New Embankment Scenery at the Interchange

Can't see the forest for the trees? Well, that's part of the idea. On this part of the layout, there are four parallel tracks: CP lead and siding, CN lead and siding. Usually, two or three of them are full of cars or a standing train. It looks very....congested. So I wanted to break up the scene visually. After all, several sections of the CN and CP waterfront trackage are surrounded by berms, embankments and vegetation. The best example that comes to mind is the former mainline curve between Elliott Avenue east to the Outer Station. I decided to place an embankment between the two CN and the two CP tracks. A recent purchase of a $5 bag of homemade wire-armature trees at the March Napanee Train Sale was a great bargain. Though pressed flat, I managed to "unwind" some of the branches and place them in front of the CN tracks (above) and in front of the CP tracks (below). An HO-scale hobo was quick to set up his shack.

I'm deficient at taking and posting in-progress photos. I am usually too focussed on completing the task rather than stopping in mid-project to take a photo! Here's a much earlier view of the same scene. For years, I had wood-cutting taking place in the 100% flat/boring area in which I made the embankment:

An overhead view of the new embankment, with two CN tracks at left, and two CP tracks at right:

I also planted a pole line. It's amazing how much our eyes 'tune out' such mundane, though prototypical mid-scene things like telegraph poles. I would never attempt wires on them, but they do help make the scene. Using wood makes the addition of trees and poles as easy as drilling a quick hole. It's important, though, not to remove the drill until ready to place the item. In the midst of all that green, the hole quickly 'disappears' from view!

The embankment consists of two few-inch sections of 1x2 pine lumber. I screwed them to the plywood benchwork, adding some humps and bumps with modelling clay. Then I cut and white-glued 'fairy mat', sold in 1 square-foot sections at Michaels for gnome gardens. I call it the poor man's static-grass! Final touches are some limestone chunks and trees, shrubs and ground foam spread around in white glue. Note the usual lack of ballast, perhaps cinders. If I feel keen, I may cut and glue a few limestone outcrops into the embankment.

The CN Hanley Spur section forces have come to take a look.

The berm regularly provides a backdrop for inbound/outbound cars on the CN interchange siding (right) and spurs (left) loosely modelled on the same tracks along Counter Street (CN Queens). Just a place to stash and display cars on the layout. I really like the look of the area now, wishing I had improved the scene sooner!

Causeway Repair Detours, 1967

It was rainy on Friday, April 7, 1967. Kingston police constable Garry Weir was detailed to direct traffic away from the Lasalle Causeway. Dominion Bridge Ltd. was performing maintenance on the bridge and was a couple of hours late meeting its planned 36-hour work window. The lift mechanism on the west end of the bridge was being replaced by a crew of ten for $100,000. Only one of these photos, the one below, made it to page 1 of the Whig that day. (Queen's University Archives, Kingston Whig-Standard Fonds, V142.4-128)

The top photo looks back toward City Hall, with Fort Frontenac at left, the Public Utilities Commission office building at right,  the site of Kingston Police Headquarters beginning built by T.A. Andre and Sons in 1971. At extreme right is the Kingston Public Transit System car barns. 

The next three photos show the opposite view, toward the causeway. This one had a bit too much car in it, so was edited out:

This one is j-u-s-t right. There's no car blocking the view, and we can see CP cars spotted in the tracks on Place d'Armes with Sowards Coal yard office visible at right. Behind the sign, the dredges and cranes of Canadian Dredge & Dock can just be seen.

Kingston Historical Society Presentation

If you had told me five years ago that I'd be making a presentation on Kingston's history to the very group mandated to foster and maintain interest in the history and heritage of the City of Kingston and its environs, I would have doubted it would ever happen. Everything about the Kingston Historical Society seemed to focus away from where my interest lies. The lives of successful local figures, wealthy families and opulent King Street houses and their storied legacies were not my thing.

But it was the kind invitation to make a presentation to the Society, by Programme co-ordinator Dr. Duncan MacDowall that set me on a different course (my efforts at research and modelling on my Hanley Spur layout had not gone unnoticed). A course that led me to the impressive Kingsbridge Retirement Community venue on the evening of March 20. I was there to present my 90-slide PowerPoint-accompanied talk, "Two Miles, Two Railways, Two Tracks....to Obscurity?"

