Buses and Broadcasts in Kingston - John Carey

 

On Monday, August 12 I had a two-hour sit-down at the commodious home of John and Tina Carey, here in my west-end neighbourhood. I could have walked there, though grey clouds threatened - topically, I could have even taken the Kingston Transit Route 15 bus to get there - only two stops away! Speaking of buses, that's why I was visiting John. He'd called me, having seen Kingston Transit coverage on this blog. John had an interesting life story to tell, though only the early part of his working years involved buses, with many more involving broadcasting.

John explained that he initially became a bus mechanic because his father advised him, "Learn a trade or stay in school". John was not too keen on school, having attended 'Regi' because his mother insisted upon it. One day during the early war years, a neighbour took John and his father to the Colonial Coach Lines bus shop, and John thought it was something he'd enjoy doing. John enrolled in trade school in Toronto's Kensington Market - a former elementary school plus addition on Nassau Street. While there, John worked at Gray Coach's small service garage four nights per week to hone his trade, monitoring idling diesel buses overnight (oil pressure and 450 rpm).

On June 16, 1954 John started with Colonial as summer help in their Kingston garage. John was 16 years old at the time, so although he couldn't drive on city streets, he was able to move the buses around the service area. In December 1954, John formally started as an apprentice at Colonial, staying until 1960. In that year, Colonial closed its Kingston garage, located behind its terminal at the traffic circle, to consolidate operations in Ottawa. 

John got to know noted Kingston broadcasting personality Brian Olney while in a band in the 1950s, spurring his interest in broadcasting. Beginning in 1957 John worked as a part-time radio operator for CKWS, and went full time for CKWS-TV downstairs at their 170 Queen Street building in 1960. After spending 14 months at CJOH in Ottawa, John worked at CTV Toronto from 1962-1965, then moved to Peterborough where he worked for CHEX for five years. In 1969, he returned to Kingston as sales manager for CKWS for the next four years. In charge of the Kingston Whig-Standard classified ad department, he went on to work at CKWS selling radio ad time, and then four years at CKLC collecting bad accounts, John explained it was necessary to move around in broadcasting at the time! Interstingly, John obtained his Stationary Engineer certificate from Kingston's St Lawrence College in 1982, studying in the mornings and spending time monitoring several Kingston utility stations.

John had known Dick Lumb for a long time. Dick's grandfather, father Mel and uncle Gord were principals in the local marine service firm Millard & Lumb. Dick was involved with re-tubing Canadian Pacific 1201 for the National Museum of Science and Technology excursions (operated by the Bytown Railway Society). As a result, they were given a unique opportunity. In 2003, John and his uncle Dick were able to visit the Canada Science & Technology Museum (Ingenium) artifact warehouse to visit 1947-built GM 3703 bus 4756 in restored Provincial Transit colours. John said, "Back in the saddle again, 47 years later!" (below and top photo):

During our visit, John shared a three-inch binder full of Kingston transit artifacts and photos, its provenance providing an interesting introduction to our visit. The binder was compiled by John Lemmon, a bus driver who started with Colonial nearly a century ago, later becoming Safety Director. (John knew him, confirming his 6'3" stature, and kindly allowed me to share photos I took of the binder's contents during our visit. The binder containing the artifacts and photos is one of those 1970s vintage designs with self-adhesive holding acetate leaves in place, accounting for some of the shine on some of my images). While working at the Whig-Standard, a fellow employee who lived next to Mr Lemmon mentioned the binder of bus photos to John. Sometime in the 1990s, John's wife Tina (through a neighbour connection via church teas and sales) heard that the binder was going to be thrown in the garbage, providentially the binder came to John! 

Mr Lemmon's application for employment with Provincial Transport is first-up in the album. He was born in 1905, making him 30+ years John's senior. Check out those references! John noted that Ted Baker started in 1930 and provided some of the photos in Mr Lemmons' album. Ted was the most senior driver with Badge 1! Also in the binder was Mr Lemmon's Colonial badge:

Needless to say, I was amazed not only by the binder's contents carefully curated by Mr Lemmon, but also by John's wisdom in adding post-it notes to several of the photos. The captions matched exactly what John elicited extemporaneously from his sharp-as-a-hat-pin memory while guiding me through the photos.

I'm grateful to John for sharing so much information with me, regarding Kingston's seldom-seen public transit history. John is understandably concerned that these artifacts will be preserved for future historians as well. 

