Jamie Emerton has been researching Elder's Beverages and kindly sent me four photos from Jack Elder's personal collection, shared here with Jamie's consent. The first two are dated 1952 and are taken from the back of the Elder's bottling works at 671 Montreal Street, across the CN Hanley Spur looking toward the Inner Harbour.
Just what I like about the Hanley Spur. Gritty, dirty, environmentally-incorrect. The top photo shows what looks to be an incinerator or furnace behind the Elder's buildings. A sign reads 'Sparkling Jamaica [Dry Ginger Ale]...Tastes..."
Two new CLC units (one CPA16-4 and one CPB16-4) for CP are taking a test run up the Hanley Spur, perhaps being taken up to the mainline for delivery.. Notable landmarks are the North American smelter smokestack at left and tannery smokestack at right. If this is 4053, which it appears to be in this slightly-blurred image, that checks out because with mid-1952 delivery dates for this series:
- 4052-4449 Jun 26/52 (although all listed as mated with respective B-unit for delivery)
- 4053-4450 Jul 25/52
- 4054-4451 Aug 25/52
- 4055-4452 Sep 19/52
- 4056-4453 Sep 26/52
- 4057-4454 Sep 30/52
The units' future looks bright on this sunny day. (Postcard image of workaday CP 4053 below, in service at Nelson BC.) But typical of most CLC diesel products, their life span was uniformly short - half that of CLC's steam products. The CPA16-4's were all scrapped between 1969 and 1975.
Two 1975 aerial views of Elder's neighbourhood. The first looks along Railway Street to Montreal Street. I've added an arrow to point out a CN insulated boxcar set out at Quattrocchi's, the only freight car visible. At this time, with the realignment of CN's mainline between Division and Montreal Streets, former CP-served industries were switched via a connection and agreement with CN.
More tightly-framed at Railway and Montreal Streets, the sprawling operation is K-D Manufacturing is at centre, with Elder's across Montreal Street. An unknown boxcar is again visible spotted at Quattrocchi's, with the CP spurs serving I.Cohen and MacCosham/Gamble Robinson, branching off to right:
My thanks to Jamie for sharing these remarkable images!