I was welcomed by Paul Van Nest (Membership and Web Host for the evening), Duncan (introduction, question period), Peter Gower (publications). I had met Peter previously, when we were both Kingston Whig-Standard community editorial board members. Paul and his wife Sharon knew my Mom and Dad through a church connection. Kingston really is a big small town, after all! I recognized Speaker Peter Milliken and the Rev. Bruce Cossar in the audience, as well as fellow rail enthusiasts Graham Oberst and Kurt Vollenwyder and Inner Harbour champion Mary Farrar! I didn't have a chance to meet President Paul Charbonneau, former Frontenac Paramedic Services Chief, my son's now-retired boss. Duncan noted the impressive turn-out in the room (50 attendees) and on Zoom (20 tuned in).

Everything went flawlessly. Refreshments were available, the technology co-operated, and the podium was positioned so I could easily see the Zoom/room and screen, with a nice microphone to boot. The carpeted room had comfy chairs, each with a small table and at least one attendee catnapped covertly after the lights were dimmed, as one might when feeling at home. 

Duncan kindly introduced me, thankfully failing to elaborate on my sung rendition of the Canadian Railroad Trilogy! He fielded questions from the room afterwards, and we had something of a tag-team microphone rapport. There was much to discuss, and I was in a setting in which I felt I could talk with kindred spirits, perhaps for hours! It was great to meet and chat with several audience members, and to sell a few copies of my second book.

Fellow author Steven Manders and I talked about today's book market. Dave McCallum and I might just have established a connection with Joe Quattrocchi about produce shipments by rail! A better link to my website would have helped, but via three emails, Mark Logan now has my blog address.

Before long, the evening wrapped up with the presentation to me on behalf of the Society by Duncan of a generous Novel Idea bookstore gift card and a treasured memento Martello-tower pin that I will use judiciously and treasure, respectively. 

Here are links to Peter's write-up for the Society's Limelight newsletter and the March 20 presentation video on Youtube.

My thanks to Duncan, Peter and Paul and all KHS members for recognizing the role railways have played in Kingston's history, and for inviting me to share my small part in fostering and maintaining interest in that connection. 

CLC Diesel Day Newspaper Ads

On August 1, 1951 the Kingston Whig-Standard printed a special section to mark Diesel Day, a celebration at the Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC). On that day, every space around City Hall was filled with cheering crowds as CLC celebrated the completion of its first Confederation (C-Liner) locomotives as part of an order for Canadian Pacific.

This post features several ads conveying good wishes from suppliers as well as notable Kingston businesses. A large full-page ad included the names of some smaller businesses (top photo). Many of the Kingston businesses can be found on my Hanley Spur layout: the Davis Tannery, S. Anglin, the Kingston Shipyards, Canadian Dredge & Dock, Dyeco, Gould Batteries, the Woolen Mill, James Richardson and Sowards Coal.

The full-page version of the multi-business ad:

CLC-built CNR 9000-9001

Tuesday, November 20, 1928: CNR 9000 left the Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC) plant on Ontario Street for its trial run east toward Brockville, perhaps as far as Coteau, QC. Newspaper reports beamed brightly: "A new epoch for CNR locomotive production" and "revolutionize...locomotive design on this continent"! Fifty-eight years later, Canada Post would feature the revolutionary locomotive(s) on a stamp (top photo).

Supervising the move were CNR Chief of Motive Power C.E. Brooks, CLC General Manager William Casey, Canadian Westinghouse Company's J.C. Wilson, among others. CNR Vice-President, Operations S.J. Hungerford was expected at some point along the intended route.

Shrouded in secrecy during its prior year-long construction, the new locomotive slipped out of the plant at 0700 on that Tuesday morning. A slight delay occurred when two freight cars were found obstructing the 9000's way north to Kingston's Outer Station. Quickly accomplishing the switching, the electric bell rang and diesel exhaust emanated ecstatically from its engine compartment.

Waiting at the Outer Station was a test train: a business car for the officials accompanying the train, a dynamometer car with instrumentation for testing en route, and a caboose. As 9000 backed in and coupled onto the waiting test train, engineer H.P. Palmer, replete with new overalls, he received the highball from conductor R. Ferguson and the train departed eastward at 0723. Wouldn't it be great to have photos of this special movement in the Kingston area? The run at low-speed to Brockville was deemed successful, and the train continued on to Montreal, reaching 65 mph!

