Snapshot - August 2024

Surprising to think the station was once moved to this location along Hwy7 with the chimney still in place.

This months Snapshot is the old GTR Sebringville station built 1858 that was once on the line from Stratford to Goderich. The station was moved maybe twice, reportedly once to a camp ground then to this location along Hwy 7 just west of Shakespeare, Ontario. There it was used as a craft-antique shop and later selling veggies for a number of years. It has sat empty for decades now. The new owner a dairy farmer severed the property corner which houses a brick house, barn and this station. Unfortunately the new owner wanted the station gone. The building is so old that moving it was not an option without huge cost. The ground around the structure is not that stable today making loading a flatbed difficult and many trees have grown to very large sizes over the decades would have to come down also for the move which the owner of the property probably would not like to see done. So the new owner has a gentleman from nearby disassemble it piece by piece and salvage what he can to be sold...George Dutka  

This station will not be standing for long.  This is the back wall. All the roofing is removed, and a good amount of the siding. The station measures 18' by 37'.

The operator-ticket agent room.

There is a stairway which takes you to a storage attic. 

The passenger waiting room side of the ticket window.

One area of the station has a tin roof.

The trim pieces are so brittle that they can not be removed without being broken.

Sebringville station trackside 1968.

Layout Cleanup?

The WOD-NMRA gang take a look around the layout on Tuesday.

On Tuesday I hosted the WOD-NMRA executive BBQ and meeting. After the meeting the boys had a chance to check out my layout. Problem was I had not ran a train in over a year and there were rolling stock, engines, cobwebs and dust over the entire layout that should not be there. Well I spend a whole day on the weekend removing over 50 extra pieces of equipment and engines from the layout that filled the main line and yards that should not have been there. The track was cleaned and the vacuum came out for a good cleaning. I have a nice soft brush which cleaned the rooftops of structures...all the rolling stock was removed and dusted off. Not all made it back...some even got some repairs at the end of the day. Well all is good now and it only takes a group visiting to get things back in shape. 

The layout had been neglected for over 2 years while we looked after my wife's mom and later my wife...George Dutka 

Although all the trains should have been from the 1950's I added one that reflects the late 1970's.

Some NMRA awards were handed out. Here we see Pat Rivard receiving his Gold Spike award. Two others received their AP's.

Throwback Thursday - I’d Like to Introduce You to Margaret Yorke

Manned by a total crew of four workers, this tug/barge combination is about to land at the Sarnia boat slip on April 23, 1994.

By Peter Mumby.

In the post “Idler Car” of February 29, 2024 there was a brief discussion of how CN ferried excess height cars across the river between Sarnia and Port Huron due to limited clearances in the old St Clair railway tunnel.  In today’s photos we are looking west towards the St Clair River as a barge loaded with auto racks arrives at the Sarnia slip.  Shoving on the rear is the 99 foot long twin screw tractor tow boat “Margaret Yorke.”  Built in 1970 by Hike Metal Products of Wheatley, Ontario, she was originally commissioned to work on the Detroit River between Windsor and Detroit.  This assignment was soon superseded by the job out of Sarnia.  Following the opening of the new enlarged tunnel,  CN retired the vessel in 1995.  It was sold to Nigerian owners the next year.  

In this view the tugboat Margaret Yorke is completing her docking arrangements.

This photo provides a good broadside view of the vessel.

Wordless Wednesday No. 592

 

    

Two Million Page Views!

 

Poster found on Facebook

Another mile marker made. Yesterday the White River Division hit 2 million page views. Hard to believe that many have stopped by to see what Peter, Don and I have been up to. Thanks for checking in and I hope you enjoy the upcoming posts...George Dutka

Thought this was kind of a neat looking use of an old telegraph crossarms. 

In Ingersoll, Ont. this ex-cheese plant stands out. I always thought it would make a nice model. It is located along the CN mainline but one needs to walk in a bit to get this view. Now if a train would come by. Early morning August 7, 2024

I finished my Walthers chimney for the Bellows Falls scene. Once painted PanPastels are used to tone down the look.

Springbank Park Train

The small train that once was steam powered, July 3 2024

Many of you will not be at all interested in my local area history but for the blog followers from my area here is a bit of miniature steam train history.

