Kingston's Hanley Spur: 2024

Monday, 9 December 2024

Index of Posts

Blogger's software does not make it easy to find a particular post in a blog. Here's a list of my most useful posts, divided into Prototype, Model and Other categories: Newest posts in each section are at top, and the index is current as of December 9, 2024 - back to November 3, 2018.

History of the Prototype

Model: My Hanley Spur Layout

Updates and Other

Producing this index of posts was inspired by Stephen Gardiner's well-organized blog. I trust you'll find it ueful if researching a prototype location, industry, event or era. The Model section lists posts in which I model a building, location or facet of operation. The Update section includes ancillary posts - research, walking tours or other resources.

Friday, 22 November 2024

Steacy's Limited Kingston, Ontario

At the recent Kingston Stamp Festival, I roved, roamed and ravaged the Kingston Stamp Club consignment table looking for cheap sorting fun. I did not leave disappointed.

With the colder months approaching, I found a $2 consignment lot containing some interesting stamps. I noticed the inside of the box's rubber-banded lid was labelled "Steacy's Limited Kingston, Ontario". I knew this was a Kingston department store, once on Princess Street and later in the Kingston Shopping Centre, and that my mother-in-law had once worked at the downtown store. A comprehensive history of this storied Kingston store is beyond the scope of this blog, however...

Once I'd removed the box's contents, I was about to recycle the box but had second thoughts. Maybe someone would like it as a local historical artifact? I offered the box on social media and found that, indeed, several people were interested in it.

So just today, a member of the Steacy family picked up the box. They have a room in their house devoted to the history of the family business, of which this box would become a part.

This box may have been 50+ years old. In terms of pyramids, hanging gardens and castles, that's not very historic. But in Kingston, it nevertheless has historic and sentimental value!

Thursday, 21 November 2024

Special Trains visit the Hanley Spur - Enhanced Post

The Rexall Train, the Flying Scotsman, the Discovery Train and Royal Trains are among special trains that have graced the Hanley Spur and CP trackage over the last 90 years. Although I originally published some of this material in January, 2019 you're reading an enhanced post.

It was September, 1970 when the British Pacific arrived on a goodwill tour (top photo) and a certain insouciant six year-old future Hanley Spur layout-builder mugged for the camera. Note City Hall at left and the Holiday Inn at right. Read more here and see more photos of this venerable LNER Pacific along the waterfront.

In 1933, the London, Midland & Scottish 4-6-0 “The Royal Scot” arrived by ship in Montreal from the United Kingdom. The locomotive, renumbered 6100, was heading for the Chicago World’s Fair, travelling from Montreal to Toronto when it stopped in Kingston. Peter Gower kindly shared this photo showing the London, Midland & Scottish visitor here, with CN-style switch stand in foreground:

On August 17, 1936 the Rexall Train came to the city. Pulled by New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawk 2873, the entire train was royal blue and white. The locomotive’s streamlined sheet metal and conversion to an oil-burner prepared it for a 29,000-mile trip across North America. Four display, lecture and dining cars, plus private observation car for Rexall President Louis Liggett were part of a train consist of twelve cars. All cars were given balloon-style roofs over their existing clerestory roofs. Coming from the U.S. Midwest and Michigan, the train visited Kingston on its way to Quebec City. Parked on CN trackage along Ontario Street near CLC and Gore Street, the train attracted large crowds.

The Royal Train of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived in Kingston on May 21, 1939. Thirteen trainloads of spectators were brought to Richardson Stadium to cheer on the King and Queen’s motorcade while on their extensive cross-Canada tour. Their daughter Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited the Royal Military College in 1951.

In 1950 and 1952, hundreds of Canadian troops boarded special troop trains in Kingston during the Korean Conflict. CP trains at Place d'Armes and CN trains departing the Outer Station carried the soldiers to other bases or overseas. In September 1953, three cars of an Africa Zoo Train were spotted near CN’s freight shed. Spectators came to view animal displays in the cars. In October 1959, a carnival midway was loaded on flat cars at the Outer Station for furtherance to the next fair on its fall tour.

