The Frontenac Floor & Wall Tile Co. Ltd.

Located just north of CN's Outer Station, this feldspar-receiving tile plant; a single spur, was served by both CN and CP. An early-20th century stock photo of the Frontenac Floor & Wall plant, from a booklet highlighting the local commercial scene (top photo). Note long sign with the name of the plant. This south-side spur appears in other photos, such as this earlier one published in the Whig in 1913: 

In 1913, the city accepted Charles Warwick's request to organize the tile manufacturing company. The company requested a site near the Outer Harbour (the Elliott or Nicholson properties) and a railway spur. The company planned a 300x100-foot building costing $30,000. Planned employment was 60 workers, with completion by July 15, 1913. The city was prepared to give the land to the firm, "beyond GTR Junction", though its value was $3,100 and cost of siding construction would be $2,500. Frontenac finally settled on the Outer Station site, just outside city limit, and another company (Reliance Moulding) was expected in the area soon. At the time, this was the first and only manufacturer of its kind in Canada!

It hosted hopper cars, tank cars and boxcars, perhaps for inbound feldspar and coal, inbound oil or liquid chemicals, and supplies or outbound product, respectively. Points of origin for clay: Florida and England; for feldspar: Ontario.

At time of 1952 strike, a worker lets CN (and CP, on the joint trackage) know that their presence is not welcome right now! (Three photos - Queen’s University Archives):

More views from the strike. It's not all grim picketing on the line. Sometimes, a square dance spontaneously broke out!

The square dancer with the fatigue jacket is back on picket duty, with Gould Battery in the left background:

It was a cold day, and the strikers huddle around a makeshift stove, sheltered from the wind:

Close-up view of tank car GATX 51374:

An interesting history of the Frontenac plant and Richardson family connection, originally written for the Kingston Historical Society's Limelight newsletter, March 2008 issue, by Jennifer McKendry: 

Via Neil Patterson: When driving from Chaffeys to Kingston on the Opinicon Road one passes over a small one-lane cement bridge at the head of Upper Rock Lake. This is not just a bridge over a winding creek, but a dug canal to Stonehouse Lake and the Railway Siding beside the lake. Between 1913 and 1951, over 228, 000 tons of feldspar went up this Canal to be loaded onto rail cars for Frontenac Floor and Wall Tile in Kingston. Frontenac Floor and Wall Tile opened in Kingston by James Richardson and Company who also owned the Rock Lake Feldspar Mine. The mine was opened in 1900 and shipped feldspar to tile plants in Trenton New Jersey. When the tile plant opened in Kingston, the canal was dug to get the ore to the Canadian Northern Railway Line. Prior to the railway, the ore was taken by horse and wagon to the dock on Opinicon Lake at Opinicon Village. Feldspar is used as the glaze on tile and Rock Lake’s blue feldspar made the large tile squares look like marble.  In the first 12 years of the mines operation, about 22,000 tons of ore was transported for shipment out through the Rideau. 

A major fire beset the factory in 1950. (Three photos - Queen's University Archives, George Lilley Fonds V25.5-11-162):

Whig clipping about a fire at the plant on November 25, 1952:

Front office, east-side views:

Aerial view. Note tank car at left on spur.

The plant employed 150 workers and was listed as a division of United Ceramics Lrd. in 1967. It was operated by German interests in 1971. The plant was operated as a branch of distribution company D.A.White from 1972-1979 and beset by a 1977 strike of the 46 workers. At the time, this was the only plant manufacturing ceramic floor and wall tiles in Canada. Reputedly never operating at a profit, the strike was over wages, with union members suggesting the plant operated as a convenient tax write-off for its owners. Now competing with Japan, German and English manufacturers with lower costs. 

In June,1981 the plant was operating as Clinton Ceramic Tile Inc., in conjunction with Pilkington Tiles (Bermuda) Limited. Employing 90 workers, unglazed floor tiles for industrial use were in production, though a new product to be manufactured in a part of the plant not used for 10 years, employing 10-15 new hires. Closing a very few years later, a closing sale was publicized from Augus (Whig ad - below) to December 1989, becoming a demolition sale in February, 1990.

Insurance map views show the expansion of the plant over the decades as new product lines were added and the kilns replaced:

1929 insurance map floorplan

1947 insurance map floorplan

1963 insurance map floorplan

Watch for an upcoming post on modelling this unique operation.

Manuscript! Update! Update! Update!

Time for a quarterly update! I don't think that's overdoing it - an update every three months? The work on my Kingston history manuscript lasted throughout July, wrapping up at the end of that month. Summer  weather and a family wedding intervened. The pace has again picked up. 

I'm pleased to have the valued participation of 'Diesel' Don McQueen, a prolific researcher, author, railfan, historian and photographer who has unique knowledge of the Kingston area. Co-author of Constructed in Kingston, and Canadian National Steam!, Don has contributed photos and a lead-off foreword to this project, and just completed a proofread of my manuscript.

UPDATE to the Update:

Going to the printer for graphic design next week!

