The shop floor of the Canadian Locomotive Company on Ontario Street is still (top photo). A Whig-Standard photographer was dispatched to the remains of the sprawling, once-thriving factory that housed the second-largest, steeped in history manufacturer of locomotives. The photographer's subject was the loading of "The Loco's" last product for shipment on June 27, 1969.
After years of declining sales, attempts at diversification and an April, 1969 strike by 120 members of Local 532 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America resulted in the U.S. owner Fairbanks-Morse (Canada) Limited closing the plant. No agreement had been reached on the company’s ultimatum and operations ceased as of July 1, 1969. About 80 remaining managers, clerical staff and salaried employees remained. It had been one year since the last locomotive to leave the plant departed on the same track leading out of Kingston.
This is the only photo that actually made Kingston's daily newspaper. I am pleased to be able to share this remarkable series of photos, reformatted from an envelope of negatives held by the Queen's University Archives,
The last product of the plant was marine engine contract "OP88", rated at 2000-horsepower and 700-rpm. Its progress on the shop floor is traced in the following photos. First, the huge engine is lifted by the shop crane onto a wooden cradle. Then, the cradle is in turn loaded onto CN flatcar 661569 for its journey to Halifax.
The Whig clipping: 
Great series of photos -- thanks for unearthing them, Eric.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Derek. These mysteries are fun to solve and the finds are...fun to find, especially 50+ years later. Thank goodness we have the Queen's University Archives to act as trusted stewards!
ReplyDeleteEric