Locate Your Industry in Kingston!

The above sign was installed at Kingston's Outer Station circa 1958. It was parallel to Montreal Street and readily visible from passing trains on CN's Kingston Sub. The implication was clear - Locate Your Industry Here! Similar signs were in Brockville and Belleville, either sponsored by local business interests or CN itself. This was era before the internet, so seeing was believing in the world of business!

Using the above image, I created an HO scale version using Paint software, built a billboard with simulated lighting and located it across from my Outer Station. The main challenge being that if I had located it facing the track, the lettering would not be visible. So, my version is visible from the layout aisle, as well as still being visible to HO scale passengers.

Modelling the Bajus Brewery

This has been a long gestation period! It was back in March, 2019 that I published a post on Kingston's Bajus Brewery The inspiration was willing, but the kitbashing was weak! I just completed the kitbash - over the course of one day! Courtney Matheson Mahoney kindly gave me an interesting archeological profile of the site (top photo - 1 p.m.! At September's Napanee train show, I picked up a Pola/Tyco brewery structure from Peter Macdonald - Peter even caught up with me in the arena when he found an additional component of the structure! The previous owner had done some weathering and I wondered if this kit might work its way into the Bajus. It did! 

The other component of this build would be another train show find- Walthers' O.L.King and Sons coal yard office - I'd previously used it as Vulcan Iron on my Winnipeg layout, Dominion Bridge on my Vancouver layout, then part of the sizeable Howe Scale works in Rutland, Vt. So it didn't owe me a darn thing! The components, including a wall previously part of my Ogilvie Flour Mill, again Winnipeg, are test fitted (above - 3 p.m.), representing the three separately-built parts of the prototype, added over the span of 25 years in the 19th century (below - 8:30 p.m.). I've added windows, and the unique kegs in the east wall - still visible today!

Rear view. I'd keep the extra storey (four on the prototype) of the tallest part. This would be the side most prominent when 'entering' my Hanley Spur layout:

 At 10 p.m., I'd applied some 'limestone' grey paint:

Then, a major decision faced me - to take the easy way out and try to make the various finishes on different walls look like limestone with just the grey paint, or use printed limestone paper as I'd used on my Imperial Oil warehouse and Outer Station builds. The latter! To the printer, Robin!

I found a useful stock photo of a stone wall and by removing the colour, then copying and pasting resized images, I was able to end up with a whole sheet of 'limestone'. I would end up requiring nearly three sheets. The components are ready for paper (above - 12 noon the next day). The first paper goes on:

 One wall done. Note the contrast with the un-papered wall. I'm glad I revisited this technique:

 The mostly-papered back wall at 1:30:

 Two hours later, all papered, including the prototypically-brick north wall:

 The completed front wall - I need to touch up the grey-painted remnants. Nearly suppertime!

That looks better - two windows remain to be added to the tallest component, as do smokestacks and quoins onto the brick walls. It's 5:30 and time for leftover turkey with all the trimmings:

Smokestacks are in place and the brewery is in place on Wellington Street. Some final scenicking and detailing to follow....

Bajus Brewery feels the ground rumble as the CN switcher rounds the bend to the Wellington Street freight shed:

Merry Boxing Day!

Well, it was Boxing Day in 1982 when Don McQueen snapped, and kindly shared these photos that he took at Quattrocchi's Produce at Montreal and Railway Streets. Notice CN iceless refrigerator class RP CN 231034's rusty wheels. I guess this 1963 Pacific Car & Foundry-built yellow, weathered warrior was spotted a while before Don took this photo, and has waited to be lifted by a CN roadswitcher. Originally NIRX 16502-16579, the cars were leased by CN then bought, with the reporting marks lettering replaced by CN's 'wet-noodle' logo, and unusually, both sides read 'CANADIAN', without a 'CANADIEN' in sight.

Placing Place d'Armes

One of the largest swaths of my Hanley Spur HO layout is the central peninsula on which I've situated CN's Wellington Street freight shed and trackage extending through the scene to CLC and the Kingston Shipyards. But how best to utilize this fertile, fallow space? Today, I made some changes! The opening portal to the layout, nominally Place d'Armes is right at this corner, and the continuous loop (foreground, top photo) and track to the freight shed (curving, top photo) are very visible. Actual billboard and signage taken from vintage photos set the stage.

Place d'Armes, comprising paper, modelling clay and wooden timbers now opens the way to the peninsula, as CN 3120 'heads for the shed'. That grey structure will soon become the Bajus Brewery (above). Compare to last year's video capture in which Millard & Lumb occupied this space adjacent to Sowards Coal. Millard & Lumb, too, has been relocated to a more prominent place:

At road level, 3120 passes some sectionmen with Millard & Lumb and Sowards' visible down the track. I'm looking forward to showing more of life on Wellington Street through this portal.

