Essex Terminal Railway unveils refurbished heritage locomotive

Author of the article:

Trevor Wilhelm

Essex Terminal Railway Locomotive No.105, which was built in 1956 and has been recently overhauled and repainted, is presented at Windsor Yard on Monday, October 25, 2021. Burton Dauncey, deputy general manager of mechanics at the ‘ETR, does last minute checks before taking him out of the facility. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

Essex Terminal Railway is on track to celebrate its 120th anniversary in operation, and the company marks the milestone by returning its oldest locomotive to service.

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Management surprised staff on Monday by unveiling the newly restored 1956 locomotive.

“It was a big deal for us,” said Michael Semande, chief operating officer of the company. “We wanted to take extra precautions. He was supposed to just come in for the engine’s work to be updated. We have decided to go further in the commemoration of our 120 years. It’s more for our staff and what they do for us on a daily basis. Time doesn’t stop us, so they fight the elements. It was a kind of trophy for all our staff who invested themselves every day for us. “

The company, which transports goods ranging from grain and lumber to wind turbines and dangerous goods, was incorporated in 1902.

To celebrate this anniversary, the company restored No. 105. The SW1200 diesel engine was a state-of-the-art locomotive when it was built in 1956.

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Essex Terminal Railway Locomotive No.105, which was built in 1956 and was recently completely overhauled and repainted, is presented at Windsor Yard on Monday. — Essex Terminal Railway Locomotive No.105, which was built in 1956 and was recently completely overhauled and repainted, is shown at Windsor Yard on Monday. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

It is now updated for the 21st century.

“We replaced the engine, the main engines, basically everything other than the frame and the body,” Semande said. “We also equipped him with GPS and modern technology that he wouldn’t have had in 1956, when he was born.

While preparing it for the future, the company also paid tribute to the locomotive’s past by dressing it in its original green and yellow “heritage” colors.

“We added ‘established in 1902’ next to this one,” Semande said. “It will probably bring back memories to the older generation who saw him come through the community, but also maybe the younger generation who were children who saw him in the 70s and are now adults.”

It took nearly five months and around $ 500,000 to restore the locomotive.

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Burton Dauncey, left, Deputy Chief Engineer, and retired engineer Greg Devreker are shown inside the cabin of Essex Terminal Railway Locomotive No.105 on Monday, which has been completely overhauled and repainted . Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

Despite the scale of the project, the company managed to keep it a secret with only a select few aware of what was going on.

“It was kind of a surprise for everyone,” Semande said. “It was nice to see the cell phones come out as soon as we brought everyone into the engine room, taking a video. One of our assistant chief engineer broke down in tears. He’s been involved a lot and he’s been on the railroad for over 30 years. So it really affects a lot of people who take great pride in operating the railroad. “

But Semande said the locomotive will be more than a centerpiece.

“It’s going to be back in service, hopefully for another 30 or 40 years,” he said.

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It is scheduled to enter service next Monday, making it one of four locomotives running the 54-kilometer Essex Terminal Railway line between East Windsor and Amherstburg.

“It’s definitely important to us as a company,” said Semande. “With the challenges of COVID-19 and the challenges everyone has faced over the years, it’s good that our small business continues to grow.”