I live in North york Toronto and I saw a freight passing with cat machines on flats any idea where their from and going to I didn't see off it went into the Vaughan yard.
Spotting earthmoving equipment from any manufacturer on flatcars is not that unusual. It would be difficult to determine origin and destination.
Probably started at Peoria, IL or Creve Couer, IL where CAT loads machinery on the former P&PU for interchange to the Class Ones in town. (Now G&W' Illinois & Midland)....machinery could have come from any of the seven still operating assembly plants in town.
.....no idea where it may be going.
There are CAT plants all across the United States that manufacture and ship some of their equipment by rail. Many of the rail shipments are export movements, but could be almost anything.
If you have the type of equipment and CAT model number, then a better guess can be made.
By the way, John Deere moves lots of machinery by rail, also generally for export. Several of the other heavy machinery manufacturers also ship by rail.
Any gas or oil pipeline construction going on in your area? When there was a major pipeline being put in locally the construction company moved in their equipment by rail.
NYS&W moved what must have been 100 carloads of equipment for that project. Shipment by rail had to be a ton cheaper that trying to contract 100+ tractor trailers to haul those oversize loads.
dh28473 I live in North york Toronto and I saw a freight passing with cat machines on flats any idea where their from and going to I didn't see off it went into the Vaughan yard.
The ID of the Caterpillar machinery is important, but if what you saw was on an eastbound CN freight, it was probably enroute to Halifax and consigned to dealer Toromont Cat of Dartmouth.All large track-type tractors (D11, D10, D9) and some medium track-type tractors (D7, D6) are assembled in East Peoria, Illinois. Pipe-layers are built there as well. The plant is served by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. subsidiary Tazewell & Peoria Railroad (TZPR). BNSF seems to get most outbound Caterpillar machinery loads, but you will see them on Canadian National, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific as well. In the recent past, the Toledo, Peoria & Western has handled them to a CSX connection in Indiana. Amazingly, Iowa Interstate even handled a few (to CSX at Chicago) in 2017. Caterpillar's Montgomery (Aurora), Illinois plant is being phased out, but it produced large and medium wheel loaders, wheel dozers and compactors. It was served by BNSF Railway. The Decatur plant, served by Canadian National, assembles large and medium off-highway mining trucks, wheel tractor scrapers, the largest motor grader model (62M) and those large wheel loaders previously assembled at Aurora. The North Little Rock, Arkansas plant has no rail access, probably because trucks can easily handle shipments of small and medium motor graders and medium wheel loaders. Caterpillar's Victoria, Texas plant assembles hydraulic excavators and is served by Kansas City Southern. Most rail shipments from Caterpillar's rail-served plants are for export. Ports used are Tacoma, Washington (BNSF); Houston, Texas (BNSF or UP), Baltimore, Maryland (CSXT or NS), Portsmouth, Virginia (NS), Savannah, Georgia (NS) and Jacksonville, Florida (CSXT). A few western dealers have rail access. Back when Caterpillar sales were at their peak (March 28, 2012), I caught this Norfolk Southern freight leaving East Peoria with 75 cars, 51 of which were Caterpillar loads that originated at either Aurora or East Peoria.
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