Point Ellice Yard, Victoria, BC, July 16, 1960. Canadian Pacific Railway 15 diesel-hydraulic sits it out at Point Ellice yard, waiting for a new assignment. A deceivingly short bridge joins downtown Victoria with “the west end.” And it turns out to be the scene of one of Canada’s worst disasters! This link provides newspaper coverage of the accident.
Canadian Locomotive Works in Kingston, Ontario, built a lot of locomotives under license from Fairbanks, Morse and Company.
Diesel-hydraulic locomotives us the same principle of power transmission to the driving wheels as is used in an automobile automatic transmission. Since there is no rigid connection between the diesel engine and the wheels, possible damage to the transmission and diesel engine is eliminated.
I know my way around Victoria, as my Grandparents on my mother’s side lived on Bay Street – and yes, their house still stands! My sister and I would ride the CPR Princess passenger ships to Victoria every summer, to spend a month with our Grand Parents.
My Grandpa worked for the City, and in those days, he’d drive by the house for lunch! One day, he opened up the back of the truck he was driving, and showed us kids an Electric Chair!
He worked on the huge breakwater that protects the approaches to Victoria from the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Railroad Stuff: CPR 15, CLC 44-H-44-A2, built March 1958, sn 2993, 2x250 Cat diesel motors.
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CPR #15 is actually at the E&N yard in Vic West (known then as the Songhees Industrial area) Pt Ellice is actually where the CNR yards were located. The bridge you refer to crossed the CNR yards, and was used by the BCER (streetars). The Johnson St Bridge linked Downtown with the yard and not Pt Ellice
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