Bus Stations in Kingston

After a fire consumed the street railway car barns along King-Queen-Ontario Streets, along with twenty cars in March 1930, Colonial Coach Lines, which had been solely in the business of providing intercity bus travel, morphed into a city transit service for Kingston. Included in the new bus service were some new city routes served by an additional seven buses brought from Montreal. Before that, Colonial ran routes to Ottawa, Brockville and Prescott. All photos in this post are courtesy of John Carey unless otherwise noted.

By 1931, a terminal was located at the north-west corner of Princess and Montreal Streets, touted as the only indoor terminal in Canada! Originally the King Edward Theatre, next door was the Windsor Hotel, reportedly a somewhat sketchy watering hole, which when torn down was replaced by the Fort Henry Hotel which in turn burned down on February 24, 1968.

Exterior view (above) looking across Princess Street, with Montreal Street heading north at right. In 1949, Colonial Coach lines bought out Oshawa's Collacutt Coach Lines, the latter operating Gananoque-Oshawa, mainly to take over their route towards Toronto. Colonial was Ontario-based, while Provincial Tranporation, later Voyageur, was Quebec-based. Interior view (below) showing built-to-last but austere wooden waiting room benches. Both photos were taken in 1939. 

Passengers boarded buses on Montreal Street, then proceeding up or down Princess Street to Toronto and Montreal, respectively. Between runs, buses were stored across Queen Street, now a city parking lot. The PWOR Armoury's roof is visible in the background (top photo) in which one bus route-sign indicates 'RCAF'. Buses were serviced in the centre of the Princess-Montreal-Queen city block, accessed through an archway on Montreal Street near David's Lunch. Once through the archway, the buses would swing around, be filled up with gas, then exit again.

The garage stood on the site presently occupied by the CKWS (Global/Corus) broadcast centre and TV studios. The site was cramped to say the least, and a modern terminal with restaurant opened at Kingston's traffic circle in 1948.

Traffic circle construction had started in 1942. The McFedridge family lived there in the large limestone house known as Vauxhall. In a huge land deal, the 3.25 acres between Highways 2 and 33 were sold to Canadian Tire for a new store in 1959. 

The store was across Bath Road from the Colonial bus terminal. Three undated photos posted to Vintage Kingston Facebook group.

The new Colonial Coach Lines terminal opened on May 14, 1948, covering over 80,000 square feet. The waiting room measured 44x25 feet, and a Macy's Terminal Restaurants air-conditioned eatery with 'large windows and colourful furnishings' was under the same roof. The restaurant boasted about its fine coffee, its jumbo hamburgers (elevated to the order of a banquet!), Chicken a la King, and its Chicken in a Basket, a signature entree. Its Red Brand sirloin steaks were served right off the charcoal grill. The Jiggs dinner -corned beef and cabbage - cost a reasonable 75 cents in 1949.

(Whig-Standard clippings)

A 1947 aerial view shows finishing touches being put on the new terminal. City coaches are parked nose-in to Wilmot's Dairy.

Ground-level exterior views of the terminal. A 1947 GMC Highway Cruiser:

Buses lined up in front of the terminal circa 1953. All coaches shown were 3702 models, except for new 1952 Brills:

The terminal's cavernous maintenance garage measured 254x140 feet, with overhanging heaters. Day-to-day maintenance was done in Kingston, with major jobs performed at Provincial's main garage in Montreal. This view faces east toward the maintenance in-ground pits:

The traffic circle terminal's garage closed in 1960. The entire property was up for sale (below) sucessfully purchased by Samuel Springer on July 1, 1962. The garage's interior was ideal for a bowling alley, and was taken over by Cloverleaf bowling lanes which opened on January 10, 1963.

The new 10,000 square-foot Voyageur-Colonial bus terminal at 959 Division Street near Counter Street opened in late 1972, later becoming Curley's eatery and the Portuguese cultural centre. Voyageur moved to a new terminal at 175 Counter Street on November 29, 1992, still a bus terminal served by Megabus.

Colonial Coach Lines and Kingston's Transit History

With the demise of the Kingston electric street railway, Kingston City Coach, a subsidiary of Colonial Coach Lines, was given a ten-year franchise to operate city bus service from March 5, 1930. On March 10 alone, 1,400 interested passengers boarded for the fare of 10 cents.  Interestingly, one of the first priorities was to operate buses to Cataraqui Bay, site of the terminal grain elevator construction. This allowed workers to live in Kingston, thus there was no need to erect shacks and cook houses at the site. The cost of rehabilitating the street railway was estimated to be $325,000 making bus service a much more sensible option. That may not sound like a huge dollar amount, but comparing 1936 dollars to 2024 dollars mean this reconstruction would have a cost of at least $6,000,000. Starting a bus service was easier, quicker and in a global Depression, much more affordable.