City Hall and the newly-opened Confederation Park hosted Canada’s Confederation Train from August 22 to 25, 1967. Arriving on the last remaining track across from City hall, the train was uncoupled with the two locomotives and steam generator car across Johnson Street near CLC, and its ten coaches between Johnson and the foot of Brock Streets. A line-up of eager visitors formed near preserved CP 1095, waiting to pass through the display cars.

On September 28, 1970 the London & North Eastern Pacific 4472, “Flying Scotsman” arrived on the very same track along with its coaches and boat-tailed bar car. Designed by Gresley and built in 1923, the green-painted steam locomotive and train were brought to Boston from the United Kingdom to tour North America. It was specially fitted with a headlight and operating bell for the tour. Open to the public on September 29, the weather was generally English and overcast before departing for Toronto the next day!

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrived by Royal Train at the Outer Station on June 27, 1973 for a motorcade to City Hall to celebrate the city’s Tercentenary. The Royal Train was wyed and staged on the Hanley Spur, with the Governor-General’s cars placed adjacent to the Belle Park golf course parking lot for the Royal Couple to reboard in the evening. Visiting Kingston again on September 28, 1984, the Royal Couple was taken by motorcade from the CN, now VIA Rail, station on Counter Street to Amherstview to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Loyalist settlement in Ontario.

In June, 1973 Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Kingston to celebrate its tercentenary. The train was stashed in the Hanley Spur, its tail-end observation car at Belle Park (above). Earlier, the guard of honour was ready at the Outer Station; the Hanley Spur behind the Vimy Band in the right-hand photo (L.C. Gagnon photos):

In July, 1978, Kingston was the premiere stop for Canada’s Discovery Train. Between July 22 and 26, the orange, black and white train was parked at the Hanley Spur’s north end along Montreal Street. The National Museums of Canada mounted displays in 15 cars which toured Canada between 1978 and 1980. One of the silhouettes painted on the cars was one of Kingston’s own bearded Fort Henry Guard. The display cars had previously been used for the U.S. Bicentennial American Freedom Train.

Monday, 21 October 2024

Wandering Wellington Street in Scale Yet Again

S. Anglin offices, Bay and Wellington Streets

I wandered the layout at extreme street level tonight. One iPhone, 75 images, 45 minutes. Fellow modeller and rail enthusiast Mark Perry of Winnipeg made a comment, one that I consider high praise, having seen these photos:

"Let me first just say I love that Eric shares these images, I love looking at them. They sure tell a story! The story I get from them, is:

A) his layout is a lot more sceniced than most people's layout (including my Plywood Pacific), his efforts need to be applauded for that!

B) it is not the most super detailed 100% accurate layout any of us have ever seen and it doesn't have to be, Eric is happy with it and he probably gets hours and hours of enjoyment doing what he is doing model wise. I think it is killer, I love all the little details instead of the endless new super detailed plastic locomotives and high priced freight cars.

C) model railroading is all about fun, take what you can out of it, after all it is only a simple hobby to enjoy, it is certainly not a way of life. Or is it?"

Sowards Coal office, Place d'Armes

Esso limestone warehouse, North Street

Houses, Wellington Street

Millard & Lumb, Place d'Armes

Bajus Brewery, Wellington Street

Davis Tannery, Rideau Street

Frontenac Floor & Wall Tile, Cassidy Street

K-D Manufacturing, Montreal Street

Quattrocchi's Specialty Foods, Montreal Street at Railway Streets

Dye & Chemical Co. of Canada Ltd., Orchard Street

Pigeons roosting on the roof of Bajus Brewery, Wellington Street

Tank car unloading Queen City Oil Co., Rideau at Cataraqui Streets

National Grocers, Cataraqui Street

Cooler Weather: Back to the Hanley Spur

During the spring and summer, my wife and I usually head to our sunroom after supper to enjoy the sunset while pursuing our respective hobbies. Now it's often a little cool in the sunroom in the evening, so it's time for me to spend an hour each night on my HO-scale Kingston's Hanley Spur home model railway layout.

