Then & Now at Kingston Shipyards

A recent stroll around the Lower Union Street dock and the former Kingston Shipyards site reminded me of some earlier views. Vestiges of the marine railway exist (below), with this concrete boat ramp lined with rails still, and a yard-long piece of rail among the rocks in the water. The wooden minesweeper HMCS Resolute is launched (top photo) on June 20, 1953 with a tugboat standing by. (Queen's University Archives, George Lilley fonds, V25.5-31-25-1)

Private yacht Sirocco is launched on May 14, 1959 (below) with invited guests on a platform spanning the marine railway. Another vessel or scow visible at the shipyards at left (Queen's University Archives, George Lilley fonds, V25.5-25-55)

Part of the Shoreline Route waterfront trail now, the modern-day trail-walkers likely have no idea there was a large shipyard building outside which these vessels took shape before launching down the ways. Vessels larger than kayaks! There is little interpretation at the site. The city hopes to make this a deepwater dock to lure cruise-ship traffic. (Get going on it now, while there are no cruise-ships travelling the Lakes!)

A reverse view, from the shipyards launchways over to the marine railway. Large timbers and pipes still line the shoreline where corvettes and other vessels entered the lake:

Lyall Scott Dougan's pilot house pre-dated the parkland here, shown in the early-1970's along with signage for the City water intake suction pipe (below). The advent of the Seaway meant that the shipping channel was on the American side of the St. Lawrence; few ships in the immediate area needing pilotage.

One more view from the marine railway, showing the former Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at background left, the ever-present skyline-sucking condos and the launchways remnants:

The corvette HMCS Napanee was launched at the same location on August 31, 1940. A capacity crowd lined the waterfront for the occasion (Queen's University Archives, George Lilley fonds, V25.5-45-43).

I was able to do a picture-in-picture representation of the RCMP's Fort Resolute being built at the Shipyards in July 1958, overlaid with the current apartments:

Putting out an A.P.B. (Archives Photo Bulletin!)

 

Perusing the above list, it's a checklist of things people don't photograph. Places that are so ubiquitous and commonplace that no-one thinks to snap a photo. They'll always be there! 

If I had to create a list of what is not to be found in the Queen's University Archives, my list would largely overlap their published list, above. Trying to find more than an occasional, documentary view of Kingston's waterfront industries is indeed....trying. The Canadian Locomotive Co. is an exception - fortunately its archives are preserved in Kingston and in Ottawa. Besides that, there are lots of limestone houses and family photographic pedigrees. But what did people do all day for their livelihoods? 

Businesses changed hands frequently. So one photo does not preserve all! Basic streetscapes tell us so much as a given snapshot in time - buildings, vehicles, people, the times in both economic and social terms.

So I'll do my part to dig, delve and document that which the Archives has had trouble finding!

Presland Iron & Steel on Maple Street

A drive down maple Street netted me this discrete but well-designed logo that I can use on my Hanley Spur layout (top photo). Presland is built onto the former Gould Storage Battery building between Maple Street and John Counter Boulevard (formerly Elliott Avenue). The travelling crane was moving a few small pieces around:

It's a tangled web in the trees back here. The remnants of Frontenac Floor and Wall Tile are near here, as are a few houses and a body shop. 

At the north end of the travelling crane, we can see the north side of the former Gould building:

The south end of the travelling crane shows the photogenic south side of the former Gould building, often photographed!

Here's that southern exposure from the west side. Check out those interesting oval-top windows! And the retro signage! Well, it wasn't retro in August, 1950. (Queen's University Archives, George Lilley Fonds, V25.5-13-49)

A chequered history. The building's prior owners, from Kingston Insurance maps and other sources:

• Reliance Moulding, 1914 (manufacturing among other things, signal flag poles in WWI)
• Dominion Webbing, 1933
• Presland owned by Preston family since 1970

The east end of the south side. The metal-clad building is where the Presland covered travelling crane now operates. Taken during a strike at Frontenac Floor and Wall Tile in March, 1952. (Queen's University Archives, George Lilley Fonds, V25.5-18-43)

This January, 1948 aerial view shows my route: east along Counter, south on Maple, then east, and eventually to Cassidy Street. Today there is little remaining evidence of Frontenac Floor and Wall Tile's presence (bottom left). (Queen's University Archives, George Lilley Fonds, V25.6-1-14)

Wandering Wellington Street

I had a wee whim to wander Wellington Street and to ponder a while what used to be here. Some elements remain and that's what tends to anchor anachronistic assumptions about what was, once upon a time. The Bajus Brewery basked in the afternoon sun (top photo) and I noticed that top-floor loading door has been turned into someone's balcony, though the barrels remain set into the wall!