Boats on Flat Cars

Back in the Athearn blue-box era, I always thought it was a bit hokey to see their Boat On Flat Car (BOFC) kit. No longer - once I came across this photo of the motor vessel Aylmer being loaded or unloaded from Chicago & North Western flatcar 42543 at the Kingston shipyards in June, 1949:

-from George Lilley fonds, Queen's University Archives

Hanley Spur portable layout display at Railfair 2019

Volunteering at today's second annual Railfair hosted by ARK, it was my job to politely hold off the early-birds until opening hour of 10:00. ARK members Kayleigh Hunter, Kurt Vollenwyder, Andrew Chisholm and I were at the door as the last few exhibitors and first few attendees arrived. All was in order, so it was time to check out the show! Making my way into the rear room at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 560 on Montreal Street, I noticed a familiar-looking couple checking out our ARK Hanley Spur Portable Layout two-table display - my brother and his wife!

Right next-door was ARK member Grant LeDrew and his Kingston Shipyards module. Grant mentioned that he too had been archiving, and that there were 23 buildings on the shipyard site!  He's included several photos that show prototype views.

The more that I looked into Grant's display, the more I spotted the many details he has included. He got the lettering just right on those gantry cranes that extended into Ontario Street:

 Next door is the current Pumphouse Steam Museum:

 Grant's upright display showing historic photos and his modelling process:

 Characteristic coal piles dot the waterfront:

Not shown is Grant's lift-in flooded drydock which includes a tugboat. In this view, the drydock has been drained:

 Looking down Ontario Street toward City Hall. CPR 2468 is just visible:

ARK president Dave Cook printed off this insurance map plan of the first two other modules we're planning at Rideau and Cataraqui Streets. Dave also added track and rolling stock, and my National Grocers and Bailey broom factory (not its best side) added to the scene:

Continuing down Montreal Street after the show, progress on the Bailey broom factory redevelopment included new roof and wall:

 I'm going to try to use this for a backdrop of the woolen mill:

ARK member Bob Farquhar was moving a tote full of rolling stock at extremely attractive prices. My purchases fill my need for more cars for oil, steel products and coal on my layout!

ARK Railfair chair Paul Hunter's modern-era layout was nearby:

Concise History of the Kingston Shipyards

Though it's not mentioned in this excellent history, the Grand Trunk Railway was authorized to build a siding to the shipyards premises in July, 1915.

from: Finding Aid for the Kingston Shipyard Collection, Marine Museum of the Great Lakes

Ready for Railfair!

We have two tables available for tomorrow's second annual Railfair train show. Above is the display board I'm bringing to back up one of them: chock-full of photos, maps, text and interpretive goodies for show attendees. Stay tuned for some photo updates from the show.

Club Sandwiches at the Club Meeting

One thing I really like about ARK meetings is the venue - Denny's! Another thing I like is perusing the menu...or not. First choice - will it be breakfast for dinner or dinner for dinner? Very often, it's the club sandwich for me. With fries. Easy to ingest while engaging in discussion about trains and such! But what about those sandwich sticks that hold the stacked sandwichial structure together? Consigned to the kitchen scrap heap? NO!

I stacked the collected ones I brought home and decided to re-use them. My waterfront modelled locale always needs fences, so with the help of a few tools, it was fence time:

Cutting them to a near-uniform length, aligning them and adding stringers and it was time for a snack while the glue set. Sadly, my snack was not a deliciously delectable Denny's delight, only in my dreams. Painting or weathering remains, but here is the finished product sandwiched in at the end of my freight shed trackage!

What some have called environmentally-friendly or slow-modelling! Actually building stuff.

Hanley Spur in Jeopardy?

The TV show, that is. Jeopardy Clue Crew's Sarah was onboard Boston's Marine Two this week, for the category 'Fireboats of Boston'. The Hanley Spur fan in me recognized that this vessel was produced by MetalCraft Marine, located on the former site of Canadian Dredge & Dock, on the Inner Harbour. This plucky little firefighter maintains the long legacy of shipbuilding in the former Davis drydock site, adjacent to Kingston's waterfront trackage! Not mentioned in the clue was this bit of history. What is...

Railfair 2019 is Here!

Well, it's almost here. The second annual Kingston train show hosted by the Associated Railroaders of Kingston (ARK) will be held at 734 Montreal Street on Sat., Nov. 23. Our ARK Hanley Spur module group met this morning to plan our display. The Gothic windows of St James Anglican Church let in lots of light as show signs were being prepared:

At the same time, other members of the module group discussed what our display will include. Though we have no finished modules yet, Grant will be bringing his Kingston Shipyards module. We also plan to have my Bailey Broom factory, and 1:1 paper trackplan of our first two modules, as well as information on the prototype Hanley Spur and artifacts.

Most meetings of our Hanley Spur group have been graciously hosted by group member Andrew's (that's not St Andrew!) St James Anglican Church. A central, well-used and welcoming environment!