This past week, I reset the layout after its summer slumber. That means checking and repositioning the freight cars on CN and CP lines, moving vehicles around, cleaning up layout-top detritus and generally preparing to operate the layout after summertime visits from our grandsons. They both enjoy making realistic and sometimes fantastic scenes on and around the layout trackage.

While doing the reset, I was building a CN switching run that would switch the industries in the vicinity of the CN Outer Station: Frontenac Floor & Wall Tile, the Davis Tannery, CN Express and Presland Iron & Steel. The engine crew is pictured here in one pose but multiple photo angles with my iPhone.

Each night between now and when the weather warms up, I'll be 'on-duty' from 1830-1930 hours each night. With the CBS Evening News and Erin Burnett OutFront keeping me updated on current events in the background, I do a deep dive into 1970s Kingston. I'll be learning about the real-world outside while doing my best to escape it in this tiny world I've created - moving freight cars around and serving Kingston's once-diverse waterfront industries as realistically as possible!

Wednesday, 9 October 2024

Kingston & Pembroke's Original Enginehouse

Its request refused to build on Fort Frontenac lands, the Kingston & Pembroke (K&P) instead settled on Place d’Armes in 1873. Its principal address was listed as Place d’Armes in 1885. The original station of the K&P in Kingston was built there. It later became the office building for the Frontenac Lumber & Coal Company. A spur was later laid here to serve the Montreal Transportation Company grain elevator. A small two-stall engine shed and turntable was nearby, in use between 1877 and 1883.

Andrew Jeanes recently shared an excellent analysis of the above photo, made from a glass negative in the Queen's University Archives Vosper Collection. It shows one of my favourite parts of Kingston's industrial waterfront and its trackage. The photo may have been taken from a building on the east side of Barrack Street.

Andrew writes:

The photo shows the lumber yard of the Rathbun Company and the coal yard of the James Sowards Coal & Wood Co. at Place d’Armes and Ontario Street in downtown Kingston.

Boxcar No. 444 belonged to the National Despatch Line, a private car operator that existed between 1869 and 1914. According to the June 1890 and June 1895 Official Railway Equipment Registers, National Despatch boxcars nos. 400-999 were all assigned to the Grand Trunk Railway, along with about 495 other boxcars in several number series.

James Sowards began conducting a coal and lumber business at the corner of Place d’Armes and Ontario Street in 1889, and the Rathbun Company moved its operations there from the foot of Queen Street in 1893. By 1907, the Frontenac Coal & Lumber Co. had taken over the Rathbun operation, so the photo must date from sometime between 1893 and 1906.

What’s really interesting to me is the building behind the boxcar with the large Rathbun Company sign and smaller Sowards sign on the roof. This was the original Kingston & Pembroke Railway enginehouse, built in November 1877. It was reported in the Whig as 70x53 feet, of frame construction, covered in iron and having a fire-proof roof. There was a turntable in front of this engine house from 1877 to 1883. In the 1908 fire insurance plan the building is labelled iron-clad “storage, cement salt etc."

In 1883 the K&P relocated to its new roundhouse at the foot of North Street, which was still there in the late 1970s. The old turntable at Place d’Armes was removed and the former enginehouse was leased for commercial purposes. The building survived until January 1920, when it was torn down along with a number of other buildings on the property. Today, this site is covered by the reconfigured intersection of Place d’Armes and Ontario Street and a portion of the Frontenac Village condo development.

An aerial view, circa 1915, shows the original K&P station and its engine house at opposite ends of the green line.

The buildings were located at the bottom left of this map:

A 1908 fire insurance map shows the station and engine house along Ontario Street:

Frontenac Lumber and Coal Company circa 1915 (below) Ontario Street at Place d Armes. Earlier, this was the first K&P station (Queen's University Archives, Kingston Picture Collection).