Inner Harbour Photographs by Scott Haskill, 1986-87

Scott Haskill studied at Queen's University, taking more photos of the Inner Harbour than I did! Scott shared his photos of the arrival in Kingston of Royal Train in 1984, and subsequently sent me his fine photos along the Hanley Spur. This one really caught my eye and led to the modelling of the Whig-Standard warehouse in the previous post. The 'front yard', later a parking lot at the Woolen Mill at right was a fenced scrap yard at this time. A cropped view:

Scott took these photos on April 23, 1986. I was interested to see the CN rails still burnished bright and obviously in use to spot at least one car of newsprint for the Whig! CP at the right? Not so much.

I wonder if these tanks were from the former Shell Oil facility. Scott noted that these tanks were right at the water's edge, near where CP's North Street roundhouse had been. The Imperial Oil limestone warehouse (below). Interestingly, the fenced tank car unloading compound is still there. The stopblock indicates the end of CN's Hanley Spur, here since at least 1980.

Looking the other way,  Canadian Dredge & Dock buildings used to be skirted by the CP track. The OHIP rises like the Hanley Spur-killer colossus that it was!

Looking down North Street from Rideau Street. The fence surrounds Anglin's, pointing the way to CD&D: 

Inside the Anglin compound, with one of their red-and-yellow fuel trucks and fuel stand:

Looking down the garden path at 97 Rideau Street, with CD&D in the distance. Townhouses line Rideau Street here now.

Scott's photos taken September 19, 1986. A view inside the CD&D compound:

Looking back north along the former CP:

Fence around Anglin's yard:

Hallowe'en! October 31, 1986. Ghosts of the Inner Harbour?

The Imperial Oil warehouse is still here - CN tracks are not.

One more photo, taken along the former CN Kingston Sub alignment just east of the Outer Station, taken by Scott on April 19, 1987. The remnants of the Hanley Spur connection and Elliott Avenue crossing visible in the distance. This old speeder shed was often photographed, a former sentinel of the mainline.

Many thanks to Scott Haskill for sharing his photographs for this post.

Modelling the Whig-Standard Warehouse

Since I added the National Grocers warehouse to my Hanley Spur layout, I'd thought of adding the Whig-Standard newsprint warehouse. There were only two limitations - I didn't know where it was and I didn't know what it looked like! I assumed it was the long, low annex located behind the CP car and the CN one spotted at National Grocers in this 1970 photo. This is along Rideau Street, south of Cataraqui Street.

That turned out to be a misapprehension on my part, once Scott Haskill emailed this photo:

What a huge wow factor! Not only does it show a car spotted there, it actually shows the warehouse, and to boot, Scott photographed the scene on April 23, 1986! This is one year or so after I assumed regular service ended on the remaining CN Hanley Spur. (Black roadbed at left shows CP's Kingston Subdivision to be gone. As well, CN's spur rails are still shiny! Lettering on the Whig warehouse door says The Whig Standard, the lower lettering perhaps saying 'Newsprint Warehouse'? In the mid-seventies, the Whig was receiving 250 tons of newsprint per month from Domtar and MacLaren mills in Quebec. This warehouse was built sometime between 1970 and 1978, based on Snapshot Kingston aerial photos. Scott sent some more photos - watch for an upcoming post. Receiving this photo from Scott sent me into a scurrying scratch-building frenzy! Current newsprint loading guidelines. 

From the City of Kingston's Snapshot Kingston map site, this 1984 air photo shows a CN boxcar spotted at the Whig warehouse (National Grocers building at top of photo, CN track visible though not CP:

Here's the registration notice by the rowing club, published in the Whig on June 14, 1977, showing that the warehouse was already built:

Developer and rower John Armitage contributed this memory: In the spring of 1977, Michael Davies allowed the fledgling Kingston Rowing Club to store its boats there. Normally we walked them down the alleyway, turned right on Cataraqui Street and launched at Orchard Street park. One day paper rolls blocked our exit so we improvised. We ended up going through the overhead doors, in one side of the railway car out the other side of the railway car and down the water. Later, the club moved to a permanent clubhouse waterside.

Dimensions of the warehouse: Butler steel building with burnished gold siding, 40x120 feet, with a 10x12 roll-up door trackside, and a 10x10 roll-up door facing north at the end of a lane off Cataraqui Street, for truck loading. I'm guessing the warehouse construction took place in 1976.

