Trackside at Elfrida...

[doctorwayne]

...with lots of photos.
I was in Elfrida the other day, and, hotel beds being as they are, was up early for a change. After a quick breakfast, I strolled down to the depot, camera in-hand, to see if there was any train action to be found. As I walked, I heard a train blowing for the crossing at Indian Line, and by the time I had reached the tracks, the morning passenger accommodation was already at the station.


I knew that the loco had to cut-off in order to take on water for the stiff climb to South Cayuga, so I waited at the crossing to get a photo or two. While the engine crew were busy at the tank, passengers boarded and detrained, and baggage handlers loaded luggage and LCL, along with the usual milk cans for the creamery in Dunnville.


After backing to the waiting train, the air was pumped up, brake test completed, and the 34 whistled-off as her hogger eased back on the throttle. As one of the few scheduled trains on the line, she had rights to South Cayuga, and the 34 wasted no time getting her train up to speed - that re-build certainly was worth the expense. In-tow were two cars of iced Lake Erie fish and the usual, for this train, wooden combine.


As the silence returned, the birds filled the air with their chattering. I knew that it was going to be another scorcher, though, and they'd not be so boisterous in a few hours. As I walked to the station, I heard another whistle - the sound carries deceptively far when it's so humid - but it certainly sound close. I hustled past the station, as I could hear the train on the bridge over Chippawa Creek, just west of town.
I made it almost as far as the town's grain elevator, and decided to set-up there for a photo - wow, and not a moment too soon:




With two locos, it had to be interchange traffic off the TH&B at Port Maitland, along with local cars from GERN and Lowbanks. Sure enough, two cars of flux right at the head-end, followed by two other home road cars, either from GERN or a shipper out of Hamilton.








...and a couple loads of Anthracite, probably for coal dealers along the line:




This train isn't slowing (locos with larger tenders don't always stop at Elfrida for water) so that short passenger train must already have left South Cayuga, leaving the track beyond Elfrida clear.









...steel plate out of Hamilton, probably for Dominion Bridge:




...a load of soft coal, either for another dealer or perhaps an industrial customer:




...and finally, the caboose:


I hadn't expected so much action so quickly, but I should have time to check in with the operator to see what's up next. "Once 727 East" (the Extra train that had just passed) "clears South C'yuga, yer lookin' at a way freight, westbound. She'll be doin' some work here in town, so I hope yuh got plenty o' film." "How long before he gets here?" I asked. "Oh, don'tcha worry none - the tower at C'yuga Junction will wire me when he oh-esses him." (O.S. is a notation made "On Sheet" to show that a particular train has passed a certain point. The operator will also telegraph the next station farther west, so any eastbound trains can be held there until a line through Elfrida is clear. Most days, trains aren't that frequent, so it's merely a formality required by the rulebook.) "Pull up a chair and help yerself to a coffee - it'll be at least an hour."

Well, so much for that early flurry of activity - the next train will probably not be out of town before three o'clock if there's switching to be done here. It's certainly not as busy as I'd been told, and that was the main reason I'd come to town in the first place. Too early for lunch, and by noon the train will probably just be rolling in. Hmmph!

The wire, which had been going pretty much non-stop since I had arrived, clicked to life again."Well, yer in luck, sonny! The wayfreight's clear o' C'yuga an' movin' pretty smartly. She oughta be here in about twenny minutes."

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