Our local model train group gathered at Springbank Park here in London for a BBQ. To make it a bit more of a railroad event we picked a picnic area right beside the train tracks that carry children around the park. The train passed our location about every 30 minutes or less.

A bit about the train that I just learned from our local Byron Villager magazine. The Springbank flyer as it was once called began in 1923 with a miniature steam engine pulling the coaches. It was converted to diesel fuel in 1965 and was moved from the central park location to near Storybook Gardens in 1998. Storybook Gardens opened in 1958.  

I have included some photos from last month and one of the train in about 1956 when I was aboard at about age 2...George Dutka      

The train does a trial run each morning before passengers are loaded.

Our modelers club posing by the display train. Amazing how many members show up for a free BBQ.

This view is about 1956 with my parents and aunt in the foreground. The story goes my cousin who was maybe 8 or 9 was on the train with me...to keep an eye on me. I was 2 I think. When the train stopped my parents could not find me. My cousin was there but who knows were I got off to. They eventually tracked me down.

Napierville Junction - Bowser Model

The Bowser hopper arrived on my workbench with leftover decals to complete the model. The end numbering is missing on this factory lettered model.

Peter Mumby gifted me this Napierville Junction Bowser covered hopper after we discussed the 3-D printed D&H caboose I purchased at this years NERPM. As Napierville Junction is part of the D&H I am doing my caboose as that. I asked Peter if he might have a decal set for this model which he did not but came up with this Bowser model for me with the decals needed to letter it better. Thanks Peter and here it is completed...George Dutka

A close-up look at the roof. Some weathering but I hope not overdone.

I used a rust color micron 05 pen to add some rust spots on the roof and lower area of the car. The trucks and wheels are painted and Kadee true scale 158 couplers are added. Two Panpastels were only used for weathering.

Once the model was done I though it could use a bit more detail to take away form the heavy grabs and ladders which I did not want to remove from a finished model. I added TangentTSM-204 type 2 cut levers and Detail Associates #2206 eye bolts and Hi Tech Details flex rubber air hoses #6038 to my model. I think I will go back and do the same to my B&M covered hoppers also. The details are applied and some touch up painting is required.

A Camp location on the WRD

This little scene was built around the water edges near the causeway. It was a camp made from a Sylvan's out building and a small garage that had the roof chopped off. The canoes are from Sylvan also. The figures and car are Woodland Scenic items.

This was a scene on the WRD some years ago...prior to the drop-in causeway being removed...George Dutka  

B&M Engines Looking Good!

 

Dean Splittgerber sent me these two wonderful looking photos taken on a sunny day viewing a nice shine on the nose of the restored B&M engines...thanks Dean...George Dutka 

Throwback Thursday - Gananoque Junction

 

In the days of passenger service on the Thousand Islands Railway, interchange with CN was made from tracks located at the back (south) side of the station.

By Peter Mumby.

This southeast-facing view of the Gananoque Junction station was exposed on August 17, 1993.  Out of sight to the rear of the camera were the few remaining tracks of the interchange between the CN Kingston Subdivision mainline and the once-independent Thousand Islands Railway.  This was a line that ran a few miles south to the town of Gananoque proper, located near the west end of the St. Lawrence River and referred to as The Gateway to the Thousand Islands.  Originally conceived as the Gananoque and Rideau Railway,  its name was quickly changed to TIR before freight and passenger service commenced in the late 1880s.  The line was merged into CN in 1958, and passenger service was discontinued in 1962.  Freight serviced steadily declined, leading to its termination in 1995.  All remaining rails were lifted by 1997.  The Gananoque (Junction) station currently is used by several Via trains each day on its Toronto-Ottawa run.

Wordless Wednesday No 591

 

       

Southampton CN Station

This is how the station looked on my last visit to town, Sept 7, 2010.

Back last month I stopped in at Southampton. I decided to see how the station was doing as it has been a long time since I was last there. At first I could not find it...I was looking for the large open area with the station in the middle. Since my last visit they built a lot of houses all around it making it not all that noticeable. The station has been refurbished into a home...it looks really good now...George Dutka   

July 5 2024

The owner was out cutting the lawn and we had a bit of a conversation. The station was a restaurant for a long time before being converted into a house. The owner kept the Mastercard and Visa crests on the door for sometime but after having people open the door and walk in thinking it was still a restaurant he removed them.