The yellowish steel warehouse can be seen in this photo that I took earlier this year (above), whereas the National Grocers annex is visible (above) and loading door detail (below, looking north to National Grocers). The CN/CP roadbed is used for auto access, and I haven't walked down far enough to see that Whig warehouse - because I didn't know that's what it was - but I will!

I'd shinnied up to an open window to take a photo inside the annex - now used for robotics training and other uses - nice and clean, not grungy at all!

April 2022 UPDATE: I snapped a few photos of the warehouse, from the trackside then the lane off Cataraqui Street: 

I had to keep in mind the space available, about 10 inches between the (non-prototypically) curved NG/Whig spur and the layout edge.

I decided to use the ever-popular Pikestuff warehouse pieces - prototypically used as a backdrop on my Vermont layout. I would use the Pola factory as the annex, and printed doors for the warehouse:

I didn't have the width of the prototype, so I altered the structure with a transverse peak. A warehouse roll-up door is in each end. The siding is painted mustard-yellow and weathered:

The top photo shows the printed roll-up door. I've left the building reversible, with no door in the other end and may include an interior in future. Stand-in newsprint rolls are on the pavement. In place on the layout with National Grocers at left and the Woolen Mill smokestack in background:

Trackside view along CN with the NG/Whig spur at left, with CP boxcar spotted:

Looking the opposite direction, with the CP boxcar moved out of the way. The Pola annex links the two industries:

The dumpster-in-the-bushes broadside view of the Whig warehouse:

Harbour Tour, November 1982

My Dad and I made our regular Saturday-morning rounds downtown. We often checked out the waterfront for visiting vessels. In November, 1982, att the ferry dock near the foot of Queen Street/Barrack Street, we came across two ferries from Quebec. The Charlevoix (foreground) was rated to carry 27 cars, the Saguenay (background) 21 cars. History of the Baie Ste Catherine-Saguenay ferry service. The above two vessels served from 1958-1980, when they were replaced by the newly-built Armand Imbeau and the Jos. Deschenes.

Wolfe Islander III Captain Brian Johnson adds the following: The 'Frontenac II' today, 'Charlevoix' replaced 'MS Wolfe Islander' as the spare/backup ferry for both Wolfe and Amherst Islands. It only ran if needed during spring refit times or if the other regular ferries were down for any reason. The Saguenay was sold to Detroit interests.

The tug McAsphalt at Canadian Dredge & Dock:

The ferry Amherst Islander docked ahead of McAsphalt:

The dry dock is flooded, with Canadian Coast Guard CG157 in foreground, then Amherst Islander and McAsphalt:

At the Kingston grain elevator along King Street, the Canada Steamship Lines' T.R. McLagan was loading grain. This view looks across the Richardson/Crawford dock:

From the bayshore right along the two-lane King Street:

Across the causeway, 'RCAF 731' Avro CF-100 has been stuffed and mounted on the north side of Highway 2 at RMC. Much less visible now among new recreation centre buildings:

Kingston Whig-Standard - May 23, 1975

A school trip to the Whig-Standard included a tour of all the major departments including the printing presses in May, 1975.. As a souvenir of our visit, we were given a small sample of lead type comprising our name. Of course I have it tucked away in a safe place! Today I came across the copy of the evening paper printed on the day of our visit - according to my Dad's inscription at the masthead! 

This post is a sample of what each day's paper brought into the home, and includes some sample pages, news stories, human interest and advertisements - while there was still a robust Classified section! Also, Friday's entertainment section with TV listings. I've minimally formatted the images. To see a (much) larger version, just click one!

A review of Ernestown High School's band concert, showing my two siblings!

It Happened in Canada was a syndicated daily history lession:

The Montreal Olympics were a year away, with Kingston providing the sailing venue:

Dangerous due to location of gas tank, but cheap - Ford Pintos!

Check out the inexpensive subscription prices. Before there was the Internet!

Controversial move at KGH:

From the Woolco advertisement:

The boy's missing arm is cleverly not visible to the gentle readers:

Fifty-seven channels and nothing on? Try eleven channels!

Adam-12 and the TV listings:

Steal & Run, aka S*** & Rubbish, in the colloquial...

And then, it was time to line the bird cage. Or provide nets and pads for road hockey. Or into the front hall to protect the floor from slushy winter boots! Kingston's Oldest Daily lives on!