Looking east to Anglin Bay, from the city parking lot I could see where oil tankers (left) and coal boats (right) would have docked to unload their combustible cargoes.

Those bollards! (above) The Dry Dock shares some signage:

And that 70-ton crane that was grounded from a Canadian Dredge & Dock vessel towers over two recent additions to the MetalCraft Marine fleet, built at CD&D's former site:

All derricks are not alike, and I don't think this Derrick No 7 matches the above one. Built at Kingston in 1939, she appears to be lifting the Bajus Brewery in this photo which is a panoramic view of where I was photographing the current scene:

The Imperial Oil warehouse is starting to take shape again, its roof gone but its walls and window openings looking more 'square'. Queen City Oil Co.'s limestone has some life left in it yet!

A Queen Street view of RMC's clock tower which I may be incorporating into a scenic backdrop on the layout!

At the Top of the Hanley Spur

There's a rather non-descript shed just off Montreal Street, south of what was Elliott Avenue. Used as a maintenance/storage building for the nearby Village on the River apartments, it has an interesting past. It used to be served by a trailing-point CN spur heading down the Hanley Spur, witness two CN boxcars spotted there in June, 1957, with a sign reading Chown Limited Warehouse No 3:

The lettering says Chown Limited - a downtown hardware store. This Don McQueen photo shows another building in the same area - east of Cassidy Street - once also served by a CN spur trailing-point CN spur heading up the Hanley Spur. It's 1959, and it's the A.McLean & Son Wholesale Grocers operation:

The building is referred to by other owners i.e. Canfor, I. Cohen on CN car control schematic diagram listings.This Googlemaps view shows the building (yellow star), the Hanley Spur's former alignment (yellow line, from which the Chown spur diverged) and pre-realignment Kingston Sub mainline (red line):

August 2021 UPDATE: I returned to the site on foot to get a few detail photos of the north side and doors. I later realized that the S-shaped entrance road to Village on the River is where the former Hanley Spur approached the mainline, having passed behind the line of houses on Montreal Street.

Anglin Coal Truck and CD&D Hull Projects

A trip to Dollarama yesterday had me looking for some modelling ideas. I've been looking for some coal trucks for my Anglin/Sowards coal dealership. This Hot Wheels 'Mooneyes' VW Beetle pickup caught my eye. It wasn't until I got it out of the box

I don't want you to think I'm cheap. Because I am. I just don't want you to think I am. But why pay more? First steps were removing the motorboat superstructure screws to release the hull, to which I added lots of styrene sprues and other under-construction might-have-beens. I'm no marine architect, as you can see. The Hot Wheels got a little less 'hot' with some primer, as well!

Two views of the finished product. A couple of Canadian Dredge & Dock workers are puzzling over my propulsion system. Hull number chalked on the bow:

Becoming a coal truck, the first thing was to apply correct Anglin colours. Red can and yellow box. But what about that under-part? I couldn't decide, so one side got black paint, the other red! I dug some less 'hot' wheels out of my Vehicle Wheels box. Much more truck-like!

Here's the passenger side with lettering made in Microsoft Word. Until I get a sophisticated printer or decals, these will do for now.

Driver side:

Box filled with coal. The rest of the coal fleet is at right - these are weathered Life-Like trucks.

And the boat is now in the dry-dock at CD&D!

Stern view!

On the Shoulders of Giants

While I don't intend to do a lot of blogging about my Kingston-based manuscript, while looking over some articles from the 70's (that's both the 1970's and the 1870's), I realized that there were two giants that had come to mind. (It was the great Isaac Newton who said that if he had seen farther than other men, it was due to standing on the shoulders of giants.)

In my case, it was Kingston's most illustrious citizen, one Sir John A Macdonald who served in the Frontenac Militia during the 1837 Rebellion, was instrumental in the establishment of Queen's University, championed local civic, religious and charitable causes and was successfully re-elected in ten consecutive provincial and federal elections. He was Kingston's most illustrious citizen, by far. In this morning's paper, I read about some misguided efforts to erase the man from our history. Sad!

Then there was this snippet about Mel Easton, Kingston's most ardent chronicler of the Kingston & Pembroke Railway. Clearly, it was from a time when downtown bookshops were flourishing, and I visited them regularly as a youngster. I took the snippet as a pinch of inspiration!

Manuscript!

Well, I've started work on my seventh book! Unlike the first four on VIA Rail, or the next two on my trips West, this one is in line with my Model & Railfan Local in 2020 initiative!

The manuscript for this book is now underway. Under some as-yet unknown title and format, it will combine all the things that make Kingston's railway operations so interesting!

After getting inspired reading about Sir John A. Macdonald's many contributions to Kingston last night, it seems like Canada Day is the perfect time to share this good news. 

Stay tuned for more!

-Eric