleepers for New York and Boston).
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From Hamilton the group returned to Toronto, driving into Parkdale Station in time to see CPR # 37 (Royal York, Toronto-Detroit) with old Pacific 2235 and six cars.
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Altogether about 200 miles were covered on the trip, which was planned by the excursion committee of the Society under the chairmanship of Mr. John McNabb. All of made the trip agreed that Mr. McNabb and his associates did a most capable job in planning it. There was not one occasion on which a planned connection was missed, nor one in which an unreasonable wait was necessary in order to see the train in question."
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Posting by Derek Boles, TRHA Historian