Weathering touch-ups

My True Line Trains covered hopper got a few rust spots applied with a Micro black pen followed by dragging some of the PanPastels found on the model. The Micro pen does work over the powders. I then highlighted the edges of the running board and roof ribs with PanPastel raw umber shade. The center of the hatches got a touch also.

I brought my two CN covered hoppers back to the workbench for a bit of a touch-up to the roof top hatches. I wanted a more weathered look to that area...George Dutka   

I used PanPastel gray and raw umber shade to highlight the top half of this covered hopper. I left the sides of the car pretty clean.

I am dusting over the Micron 05 rust colored pen marks and Vallejo rust texture spots applied which tones down the final appearance. The outside edges of the running board will get a light coat of PanPastel raw umber shade shortly.

Prototype Corner-Newest Train/Oldest Station

Via 2317 and its Venture train set make a brief station stop at Port Hope on August 03/24.

 By Peter Mumby  

Photo By Robin Long.

The accompanying photo shows the juxtaposition of one of Canada’s newest trains and one of the country’s oldest in-service railway stations.  The train is one of the Siemens Venture sets, and the structure is the Via station at Port Hope.  This station is located just west of the 1232 foot long Port Hope Viaduct at mile 270.7 of the CN Kingston Subdivision.  It was opened in 1856 on the Toronto-Montreal mainline of the Grand Trunk Railway and is still served by several Toronto-Ottawa trains daily.  In 1985 the building was restored to its appearance of 100 years earlier and in 1992 it received its designation as a heritage railway station from the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.  Two similar limestone stations still exist along the Kingston Sub, specifically at Napanee (in service) and Ernestown (boarded up).  For a view of the east side of the station, see the post  “Via 651 at Port Hope” of June 20/19.  For a few other photos of Port Hope see “New England Power in Ontario” of August 28/21 and “You’re My Soul and My (Prototype) Inspiration” of August 04/17.

August 2024 update

My workbench with an Athearn North Stratford Ry boxcar ready for weathering. Note all the other pieces of equipment waiting their turn. With all our family issue in the past some have been there a couple of years or more.

I have got some modeling in during August but mostly weathering boxcars that have been on my workbench for sometime now. Glad to have got my hands dirty once again. I have also got out railfanning officially for the first time this year...although I have taken some train pictures from time to time this month was the first time I spent half a day trackside watching trains go by...George Dutka

My Walthers covered bridge is now complete. If you want to see more about it check out my narrow gauge blog for what I did.

The new CP underpass in London is not yet completed and graffiti has already started to appear.

Brian Smith gave me these two nicely detailed Accurail hoppers back in the early spring before he left for New Brunswick. The car on the left is complete while the right car needs a bit of a tone down to the weathering. I also applied PanPastel coarse coal to the loads. It gives the coal sparkle. The weathering on the sides was done with Bragdon Iron.

This car has wire grabs which replace the thick plastic ones that the model came with. Some wire piping is also added to the underbody.

The models are ready to roll. One has more detailing applied then the other.

I was on my way home yesterday from Muskoka and stopped by the Milton train sation which is now in a park within site of the CN Halton Sub. It is in the process of having some footing work done to it. I decided to have my lunch in one of the covered shelters in the park as it was noon...thought maybe I could also see a freight go by, but no luck. Aug 15, 2024

Throwback Thursday - A Little Variety, Please.

 

CP 550363 was parked in the CP yard at Havelock on August 07, 1994.  

By Peter Mumby.

Long cuts, or even solid trains, of enclosed auto racks are pretty normal on all of today’s large railways.  The sameness of these cars can often make train-watching a little on the dull side.  Perhaps you can remember when such consists contained a mixture of these enclosed racks with older cars of the open variety.  Consider CP 550363, a 1965 product of National Steel Car.  It belonged to the 550260-550384 series.  Many cars of this type were built as fully open cars and had the side screens added as a later modification.