Planned service for the single completed unit between Belleville and Brockville would be followed by a publicity tour when 9001 was released by CLC. Promised 12-hour operation without refuelling must have seemed like rocket-science during the steam era, when the care and feeding of steam engines consumed so many man-hours. An overall weight of 650,000 pounds with a tractive effort of 100,000 pounds upon acceleration. Carried onboard were 8,000 pounds of fuel oil and 11,000 pounds of boiler water providing six to twelve hours heat depending on outside temperature.

Design was by CNR engineering staff, oil engines by William Beardmore Co. Ltd. of Glasgow. Electrical generators and associated equipment from Canadian Westinghouse. CNR's previous experience with oil-electric propulsion began with CN 15820's Montreal-Vancouver trip in 1925.

The second 'half' 9001 was accepted by CNR in April, 1929. On August 26 [not September 26 per the ad below] of that year, the paired locomotive led the second section of CNR's International Limited from Montreal to Toronto. Kingston Mayor W.H. Craig met the train at the Outer Station. At the time, CLC officials proudly noted that the premier locomotives' power exceeded that of CNR 6100's, also built by CLC and at the time the largest locomotives in the British Empire!

There are lots of print and online sources on these revolutionary locomotives, so a complete history is beyond the scope of this Kingston-related post. They operated for two years together before they were separated for eight years and famously became the nucleus of a wartime armoured train, used sporadically on the West Coast. The motive power for the armoured train was 9000, with 9001 cannibalized as a parts source. Even Grenada got into the stamp-issuing act:

On August 1, 1951 CLC celebrated Diesel Day - its first production run of new C-liner cab locomotives for CP. An entire Whig special section was dedicated to the celebration, complete with ads from notable local businesses congratulating CLC, three of which featured 9000-9001:

Boarding a Troop Train at Place d'Armes, 1950

These remarkable photos that I discovered in the (Queen's University Archives, George Lilley Fonds V25.5-14-6) show a rare troop train embarking Canadian soldiers at Kingston. At the time I photographed them, as negatives, I had absolutely no information on what was happening and why. I knew the date the photo was taken in November, 1950 and that was all. There were far too many passenger cars (including sleeping cars) to be any regular CP passenger train! Notice the skylights of the Millard & Lumb building at top right (top photo), and officers checking in the arriving troops.

The photos actually show some of the 300 RCCS, RCEME, RCE and RCASC troops boarding a special six-plus car train at Place d'Armes on November 13, 1950. Part of the Commonwealth Korean brigade, the Special Force members were boarding one of two Kingston troop trains on a four-day trip to Fort Lewis, WA to undergo advanced training. In all, there would be 22 special trains taking the 10,000-man volunteer force, augmented by 1,000 regulars, to Washington. From there 1,000 would leave for Korea by the end of the month.  Four trains with the 2 PPCLI left Edmonton, with more taking 2 RCHA from Camp Shilo, MB.

After embarking in Kingston, where the troops had been stationed since early summer, the officers and senior NCOs would bed down in sleeper berths, with other ranks in tourist sleepers. Each train was supplied with two diners. What looks like the roof of the Bajus Brewery is just visible above the train, near centre (above). This marching unit is equipped with greatcoats against the weather. Did they walk all the way down the hill from Barriefield?

Boarding of the of the khaki-clad troops was in a wet snow, with families of any local soldiers exchanging farewells. As the first train pulled out, the RCCS Band played 'Auld Lang Syne'. Later, the RCEME Band played the jaunty 'There's Something About a Soldier' while the second train boarded. Seeing the troops off were Lt.-Col. J.R. Dunlop commanding the RCEME school, Lt.-Col. C.A. Peck commanding the Signals school and Lt.-Col. T.E. Sisson, assistant adjutant and quartermaster general, area headquarters. The Morris Coal Co. building is visible at right, with its nearby coal yard at Place d'Armes and Ontario St. until 1960. That homburg-wearing fellow at left, standing by the train's steel van, looks for all the world like a plainclothes railway policeman, and the van was likely to be his ride! Porters and trainmen for the train are up at the next vestibule.

