Vessel TRINA winters in Kingston harbour

Over the winter of 1963-64, a notable vessel made Kingston harbour its home - the TRINA. Newsworthy, but I wondered why. Well, it was controversial and and made the news when it broke loose from its moorings at the Kingston Shipyards around January 26, making it out into ice-choked harbour before being rustled back into place. While in Kingston, she wore the Lakes Ocean stack markings of a circled-L, though she had several previous 'identities.' The 'TEXACO' letters on her side could be seen painted-out. Below is some background on this vessel, from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society Facebook page, beginning at 1959 in the vessel's history:

The 1959 sailing season, a major change came to both the The Texas Company and the MICHIGAN. The Texas Company, popularly known as Texaco by the public was adopted as the official name of the company in 1959. With the name change occurring, the MICHIGAN quickly followed with the new name TEXACO MICHIGAN appearing on the side of the vessel. Close to four short years had passed on the TEXACO MICHIGAN was sold to Lakes Ocean, Inc. with the fourth name change to the vessel, now known simply as TRINA. Once the change in ownership was official, the new owners urgently attempted to get their new investment off the lakes before closure of the Seaway would take place. The new owners attempted to take 200,000 bushels of corn bound for a port in the Gulf of Mexico. Timing was not on the side of the new owners and the Seaway closed, stranding the TRINA in Kingston for the 1963 – 1964 winter layup. 

The cargo was removed and sent via Montreal. The stranding caused a strenuous financial burden on Lakes Ocean, Inc. The TRINA was eventually sold for $36,500, well below its value, by the Exchequer Court of Canada. A public auction in Kingston took place on August 18, 1964 and William Brooks of Corpus Christi, TX paid cash as the high bidder. Before leaving Kingston, the vessel was scheduled for an 10-day overhaul at the Kingston Shipyards. Renamed CORPUS CHRISTI, she left Kingston flagged for Panama. A 20-man crew, mostly from Trinidad, arrived after the sale and remained aboard until her departure.

The TRINA was sold to William Brooks for $36,500 who in turn resold the newly named CORPUS CHRISTI to the Panamanian based company known as  Panama-Florida Shipping Co. The fate of the vessel was last known as sailing as a tank barge after conversion to a tank barge took place in Houston, Texas in 1967 for the West Indies Transportation Co., Ltd. located in the British West Indies. The last known date for the vessel was 1970 when the barge was purchased by the West Indies Transportation Co., Ltd. It is not known if the barge is still sailing the Caribbean or if scrapping has taken place. 

West Indies Transportation Co. also bought the former Cape Transport (formerly Northcliffe Hall then Wittransport II) which was a laker-turned-eyesore at the LaSalle Causeway in the 1980s.

A complete lineage of the TRINA:

U.S. Transportation Company  (1902 – 1911)

Great Lakes Steamship Company (1911 – 1939)

Merritt, Chapman & Scott Corp. (1939 – 1941)

Marinette-Escanaba Transportation Co. (1941 – 1941)

The Texas Co.  (1941 – 1959)

Texaco, Inc.  (1959 – 1963)

Lakes Ocean, Inc.  (1963 – 1964) ***Sold off Lakes***

William Brooks  (1964 – 1966)

Panama-Florida Shipping Co. (1966 – 1966) ***Panama***

Texas Coastal & International, Inc. (1966 – 1966) ***Panama***

Pullman Bank & Trust Co.   (1966 – 1970) ***Panama***

West Indies Transportation Co., Ltd. (1970 – Unknown) ***British West Indies***

Length: 370.00

Width: 48.16

Depth: 24.00

Gross Tonnage: 3860.00

Net Tonnage: 3057.00

Hull Material: Steel 

Built: 1902

Rebuilt: 1915

Drink, Eat and Get Gas!

Beer, bread, donuts, Coke and gasoline. Three Hanley Spur-related changes in Kingston business news this week, and one more in November, 2021 (see update below)

• Weston Bakeries closing. Warehouse to remain open, but outdated bakery equipment affects 35 jobs. (Global Kingston photo)
  
• Cataraqui Street Beer Store closing. Neighbourhood beer drinkers will have to travel 2 km to Princess & University or buy pricey beer at the downtown LCBO. Just as KT bus fare has increased to $3.25 and can you even take any quantities of beer onto a city bus? (Whig-Standard photo) 
  
• Shell (and Tim Hortons) being removed from the Ontario Street Wolfe Island ferry dock redevelopment area. (Whig-Standard photo)
  

The trains may be gone, and another layer of post-railway history gets lacquered onto the Hanley Spur. Perhaps papered over. Paved paradise and put up a parking lot!

NOVEMBER 2021 UPDATE:

Coca-Cola on Railway Street makes a 'job-neutral' move of 80 jobs to a gigantic new distribution centre at 800 Innovation Drive, near the John Machin Soccer Park in Kingston East as of May, 2022. (Global News photo, viewed November, 2021). In October, 2023 the vacant building became the area distribution centre for Amazon drivers and packages.

Layout Industry List

This week I added yet another spur to my HO scale Hanley Spur layout. On the prototype, spurs could be as short as one car. So, I don't feel any apprehension about putting in extremely short spurs. Such was the spur I installed to serve the Bailey boom factory property, nominally Queen City Oil Co.

It also seemed like a good time to update my list of layout industries. Each is shown, whether served by CN or CP, with inbound and outbound commodities and car types. Of course, subject to change as additional prototype information dictates.

Whig Up, Enginehouse Down

It's November, 1963 and this frame appears to show the demolition - two bulldozers and the rubble being hauled away by a dumptruck - of the limestone enginehouse located behind Kingston's Outer Station on Montreal Street.

This is from the first box of the Kingston Whig-Standard fonds at the Queen's University Archives. Having completed an interesting trip through the George Lilley Fonds - all 51 boxes of them - these 127 boxes(!) are next.

Less well-captioned but at least dated, and just as engrossing, if this initial frame is any indication, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Modelling a Gravel Pit or Brownfield

Sometimes we over-reach in our modelling. We do big bridges, vast vistas, giant structures and huge freight yards. But there are simple scenes, quiet corners and other layout spaces where the exception proves the rule - where a little scene makes the big scenes. Such was my thinking when facing this 'dead space' between the CN (foreground) and CP (coal dock). It's well known that Kingston's waterfront was dotted with contaminated industrial operations, now called brownfields! 

My first inclination was to use some leftover limestone-rock cut-paper to represent a gravel pit. Or perhaps a failed or delayed construction site. Or a 'Clean Fill Wanted' site that I don't see much anymore. The space was flat, so I had to build it up vertically to provide the rock face that had been excavated. I sliced a block of modelling clay latitudinally, tacking the rounded rock face onto the opposite side. Leftover modelling clay was used to form 'dumptruck loads' (top photo) then added the paper to the rock face and actual limestone around it:

I also added some 'Super Trees' and low foliage. Another before-and-after set from the opposite side, now with CP in foreground and in background:

The scenicked rock face, dump truck loads and stuck-in pieces of limestone into the modelling clay. It's easier to stick things into than plywood, that's for sure!

I've been working on the railroad. And so is this guy - toiling in the brownfield from layout-level!