THIRD UPDATE:

Proof pdf received from Allan Graphics.  Looks great!

FOURTH UPDATE:

Proofing done. Waiting for a printed proof copy from graphic designer!

Eric

Watching Work on the Waterfront

Taking a look at some of the work that took place at Kingston's shipbuilders, there are a few observations to make about the men who did the work. Depending on the era, that is. In my modelled era ca. 1970, modern occupational health and safety was starting to enter the workplace. 

Before that, there was no protective equipment in use. There may have been more, or fewer, workplace incidents. There may have been better, or worse, treatment of workers and incidents. What these undated photos do show us is the non-descript appearance of the workers' attire and the conditions they worked in. Managers of CD&D (top photo). Note the signage above the building:

In the above photo, note the workers' heavy winter attire, toolbox and wooden 'workbench' being worked on.  Look at the amount of material around this worker:

These three are working together. Cigarettes, again! Caps and gloves are the only protective equipment in view:

There is nothing glitzy or glamorous about the workplaces - muddy, dirty and cramped. Perhaps this speaks to the era, the businesses' fortunes, and what the workers tolerated at that time. It was always close to the water. A scow is being worked on (and watched over) at the Kingston Shipyards in 1951:

(Photos from Queen's University Archives)

I wanted to replicate these workers in scale. My conclusions from the photos were that their appearance needed to be more non-descript, that they needed to be working on something, and that that work needed to be more co-operative due to the large size and nature of the shipbuilding work being performed.

Rounding up some existing painted worker figures, and raiding my military NATO aircrew figures by Esci and Airfix, I was able to find several candidates for my Canadian Dredge & Dock yard. First, I removed their cumbersome bases - always in the way for photos! I've tried different techniques for base-less figures - thin paper bases, small styrene bases, transparent bases, even installing cut-off straight pins into their legs that can be stuck into the layout. All techniques to enable the figures to be moved from scene to scene.

In painting the figures, I used blue, green, black, grey and brown. The colours were sometimes mixed to show shadows. Overalls were dirtied and sometimes the results were very non-descript. 

To save unsightly bases, I decided to give these workers something to do. They are semi-permanently glued to whatever they are building (below and top photo):

Turning Driftwood Into Limestone

                                       

On a recent lakefront walk, I found an interesting-looking piece of driftwood, perhaps cedar. Examining the side of the driftwood, it reminded me of an exposed limestone outcrop. I brought it home to install on my layout. The top photo shows the finished product. This photo shows the as-discovered driftwood:

I thought of making use of both long vertical surfaces of the driftwood by sawing it in two. Being fragile, that might not have ended well. Instead, I found a location entering the layout room, where both sides would be visible:

I got out the craft paints, mixing and diluting to get the desired look. It's worth noting that limestone rockfaces can be anywhere from brown to greenish-blue to grey, depending on the length of time of exposure to the elements.

Having covered all surfaces, a central Robertson pre-drilled screw held the driftwood securely to the layout!

To integrate the driftwood, er, limestone outcrop into the layout, I got out my three bags of large, medium and small sifted limestone, from local roadsides including the VIA station parking lot! Talk about modelling local!

Gluing down some matching rocks, adding in some smaller ones at the periphery and covering up that screw!

Some dollar-store modelling clay added some outcrop extensions:

The opposite end:

The top photo shows some added saplings and ground cover. The CN roadmaster comes out to take a look at the new location!

A Mighty Wind! meets the Davis Tannery (and the Ferry!)

One of Kingston's most controversial buildings, the Davis Tannery was located on the Inner Harbour between the slow-moving water, smelter, and its own smelly business. I would not have wanted to be downwind! 

In its waning years, the polluted effluent from the plant resulted in one of Kingston's worst brownfield sites. Controversial then, its redevelopment is still controversial today.

Only recently did I connect the Davis damage to a harbour story (see below). I'd originally tracked down the story by checking weather reports for northern New York for this day in January! That allowed me to write a more informed captioned for my first book on Kingston's waterfront.

The lettering on the north side of the tannery is shown in the above line drawing. Eastern Ontario was savaged by 70 mph winds, wreaking havoc along the waterfront, demolishing this wooden building. The Davis Tannery, boldly lettered “Davis & Son, Leather Manufacturers” is visible in this view from Rideau Street. This photo was taken January 15, 1950. (Queen’s University Archives, George Lilley Fonds, V25.5-11-103) Some serious structural destruction, and there's that lettering!

There's more to this story! The winds not only damaged buildings on land, but also interrupted Wolfe Island ferry service, pushing the Wolfe Islander off its usual course! The Whig made it a front page story on January 14, 1950, profiling some of the damage that seemed particularly pronounced in the downtown and the waterfront. Captain Brian Johnson of Wolfe Island ferry fame has written about that night with excerpts from the Whig's coverage. Brian begins his story with a grabber, not just dull facts. In a recently-released podcast, he discusses why this is an optimal way to start such a story! 

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)