The caboose looks like it used to be the property of Babcock and Wilcox, which did (still does?) its own switching at its Cambridge plant.
Shon: I believe from an earlier reference, you're a Guelphite. I used to have a studio for five years until 6 months ago on the 'Y' @ Alice St in The Ward. There was an early steel caboose resident on the spur behind 'the old tire factory' @ Huron and Alice. That spur now pulled up about a year back, and the 'kept' caboose gone. That was my first thought when I saw Alex' pic, but you might be right on Babcock and Wilcox one. Guelph also had a CP line running through (with overhead rights on the Guelph Junction, which made a 40% take of all shipping fees CP got from customers served even on their own extension to Goderich.)(No wonder CP let their lease lapse) The track west of Guelph for about a mile is still extant, (and ostensibly now owned by GJR or the City directly, which owns the GJR) then becomes the Kissing Bridge Trail (multi-purpose, as intended for the Dufferin Trail, but *excellent* for cycling, very smooth and fast, albeit getting overgrown fast) @ County 39. Especially now the trail is being opened all the way to Goderich
http://www.g2grailtrail.com/ the last link into Guelph appears as an oddity...so I had to delve on why. Like Orangeville, and a number of other orphaned RoWs, that last remaining 'spur' is more than just a headshunt for the remaining track. In Guelph's case, it's because a good chunk of the land adjacent is owned by Cargill Foods, and they intend to build rail transfer silos.
The G2G wasn't ready when I inquired to one of the trail groups last Summer, it looks like a wonderful trail, my heart raced just viewing the map at that link, plus this one:
http://www.g2grailtrail.com/maps-icon/
I fully intend to do the Dufferin Trail (Called the CP Trail in some communities it runs through) up to Owen Sound when it is finished. If I can get a train ride w/bike in the same trip, so much the better! Rail Trails are not only excellent re-uses of the RoWs, they retain the possibility to reopen the RoW to rail again. One of the most exquisite runs is Cambridge south to Brantford, then the old TH&B into Hamilton, or various RoWs south to Port Dover, or a third RoW from Brantford to Hamilton, lesser known.
Thank you Alex! It's not warm enough to do distance yet, but articles like this get the blood flowing. I've crossed that RoW years back cycling distance down from Orillia west to come south to Toronto. (The Hwy 11/404/400 corridor is to be avoided at all costs when cycling, with few exceptions). And of course, the exquisite Elora-to-Cataract CP branch off the OBRY is now rail-trail. (
http://trailway.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/ECTA-Trail-Map.pdf )
I thought this string topic was a bit odd at first glance, but reading all the comments and the premise, it's a treat.