That agreement was superseded by City By-Law No. 25 was passed on November 13, 1936, confirming Kingston City Coach Co. and Colonial Coach Lines, Ltd. as the city's designated transit providers for the ensuing ten years. The initial 1936 route schedule was published in the Whig (above), and an intercity Colonial Coach Lines schedule cover from 1945 (below). The Outer Station shuttle speaks to the importance of Canadian National Railways providing most intercity transportation from Kingston until major highways were built.

The service operated by Kingston City Coach lasted until July 1, 1962. Citing rising costs of operating and increased labour [wage] demands, the company was threatening leaving its agreement with the city as early as 1951. With static ridership since 1946, facing the possibility of curtailed routes and increased costs, bus operation was assumed by the Kingston Public Transit System (KPTS) as a public utility. The KPTS moniker was chosen in May, 1962 and the system transferred to the Public Utilities Commission at the end of 1962. This previous post shows Kingston Transit buses in service beginning in that year.

Today, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with someone who was there in the Colonial days, John Carey. In subsequent posts, I'll share photos and information, courtesy of John, showing buses in Kingston as long as 90 years ago! There are certain interwoven themes, beginning in this post with transit lines from that predated our current Kingston Transit (the name first used in 1975). Subsequent posts include:

• bus stations in Kingston
• the buses themselves that were seen on Kingston streets
• John's engaging career story

You won't need to ask for a transfer to get to these posts...just click and enjoy the trip!

T&NO 'Temagami' Visits Kingston

If you ever stumble across a photo of a train car with the label Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway [T&NO] sitting in front of City Hall, I would love to see it. My mother’s paternal grandfather was the Chairman of the T&NO and apparently when she was a young girl, her grandparents from North Bay would come down in the T&NO train car to visit her and her widowed mother. According to my mother, the train car would be parked in front of City Hall while they were here." I received this message from Anne/Martin Blaser recently.

Business car Ontario was built for Ontario Northland Railway predecessor Temiskaming & Northern Ontario in 1914. Actually, the frame was built by Pullman and the remainder of the car was built at the T&NO's North Bay shops. Renamed Ontario in 1917, then numbered 200 in 1946, later acquiring the name Temagami in 1951. Sold to the Ontario Rail Association in 1972 - a group of Toronto rail enthusiasts who had purchased 1057 for operation - Temagami was parked at Toronto's Harbourfront until 1990. Today she resides at Ontario Rail's successor South Simcoe Railway as car 200, renamed Nottawasaga.

Gordon Lee was T&NO Chairman as of 1920, visiting Kingston 1937-early 1940s. "George and his wife visiting my mother and grandmother at their cottage in what is now Reddendale. They would have come from North Bay via Toronto by the company’s private train car." Both photos courtesy Anne/Martin Blaser.

Another data point - the rehearsal for Jack and Gertrude Mahood's wedding was held in the car parked at the 'Kingston Yacht Basin'. This wedding took place October 26, 1929. So the Holy Grail of the business cars at the CP station would be a photo of this car so far from its northern stomping grounds!

Thanks to Paul Hunter for additional information in this post.

Cityflats - 10 Cataraqui Street

As one walks north from Doug Fluhrer Park, at the foot of the former North Street and the site of the former K&P/CP roundhouse (top photo - bottom right), and along the Urban K&P Trail at waterside, you'll pass a triangular patch of land on your left. Labelled Molly Brant Point in the Googlemaps image (top photo) and nominally designated 10 Cataraqui Street, it's rather nondescript and now chain-link fenced. It's going to be a development known as Cityflats. Boilerplate text from the firm's website says, "Cityflats specializes in delivering successful investment outcomes and strong risk-adjusted returns on multi-residential real estate investments. Our strategy is to target opportunities in secondary markets across southeastern Ontario and generate strong returns by acquiring, developing, constructing and managing high-quality real estate. We are led by an experienced management team and supported by a valued network of capital partners."

January 14, 2025 UPDATE: Kingston city council is set to review a proposal to provide up to $4.1 million in brownfield tax rebates for the redevelopment of a long-vacant industrial site at 10 Cataraqui St. The property, owned by Inner Harbour Development LP, was historically used for industrial and transportation purposes, leaving a legacy of soil and groundwater contamination. Plans for the site include a six-storey residential building with 75 apartment units. To move forward, the project requires environmental remediation and the registration of a record of site condition. Currently contributing approximately $27,400 in annual municipal and education taxes, the site is projected to generate no less than $182,600 annually after redevelopment. Under the proposed plan, 80 per cent of this tax uplift will be rebated to the developers over a 10-year period, capped at $4.1 million. “The project aligns with the City’s goals of promoting housing affordability and addressing underutilized lands,” city staff noted in their report. 

