D&H class 619 #619 in Windsor Terminal colours

When the OSW purchased the Canadian section of Conrail’s CASO (the CPR & CN were primarily interested in the Michigan Central Tunnel, which the OSW was happy to not include in their purchase,) the Michigan Central yards & industrial trackage at the Windsor end of the tunnel were split between those three railways by the simple expedient of setting up a jointly owned terminal railway (the Windsor Terminal Railway) as a neutral operator.

Initially, the line was dieselised, but the OSW electrified the whole thing in 1989 to reduce pollution from yard operations. This was first operated by a pair of ex-Conrail E44 motors, joined later by (converted to multi-system & equipped with third rail shoes just in case) prototype class J conversion #619, then, in the 2000s, the E44s were replaced by three class M motors.

The United Railways Trust merger more than doubled the size of the Windsor Terminal (the CPR transferred ownership of the Michigan Central tunnel to the Windsor Terminal, as well as the Windsor end of their up-for-sale Windsor subdivision. This included the CPR’s Windsor yard, which is in the throes of being remade into an intermodal terminal)) & two new owners for the railway; Conrail Shared Assets and the Essex Terminal Railway got minority shares in the property (making the ownership OSW 25%, CPR 26%, CNR 33%, and Conrail & the Essex Terminal each with 8%.) It still operates as a neutral operator, even though the OSW & CPR now route all of their through trains through the CTRC’s South China Tunnel and the only CPR/OSW tunnel freight is autoparts originating or terminating in Detroit.

This expansion brought a handful of diesel locomotives to the roster; the CPR was using a handful of EMD SD40-2 locomotives for their Windsor terminal trackage, and those passed into the Windsor Terminal’s hands. (It is likely that they will remain in service, because intermodal loading and overhead wire do not mix, and despite the suggestion of using third rail it’s not likely that that’s gonna happen either.)

  • Copyright © 2024 by Jessica L. Parsons (orc@pell.portland.or.us) unless otherwise noted
    Sun Jan 04 15:06:25 PST 2026