From Main Street to the Back Forty: The Renfrew Subdivision (Part I)

To most railway enthusiasts in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, what was once the CN Renfrew Subdivision is now technically Nylene Canada's Renfrew Spur. The track hosts one train a week, delivering tank cars of caprolactum to Nylene Canada's plant in Arnprior.

CN 589 crosses March Road in 2021 en route to Arnprior. The weekly train is the last vestige of a long history of operations on the former Renfrew Subdivision. Just to the right of the track is Station Street, where the old South March railway station once stood.

But what many people often forget is this lonely right-of-way was once one of the busiest railways in Canada. Yes, that's right. In all of Canada. 

Today, you'd hardly even be able to imagine it. Let's start briefly at the beginning. John Rudolphus Booth built a rail line from Depot Harbour*, on Georgian Bay, all the way to Ottawa, where it connected to Booth's other railway, the Canadian Atlantic. The two railways were soon joined under the CAR banner. The Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway began operations in 1897. 

(*- if Depot Harbour sounds unfamiliar, it's because Booth made the decision to establish his own port, away from Parry Sound, to foil the schemes of railway speculators in the town) 

Why was it the busiest rail line in Canada? Two reasons. Booth gained timber rights in Algonquin Park, which provided a great deal of traffic to his saw mill in Ottawa, not to mention to eastern U.S. markets via the CAR's terminus in Vermont. 

Secondly, Booth's OA&PS also shipped as much as 40 percent of the grain from the Canadian west to the St. Lawrence, as the fourth Welland Canal had yet to be completed. This meant that shipping grain via modern freighters on the Great Lakes was not yet possible due to the limitations of the smaller canals in the Welland area. The final Welland Canal was completed in 1932, which essentially replaced the Renfrew Subdivision's source of through grain from the Prairies.  

Booth's line was incredibly busy before this development, which is why it isn't surprising that the operations were acquired by the Grand Trunk in 1905. Of course, the boom years inevitably came to an end.

A Canadian National passenger train makes its way along the Renfrew Subdivision in the 1940s at an unknown location. Photo from the Canada Science and Technology collection.

The sharp downfall of the old Booth line happened mainly because of the grain movements shifting south to Welland, not to mention the fact that Booth had exhausted the useful timber in Algonquin Park, meaning the two main sources of through freight were gone. That meant that, by the 1930s, the Booth line had very much shifted to a secondary railway line under what was then the Canadian National Railways company, which bought the Grand Trunk in 1923.

It was a swift decline for a line that opened up vast stretches of Algonquin Park to tourists, considering it led to the creation of the Highland Inn and Cache Lake Station in the park. Many people forget that the Renfrew Subdivision was one of two major rail lines that crossed through the park, the other being the CN Northern Transcontinental Line. That line, the Beachburg Subdivision, went through what is now northwest Ottawa into the Pontiac Region in Quebec before crossing back into Renfrew County and all the way up to Pembroke, Petawawa and beyond.

The writing was on the wall for the Renfrew line as far back as 1933, when a trestle over Cache Lake/Lake of Two Rivers in Algonquin Park was closed due to safety concerns. That meant the line was cut in two and never reconnected. The western section between Depot Harbour/Parry Sound and Cache Lake was operated until 1952, when it was closed for good. The eastern section, terminating at Whitney, on the eastern edge of Algonquin Park, soldiered on as a local branch line for some time.

Fast forward to more recent times when most of the car load business dried up. For many years, CN tried to rid itself of the trackage, even when it was severed west of Arnprior. The line's final customer,  Nylene Canada (formerly BASF), still requires train service, as it cannot easily receive its needed product, caprolactum, by truck.

In the 1990s, there was talk of BASF being serviced by CP Rail's Chalk River Sub, which also reached up through Arnprior at one point. That connection was never made and the Chalk River Sub is history. In the end, a compromise was reached, which meant that the former Region of Ottawa-Carleton bought the land on which the tracks sit, while Nylene Canada bought the rails. That relieved CN of the obligation to maintain the line. 

