Livestock Shipments |
MAY 2001
In previous monthly topics, we have discussed a multitude of railway shipments and specific types of freight cars. One significant source of traffic that has not been covered is livestock. As usual, we will focus on the situation as it existed in the 1945-59 era in Southern Ontario on the Canadian National (CNR).
There were two principal railway movements of livestock in this era: the annual autumn shipment of calves (about 18 months old) from the western ranchlands to eastern feedlots from mid-September through mid-November (and possibly later), and the year-round local movement of mature animals from many stations to packing plants in West Toronto, Kitchener and Montreal.
Shipments of calves from the West began on a large scale in the postwar years. From a feeding & watering stop at Sudbury, this seasonal traffic was routed by manifest freight trains through Southern Ontario via the Sudbury and Bala Subdivisions to Mimico. As the feedlots were largely located in the southwestern part of the province on the Kincardine, Forest and neighbouring subdivisions (see Steam Over Palmerston and To Stratford Under Steam), the animals were unloaded en route at West Toronto for more bedding, watering and nourishment. From this last intermediate point, the stock cars were marshalled in stock specials or manifest trains 401 or 457 (to Stratford), or 517 (to Palmerston). Upon arrival at those terminals, they were transferred to local mixed trains, way freights or stock extras, and despatched to their final destinations.
Before we go any farther, a few words about the handling of livestock in trains, and the nature of shipments, are in order. Firstly, livestock, perishables and merchandise were considered hot freight. Everything else, from loads of coal, lumber and cement to salt, potash and cinders, was known as dead freight. Manifest freight train schedules and connections were devised and operated to ensure the prompt forwarding of hot freight. Secondly, in order to minimize injury caused by switching movements, cars of livestock were required to be marshalled directly behind the locomotive. By the same reasoning, the perishables and merchandise were also blocked near the front of the train. Finally, as a rule, yard crews could not switch a train at a terminal or yard until the car department had checked the train. However, information on cars of perishables, livestock and l.c.l. was wired ahead to expedite movement of these cars, under an agreement with the car department and yard office.
Now for the second type of livestock traffic: from stock pens to slaughterhouse. These shipments were more widespread than the former. Until the 1930s in the province, virtually all livestock destined for market went by rail. Each branchline had its own livestock day (or days) of the week. On the Penetang Subdivision (see Steam at Allandale) it was Monday; on the Meaford Subdivision it was Tuesday; on the Kincardine Subdivision it was Wednesday and Saturday, and so on. Drovers and slaughterhouses coordinated their schedules to spread the traffic over the course of the week. Trucks began to capture this traffic in the 1930s, depending upon the nature of the local roads and the distances to abattoirs, but it took some time to conquer all the branchlines. For instance, livestock shipments by rail largely disappeared from the Penetang Subdivision in the 1930s, whereas the Kincardine Subdivision was still going strong toward the end of the 1950s.
Clean empty stock cars were held in reserve at division points such as Stratford, Palmerston and Allandale to accommodate the drovers' needs at outlying points. These cars were usually distributed to stock pens by the way freight or mixed train a day in advance of loading, and retrieved the following day. Considering that the loading operation was dependent upon many local farmers, each with a few animals, showing up on time, livestock days always meant train delays. When the local train finally arrived back at the division point, the carloads of livestock were marshalled in the nightly manifest train. Toronto, Montreal and Kitchener were the principal destinations of the market-ready animals. Each of these terminals had car cleaning and disinfecting facilities close to the stockyards. Stratford was another such facility, to handle the empty cars which had brought feeder cattle to Southwestern Ontario.
In terms of equipment, the CNR and CPR stock cars in Southern Ontario were not usually interchanged with other roads, so they displayed a preponderance of antiquated K-brakes and arch bar trucks well into the 1950s. In HO scale, Al Westerfield has done us a great service with the provision of superb resin kits for all of the CNR and CPR 36-foot Fowler cars. For HO scale modellers of the Ontario scene, look no further. There was a tiny amount of American livestock through traffic routed via Southern Ontario, and for representing these cars some of the other kits on the market may suffice. A glance at some of the excellent video tapes available showing steam action at Bayview may afford some clues as to roadnames.
On your layout, do not confine your livestock shipments to cattle alone; 1953 data from the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, for example, show that while 57% of the animals loaded were cattle & calves, 32% were hogs, 9% were horses and 2% were sheep. Figures for critters unloaded in the same year show 74% cattle & calves, 19% hogs, 4% horses and 3% sheep. On my new layout I will be depicting Meaford, where on Tuesdays the animals (cattle, pigs and sheep) were driven in by truck and herded right down the street to the stock pens, where up to 6 to 12 cars of livestock were loaded and shipped. Have fun in your own efforts, and as always I am available at ian@canadianbranchline.com should you have any comments.
Ian Wilson
May 3, 2001
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