miscellaneous cars - CN Lines SIG

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Miscellaneous cars and equipment

To see a full-size version of any photo, click on it.

Continuous Welded Rail train

This is a continous welded rail (CWR) train in Portage la Prairie, MB late May 2000.

First photo shows the welder module and the end from which the rail is paid out. Second photo shows the welder and the long string of CWR cars that carry it. The third photo is of the welder only mounted on a flatcar base. In all three photos, a single rail can be seen passing from the CWR cars, through the welder to the payout end. At the time of this photo, there was only a single rail on the train. At the end of the train (past the CWR cars), there was an empty bulkhead flat, and then an interesting box car 73814.

Conjecture: Rail is drawn off the CWR car into the welder, possibly by winches on the welder. In the welder, it's joined to the previous section and then is pulled off the train as the train moves forward. In these photos, rail would move towards the left as the train train moves toward the right.

Snow Plow

Snow plow CN 55231 — history to be confirmed

Scale Test Cars

Scale test cars are a fixed weight and are used to test weigh scales.

CN 52279 was built out of cylindrical hopper CN 369707 by the Transcona shops in 1991. It is marked 262,000 pounds.

CN 52274 is a four-axle car built as a scale test car in 1956. It weighs 80,000 pounds.

CN 52281 was originally cylindrical ore care CN 346030. It was converted in the Transcona shops in 1991. It is marked 200,000 pounds and 90720 kilograms, although these are not quite the same.

CN 533xx covered hopper family

CN 53329 is a slab side hopper built in March 1944, rebuilt in November 1982, and used in sand service. It is marked " CU FT 2775 LDLMT 1165500 LTWT 54500 ". These cars aren't seen too often on the move and there are only a few left. One or two of these are often parked outside the diesel shop in Edmonton and hold sand for filling diesels in the trip centre. The sand comes from Bruderheim, AB (northwest of Edmonton). The first photo was taken in Edmonton in January 1997; the second in Edmonton January 1999.

This photo is of CN 53327, supposedly in the same family as 53329, photographed in Edmonton in Feb 1997. Note how the two are different: 53327 is much shorter and has only two chutes on the bottom; 53329 has four. 53327 was built in Sep 1948.

This photo of 53338 was taken in Edmonton in January 1999. The car was built in August 1956. It is marked " LDLMT 169800 LTWT 50200 ".

When checking out the series 533xx, it was discovered that these are the only ones that seem to exist: 53305, 53306, 53311 (scrapped?), 53312 (built Sep 48, similar to 53327), 53314, 53315, 53317 53320, 53321, 53327 (photo above), 53328, 53329 (photo above), 53336 (similar to 53329), 53337, 53338 (photo above), 53339 (similar to 53329), 53346, 53348, 53350, 53351, 53364, 53365, 53371, 53395, 53396, 53397, 53398, and 53399. This last one, 53399, is of the former 360000-361200 series aluminum semi-cylindrical cars built in 1962; possibly 53395-53399 are all the same.

Water Cars

These tank cars are for carrying potable water. 80245 is usally part of the Edmonton Auxilliary and carries drinking water for the work crews. 80335 spent the winter of 1996-97 parked next to a snow dump in Edmonton's Walker yards (purpose not obvious, possibly something to do with bulldozer maintaining snow dump in the area).

The cars are very similar. They both have a large stack (vent?) at one end. Around the base of this stack, and at other connection points to the tank is what appears to be sprayed or moulded insulation, sort of puffy in nature.

CN 50800 Load Test Car

A load test car has a set of heavy duty electrical resistors in it that are connected across the elctrical output of a locomotive under test. The resistors put an aritificial load on the locomotive so that it can be tested while towing the car. This is sort of like a dummy load on a radio transmitter.

CN 50800 is apparently not used anymore at the diesel shops in Edmonton. A little yellow car marked number 2 has taken its place.

This photo was taken into the sun outside the east end of the diesel shop in Edmonton where 50800 has been in a rather inaccessible spot for the last number of months. Yes, that's a little plastic window in the side. The sides of the car are made of wood painted black; the ends and roof seem to be made of metal.

NOTE: This car was transferred to the Alberta Railway Museum in late 1999.