Essex Terminal Railway No. 9 is a preserved 0-6-0 steam locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1923.[1] Originally purchased by the Essex Terminal Railway, the locomotive was in active service until 1960. It is currently owned by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society, and it is operated as a tourist attraction, as part of the Waterloo Central Railway, in St. Jacobs, Ontario.[2]
Essex Terminal Railway St. Thomas Central Railway Waterloo Central Railway
Retired
1960
Restored
October 1997
Current owner
Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society
Disposition
Operational
History
First career
The No. 9 locomotive was built in February 1923 by the Montreal Locomotive Works, and it was based on a design created by its parent company, the American Locomotive Company.[3] As an 0-6-0 switcher, it was purchased by the Essex Terminal Railway, (ETR) a shortline operator in the Windsor, Ontario area. The locomotive saw active usage until 1960.[4]
Between 1960 and 1963, No. 9 was used as an external boiler to provide heat for a building, before it was put into storage. In 1971, No. 9 was loaned to the Ontario Railway Association for restoration. The association moved the locomotive into storage in Milton, Ontario, but otherwise performed no restoration work.
Restoration
In April 1986, No. 9 was leased to the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society (SOLRS). In July 1986, it was moved to the Ontario Hydro generating station at Nanticoke, Ontario, where restoration work began. In December 1993, No. 9 was moved to St. Thomas, Ontario, where SOLRS had acquired a portion of the Elgin County Railway Museum, located in the former Michigan Central Railway (MCR) locomotive erecting shop. By October 1997, restoration work was completed, and the locomotive was re-certified to operate under its own power.[5]
St. Thomas Operation
In July 1998, SOLRS began to operate ETR No. 9 as a tourist attraction, naming it the St. Thomas Central Railway, and running on the Canada Southern Railway line (CASO), which at the time was owned and maintained by both the Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) Railways.[5]
In October 2001, SOLRS was granted ownership of the No. 9 locomotive. During its time in St. Thomas, ETR No. 9 was given the name “Pride of Elgin.” In September 2002, the locomotive briefly returned to the Windsor area, to participate in the Essex Terminal Railway's 100th anniversary celebrations.[4]
CN and CP had purchased the CASO line from MCR in 1985, primarily to acquire the railway's tunnel under the Detroit River, and their bridge at Niagara Falls.[6] But the companies had little interest in maintaining the rest of the line, and gradually began to abandon it, section by section. Unable to afford to maintain the track as well as the locomotive and its rolling stock, SOLRS eventually decided to move their operation to St. Jacobs, Ontario.[5]
St. Jacobs Operation
ETR No. 9 operating on the Waterloo Central Railway’s Scotch Line, near Elmira, Ontario, on May 20, 2019
Beginning in 2007, SOLRS began to run ETR No. 9 as part of their operation in St. Jacobs, which is named the Waterloo Central Railway (WCR). The former CN Waterloo Spur is used, which is owned and maintained by the Region of Waterloo, and it is also used by the Goderich-Exeter Railway for freight operations.
SOLRS also owns three diesel locomotives, which are the primary motive power used for their tourist train service between St. Jacobs Farmers' Market Station and the station at Elmira, Ontario. No. 9 is also used frequently on Saturdays and long weekends, and for specially named theme excursions.
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