Council will voted on the motion, associated bylaws and a brownfield site agreement with the developer at their January 14 meeting, moved, not discussed, and approved in less than 30 seconds!

From the City report: The 10 Cataraqui Street property is contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) within the soil at concentrations that exceed the applicable Ontario Site Condition Standards for residential or parkland use. These contaminants are present due to unregulated landfilling within the industrial inner harbour area in the 19th and 20th centuries and the legacy of commercial, industrial and transportation uses on and adjacent to the property prior to the emergence of regulations and best practices designed to reduce pollution.

The test of this development will be community engagement and environmental remediation. Sitting on the site of former coal and oil dealerships, and the former CP spur to the Woolen Mill, site cleanup will likely be required. As a green space prized by an originally working-class Swamp Ward neighbourhood, now steadily gentrifying, this will be a challenge.

Red is landside, white is waterside.

Housing crisis? What housing crisis? The people who can afford these Inner Harbour views know no such words and can pay to play.

 

Robert Saul - a Builder of Kingston's K&P Station

Robert Wesley Saul (1860-1954) was a stonemason who had a front-row stool to the building of several of Kingston's most notable limestone structures around the turn of the 20th century. In 1952 he was 92 and living in Camden East when he was interviewed by the Whig.

The Kingston & Pembroke station on Ontario Street was one of the first buildings he worked on. Built in 1885 at a cost of $12,000 and measuring 65 x 24 feet, the stone station included stone from the demolished Market Battery nearby. Designed by William Newlands, main floor wider central curved windows as well as other curved windows were crowned with coloured art glass fanlights. The bellcast roof featured six gabled dormers and a patterned slate covering topped by iron fringework. The interior was finished in natural woods. A 125-foot covered passageway led to the station baggage room. With the end of passenger service, the baggage room was demolished on February 29, 1960. In the 1920’s, large floral CPR lettering was part of the decorative station gardens. CP built a freight shed closer to the lake, and it was demolished in 1966. The station is still in use as Kingston’s Visitor Information Centre.

Robert Saul also worked on the Montreal Street armoury, and a stone railway bridge in Camden East. Somewhat controversially, he was mentioned in 1901 press reports (and before parliament!) for neglecting to pay $25 masonry union fees for two years, while working on an addition on Royal Military College. In 1912, he was working on a brick wall at the Napanee Gibbard factory. The going salary for a 10-hour day at the time was $2.00-2.50.

The Saul family firm of master masons 'Saul Brothers' (cousins William and Hugh) was well known in local masonry. Originally, the pair emigrated from Ireland to Canada in 1854 to work on the Victoria Bridge abutments in Montreal. Working as far west as Ernestown, the family grew in Odessa and Camden East and over 40 of their buildings still stand here. William, who died in 1911, was Robert's father. The firm built 17 area churches:

• 1860 - Methodist Church, Westbrook
• 1861 - Episcopal Methodist Church, Sydenham
• 1862 - Wesley Church, Camden
• 1863 - Methodist Church, Camden East; Church of England, Tamworth
• 1868 - Methodist Church, Yarker
• 1869 - Methodist Church, Moscow; Catholic Church, Erinsville
• 1870 - Episcopal Methodist Church, Odessa
• 1871 - Presbyterian Church, Wilton
• 1873 - Methodist Church, Wilton
• 1875 - Methodist Church, Murvale
• 1876 - Methodist Church, Selby; Presbyterian Church, Harrowsmith; Presbyterian Church, Camden East; Episcopal Methodist Church, Westbrooke; Presbyterian Church, Newburgh.

Murray Saul, Robert Wesley's great-nephew commented on a recent Trackside Treasure blog post on the Ontario Street K&P/CP station. (Top photo- Courtesy of the Burleigh family, artwork by unknown artist)

'On the Waterfront', On Wolfe Island

After putting together several Zoom presentations on varying facets of the Hanley Spur and Kingston's industrial waterfront, modelling and prototype, it's been nice to get out in person post-pandemic and do more! Today's was a short three-mile cruise to be with the Wolfe Island Historical Society. The day was warm, though the vibes were cool, and the welcome warm. Consider this a bit of a travelogue, because one does not simply drive to the hall here and do a talk. It's an experience!