Some of the troops are armed, with a mix of rifles and Sten guns. It's tough to determine what the circular patch on their left arms represents - likely denoting Canada's contribution to the Commonwealth brigade. Since this was prior to the accession of Queen Elizabeth, the Tudor crown of King George would be part of the insignia. Also worn are unit shoulder flashes. I zoomed in on the negative to find the New York Central oval, and the adjacent Canadian Pacific 'Spans the World' logo on the mini-box CP 240922 (below).

I have to wonder about the routing this train took - presumably up the K&P line to the CP mainline to Toronto. The cars are clearly those of Canadian Pacific. I wonder which steam locomotive led, because the diminutive D4's normally operating into Kingston would have a tough time lifting these steel passenger cars up the grade north of Kingston! 

I wanted to ascertain which tracks were in use for the embarkation, so  I checked out Snapshot Kingston'a 1966 aerial image (below). You'll notice that George Lilley has an elevated viewpoint for his photos. I believe he was on the CP loading ramp and I've marked his photo angles, approximately, with yellow arrows. The troop train is parked on the westernmost CP spur (between the red arrows) with the spur holding the (B)oxcars, the (M)illard & (L)umb building, and the foundation of the (M)orris Coal Co. building, both visible in the photos above. Indeed, in the top photo, Lilley has turned back toward Place d'Armes, catching the Millard & Lumb building in the background. It appears, based on all this, that the train was parked as close to the military base as possible, almost to Place d'Armes and Ontario Street.

Unfortunately, on November 21, just eight days later, one of the many troop trains en route to Washington state collided with an eastbound Canadian National passenger train at Canoe River, B.C. more than 300 miles west of Edmonton. Twenty 2 RCHA troops from Camp Shilo, MB perishing in the wreck with 58 injured. The cause of the wreck was a miscommunication in setting up a meet between the two trains.

As a technical note on preservation, the value of having access to original news photo negatives in the Queen's University Archives is reinforced, considering the alternative. This clipping that appeared in the November 14, 1950 Whig is so muddy as to be virtually uninterpretable, and it's severely cropped to fit the columns available. It's almost impossible to pick out even the coarsest detail, unlike Lilley's crystal-clear photos!

I feel very fortunate to have had access to the Archives' incredible holdings, and through the sale of my books on Kingston's industrial waterfront, to contribute monetarily in a small way to their valiant and valuable efforts.

Swing Bridge across Anglin Bay

In January, 1857, under the Committee on Railways (alternatively referred to as the Railroads & Improvements Committee or simply the Railroad Committee) [Sir] John A. Macdonald arranged with the Crown for access for a railway across the marsh at Anglin Bay, described in the press of the time as a 'loop line'. An estimate of costs to construct a swing bridge (?drawbridge) would be required, to be positioned at the middle of the embankment across the small bay's mouth (top photo - blue circle in close-up of Brosius map of 1875).

In February of that year, Messrs. McFarlane, McCutchen and Anglin had concerns and tried to prevent the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) embankment to the swing bridge. It was felt that the embankment would block Anglin Bay, thereby causing waste water in the area to stagnate. Already shallow and murky, the water in the semi-circular bay was thought to cause ague (malaria) and lake fever (cholera) outbreaks annually.

Published in the Kingston Whig-Standard May 7, 1859, a case was heard involving the difficulty of accessing the Anglin wharf due to the position of the Grand Trunk Railway swing bridge. North winds made passage into Anglin Bay especially challenging. The track made the wharf nearly valueless, the openings being only 28 feet in width. Water depth at the wharf was only nine feet. The verdict went in favour of the plaintiff.

Between 1875 and 1890, the GTR branchline was relocated to the west of the Kingston & Pembroke (K&P) line, perhaps as early as 1878. The swing bridge was removed, resulting in an opening left in the embankment across the mouth of the bay. By 1890, the K&P built 'spile' docks out into the bay, some accounts saying almost halfway across, allowing transshipment of ore from flat cars into barges or ships in the shallow harbour. The spile docks were demolished by 1929, with 85 year-old W.J. Gates supervising the work. 

On June 12, 1896 - the swing bridge was still in place:

A 1919 map showing the now-GTR alignment (hatched) and the opening in the CP trackage where the swing bridge had been located (blue circle) and the spile docks extending out into the Cataraqui River (red box):