Third Crossing West Shore - Then and Now

As the city's Third Crossing across the Great Cataraqui River comes close to completion, the project's final steps are being publicized. The above image shows the current drone view of Montreal Street, with the new John Counter Boulevard cutting across the aerial view and leading to the west bridge approaches. Having just traversed this area on foot, I enjoyed the challenge of marking approximately where the CN Kingston Subdivision mainline (yellow dots) and Hanley Spur (red dots) once ran. The 1974 mainline realignment between Montreal and Division Streets is just visible at the extreme right. 

Contrast that with the sparsely-populated circa 1948 aerial view by George Lilley (Queen's University Archives photo) that also shows Elliott Avenue cutting across the former Outer Station alignment, with Montreal Street heading to the left and the Hanley Spur just east of it near the river. The city limits end just inside the curve, prior to four waves of annexation of the former Kingston Township.

That CN mainline curve was sharp and speed-limiting. Those seeing the current view and trying to imagine what it used to look like face a real challenge!

Outer Station Enhancements

Re-jigging the Montreal Street segment of my Hanley Spur turned streetscape into more opportunity to add structures and spurs. One of these was enhancements to the Outer Station. Confined to the highly-recognizable 1855 limestone Grand Trunk station, I could only represent the breezeway and 1895 brick station minimally (below). I made a paper cutout of the available space (top photo) and began deciding how much of the other two parts of the station I could represent.

Having mapped out the space available, I used an existing structure, formerly part of the Rutland, VT Howe Scale complex. It was too high, too wide and had no windows. I rectified all that, with prototype photos at hand:

Originally red brick, modernization took placei n the 1960's and the wartime breezeway was an essential part of handling increased passenger loads in all weather. I used Tupperware to gauge the height of all three structures:

I added roofing to the 1895 station - largely Cox Big Pine Lumber Co. shed roofs. The prototype was shingled, but until I get adequate shingle paper, this black-is-the-new-yellow material will work. Working in the sunroom with beverages at hand:

The 1895 station is done, the breezeway is not done.Test-fit on the layout (below). After assessing this photo, the angle of its roof is wrong, therefore the legs and roof (well, that's almost the whole thing!) had to be redone.

Breezeway improved. Signage added, along with train order signal, smoke jack, downspouts and repainting of doors and windows. I realized by accident that if some grey paint was scraped off, the underlying brick finish would show through. Outdoor photography at sunset:

There were two prototype phone booths on the far side of the breezeway nearest the 1895 station. Why model one if it will be unseen? So I did model one, and placed it more prominently! Now, to pave the parking lot and put up this paradise!

 

Homeless in Kingston

Today's municipal government grapples with providing services to Kingston's homeless. Whether it be sleeping cabins or the Integrated Care Hub, it's a perplexing challenge. But not a new one. In fact, there have been unhoused individuals in Kingston for decades, even centuries. Tents, tarpaper shacks, tenements and even boarding houses served as temporary homes, often sadly unsanitary and dilapidated. On my layout, with new space in the Rideau Street/Montreal Street area opening up, I decided to represent these down-on-their-luck men in scale. I hasted to add this is neither a sensational nor a 'cute' approach to this vexing subject in scale. As with everything else in my modelled locale, I approach this project with one goal - realism.

As with the prototype, these shelters were produced with whatever was at hand: styrene, cardstock, detail parts, glue and paint. I kept them small and rough, often open to the elements. As with other scenes on the Hanley Spur, I'm a big fan of sitting figures. If one sees a figure crossing the street...does he ever get to the other side? Meanwhile, figures can 'sit' all day and not be seen to move for hours. I made four shelters as well as firewood and a burn barrel, a washtub, as well as incorporating a stray dog, 

Posed in the natural light and on the layout (two photos above), I positioned the shelters and figures among the ruins of the ex-industry I just emplaced:

Their position is far from final, as they can be picked up, split up, moved, and replaced in any location. I will likely move them occasionally, thus modelling the nomadic nature of the prototype. As I hinted at in the introduction, this issue is not always black-and-white. These are proud men who may not be proud of their present circumstances, and additional vegetation may hide them from prying eyes.

This figure, actually a pilot from a model airplane kit, represents the health challenges plaguing homeless individuals. Though manufactured without legs to fit in the 1:72 cockpit, he accurately reflects an individual suffering from peripheral vascular disease, perhaps secondary to diabetes (below). Though it looks as if he has found a soothing stream to sit by, this also represents health hazards - effluent from the nearby tannery.

I endeavoured to give the shelters a 1970's feel, so there are no blue tarps, camping tents, mountain bikes or other modern-day accessories. As a former colleague once put it, poverty is one thing to talk about, but quite another when it's staring you in the face. Though I wish the layout could represent an ideal world, I appreciate the challenges of modelling the real world -  specifically a gritty part of town that gets little other attention, whether it be in scale or at the Council horseshoe.