My wife drove me downtown and though running late, I stopped at the Visitor Information Centre (formerly the Kingston & Pembroke station) sidewalk piano to play a bit of Bach. Afterwards, a man approaching with his camera asked why I'd stopped. I told him I had a ferry to catch! But I'll be Bach! Boarding the ferry (above) as a walk-on, I found an upper-deck seat with a view and a shadow shade. Fort Frontenac (above) and the LaSalle Causeway bridge (below) recede astern.

Kingston's waterfront: more condos than coal, more touristy than workaday, but ever-changing:

Arriving at the winter dock at Dawson's Point, now the main dock on the island during the ongoing, lengthy construction of the new dock purpose-built for the Wolfe Islander IV. Prospective (above) and retrospective (below). Now to board that school bus for the two-mile ride into Marysville.

The new ferry dock in Marysville is still off limits, fenced at this vantage point, but that didn't stop at least two drivers from looking for a place to line up. Hey, if you're not familiar with the situation, there's a dock AND a ferry, so this must be the dock for the ferry! Well, no...not yet. It looks like an English Channel crossing, very big and organized!

There followed a short tour of Marysville, in which I chatted with a former neighbour now living on the island. Then I met WIHS mover-and-shaker Shauna Kingston and her mother, on their way to the 1:30 meeting. They, and I, were lured by the siren song of baked goods.  This surprisingly suspecting scribe followed them into the Wolfe Island Bakery. While there's no danger of this becoming a foodie blog, ever, but there were creamy cheesecakes, bodacious butter tarts, truffles not to trifle with, giant chocolate-chip cookies, stuffed sausage sandwiches, and of course coffee. Escaping with my life safe from dashing on the rocks of copious carbs, my coffee and at least four different types of baked goods in my book bag, I settled at a patio-front table to enjoy my large lemon bun in the shade before proceeding to the Wolfe Island United Church hall. The rest of the baked goods made it home unscathed!

The monthly (warm-weather months-only) meetings are held in the church hall. I'd met Brian Johnson's wife Cathy on Victoria Street, telling me she'd already put him in there! Brian is a retired Captain with 50 years in the marine trade, and was the founding president of the WIHS in 2006, currently Vice-President. Brian contacted me back in March about this opportunity. Hot on his heels soon thereafter was Shauna Kingstone, currently WIHS President and fellow Board member since 2019, and her kind assistance in preparing for today's meeting has been invaluable. 

Shauna, Brian and me with the WIHS sign. I need to come back and visit that museum! My presentation not only included part of the title of both my books, but also described the parts of Kingston that were visible from Wolfe Island like CLC and the Kingston Shipyards, as well as lots of archival photos of ferry crossings over the years.

This nice lady, Joanne Mahendran came all the way from Malaysia - thought not just for this meeting! We had a nice chat and she showed me this woodcutting that encapsulated my talk and its title, 'On the Waterfront'. She'd brought it with her, donating it to the WIHS as a potential fundraiser. What I really liked about it was not only did it show the Spirit of Sir John A, and a ship likely the M/S Wolfe Islander, but also tank cars near the feed mill buildings just to the right of City Hall:

The meeting went well, the tech co-operated, thanks to Shauna and fellow Board member Hank Connell, and I stayed on schedule to have time for the bus/ferry connection. I left the final five copies of 200 of my second book on Kingston's industrial waterfront with meeting attendees. Dennis, you got the last one - congratulations! I heard some interesting stories, made some more unexpected connections, and the audience was warm and welcoming. Photos by Shauna Kingstone/WIHS Facebook group:

The Blue Cottage, opposite the town hall/craft store/ice cream shop/school bus-stop. Very photogenic and even associated with a local bard! A single scoop of cookies n' cream really hit the spot just before it was time to board the bus shuttle.

Back on the boat, Cathcart Tower (above) and Fort Henry (below) hove into view.

Skyscapes on the ferry are unparalleled:

The boat was fully loaded both ways, here passing Royal Military College:

My presentation included the grandiose 'Foot-of-the-Lakes Terminal' and here's the only vestige of it that was built, now itself a vestige of history (the sidelined bridge - below!) Thanks to Brian, Shauna, the WIHS and all the attentive attendees who made this day an island adventure, especially Mike who bought a book but first alerted the room that U.S. President Joe Biden had stepped down halfway through my talk! Live updates! I'll post a Here's a link to the video of my presentation.

I must also acknowledge the generosity of the WIHS in their speaker honorarium. Thank you!