Modelling an Ex-Industry

Have you heard of a deconstructed pie? It's made so the crust is not necessarily where you'd find it - in fact, it may top the pie filling! That's what was on my mind as I demolished this local industry as I built it! Wanting to fill this yawningly large space - formerly a Montreal Street scene but now between th Outer Station and tannery, I'm moving the Outer Station, the CN telegraph repeater station, CN Express and now an ex-industry to make effective use of the space:

Close-up of the planning process in action!

A shopping list of what might have graced the newly-available real estate:

Besides pie, I was thinking of K-D Manufacturing, a Montreal Street industry that remains as a weedgrown field of foundations. I decided to model a former industry, one that had long since left. I needed a foundation, and found a neat graphic while searching online:

I assembled the elements, gluing the two graphics to a piece of foamcore.

I cut out some pieces, intending to make a three-dimensional effect. I painted the edges of the foamcore, and glued the cutouts and the whole foamcore piece to a piece of thin styrene:

Here's that three-dimensional effect of broken concrete, along with some residual walls taking shape:

I added some girders and wall remnants to the foundation, along with assembling some details:

Details added:

On the layout, now to scenick it into the scene!

Oriented and scenicked in:

Changes are coming to the Outer Station!

Walking Montreal and Maple Streets, July 2022

On my annual mission to Krown Rust Kontrol, I walked while waiting. Heading up Montreal Street, I first passed the Grand Trunk Terrace on Cassidy Street (top photo). The view west from the rock cut under Montreal Street overpass is now well-forested, no longer a limestone wasteland:

Things have grown in a bit since 1976: 

Old and new at John Counter Boulevard, formerly Elliott Avenue:

A few houses on Maple Street:

The view from John Counter of Presland Iron and Steel, with buildings that housedseveral former owners

Views of Presland from Maple Street:

Until this situation is resolved, the City of Kingston might as well drop anything in its marketing that mentions history. When the trees growing through the original footprint of the circa 1855 Outer Station are taller than the chimneys, this is a travesty of history:

Former telegraph poles that one lined the mainline, just behind the former CN repeater station:

 

A desperately disparate view of the connected 1855 and 1895 Outer Station buildings. (Photo above from Queen's University Archives). Needless to say, I returned to Krown slowly shaking my head.

Archiving the Queen's University Archives

In an October 11, 1968 Whig article, the Queen's University Archives are profiled. Housed at the time in the Douglas Library, the Archivist at the time was John H. Archer and his assistant, Ian Wilson. Along with Wilson, Rose Mary Gibson is pictured with archival documents. At that time, the Archives had been preserving documents for 100 years, with their first acquisition - Fort Niagara's 1812-1813 Orderly Book!

By 1968, the Archives' main areas of preservation were University archives, as well as those of business, political, religious and literary spheres. And a 'mountain of material' had already been amassed. Those are some hoary-looking books (right). They're captioned as 'old record books' in the article! Even at this time, it was known that 70 degrees Fahrenheit, 50% humidity and acid-free containers were optimal for archival storage.

The 'young archivist' is shown examining the Queen's University Charter, and when interviewed, hoped that the archives would become a depository for Kingston-area businesses' records. Not only would the Archives preserve documents for posterity, they would alleviate the strain on the companies of retaining files. Interestingly, it was Ian Wilson who found himself in the loft of an ancient storage shed on Ontario Street in the summer of 1968, just a few months before this article was published. There, he sorted through several tons of poorly-preserved Kingston Shipyards records. At that time, the shipyards were closing. The result was R2246, the Kingston Shipyards Collection - a useful supplement to the main records of the company that resided in Collingwood, ON. 

A debt of gratitude should go to these behind-the-scenes preservationists. It is through their efforts that modern-day researchers can step back into the past.

Survey Vessel Jean Bourdon

 

With signal flags flying, the Canadian Coast Guard survey vessel Jean Bourdon was launched from the Kingston Shipyards' marine railway on March 30, 1968. Deposited into the ice-choked harbour (top photo), the 67-foot, twin-screw vessel cost $324,640. The survey vessel was destined for service in the St. Lawrence River.

Take a look at those two workers, one wielding a cutting torch under the ceremonial christening platform! That's where the real action is taking place!

Dignitaries, including a member of the clergy at far right, shipyard manager R.W. Sutton at far left, and sponsor Mrs. Maurice Boudreau, wife of superintendent of operations and maintenance for St. Lawrence ship channel division, Montreal are on the platform.

Named for the New France surveyor who hydrographically explored the St. Lawrence as early as 1645, After the launching, the workers are gone from underneath while the dignitaries enjoy the moment:

(Photos in this post from Queen's University Archives)