When the Ottawa Central Railway took over CN's local operations in 1998, there was no longer any real threat to the Renfrew Sub. But when OCR sold back to CN in 2008, the same threat that has faced this line for decades resurfaced.

CN now serves Nylene on contract each week, essentially with running rights on an otherwise dormant line. This system seems to work, although CN has tried in recent years to remove itself entirely from Ottawa once again. Right now, its focus is mainly on customers east of the city. 

I'm skipping over decades of freight train history on this line, but it's not altogether that different from what you see on other marginal train lines. Without major freight customers, a branch line is not going to survive in today's highly centralized world of transcontinental railways. 

I figured we could relive some history and go on a trip from Ottawa to Whitney on the Renfrew Subdivision. 

Luckily for us, rail photographer Aubrey Mattingly was busy taking photographs of railways in the Ottawa area for decades. His collection passed into the hands of the Canada Science and Technology Museum. Many of his photos include everyday, somewhat mundane scenes that are now invaluable to us as we piece together the past. 

Let's start at the obvious place: Union Station in downtown Ottawa. This is what the old station looks like today, as the home of the Senate of Canada, which has been displaced from Parliament Hill due to construction of the Centre Block.

Thanks to some information supplied by Steve Boyko of traingeek.ca and Eric Gagnon of Trackside Treasure, I can pinpoint the final days of passenger rail service on the Renfrew Subdivision. CN ran its final trains on the line in 1961, but let's take the train in 1959, which is a significant year. It was the last year that many of the vestiges of the line's heyday remained.

UNION STATION: 4:30 p.m. departure 

Taking a Railiner (RDC or Budd Car in other words), you will leave Ottawa at 4:30 p.m.

This leads you to the first stop, which is the Bells Corners flag stop. It's important to note that, prior to the building of the Queensway, much of the land where the highway sits was the Renfrew Subdivision. After the National Capital Commission began lifting rail lines in the city under an expansive beautification effort in the 19502, the Renfrew Subdivision was largely scrapped from where it began all the way to Nepean Junction, where it branched off the Beachburg Subdivision.  

Sadly, there are no existing photographs of the Bells Corners station, but I imagine it would have been near Bells Junction, where the CN line met the CP Carleton Place Subdivision, which is also where there was once a flyover crossing. There is also a chance that the station was located west of here, near where Highway 416 is now. It's important to note that the 416 cut was obviously level ground in earlier days. 

Twenty minutes to get from downtown to Bells Corners? That seems slow by rail. There must have been serious speed restrictions. 

BELLS CORNERS flag stop: 4:50 p.m. 

SOUTH MARCH flag stop: 4:58 p.m.

This is the station that got me on the case of looking up the story of this rail line again. You might recall that I took a first crack at the history of this line in this post from 2019. I have often wondered what became of the Kanata train station, which was located on Station Street, just off of March Road, in the eastern part of the former city. My mistake was looking up Kanata Station in online searches. Needless to say, Kanata did not exist as a city until 1978, which I should have known.

Before Kanata was developed in earnest from farm land in the 1960s, it was mainly a rural township called March Township, hence the station's name, South March. The photo below is from the Canada Science and Technology Museum collection, as are all the remaining black and white images in this post.

 

This image was taken in 1958, shortly before CN demolished this building in 1959. That is why our 1959 trip west is so significant. It would have been the last time you could see all of these historic relics of the Renfrew Subdivision's past.

CARP STATION: 5:08 p.m.

This image, from 1944, is evidence of how important the railway was to small towns on this line. The Carp station seems quite large for a community so small. It's important to remember that, in the 1950s, the road network in this part of Ottawa was not nearly as developed as it is now. Same goes for many parts of Canada. Post-WWII, cars took over and the road network largely replaced short-distance passenger rail. Even in 1959, taking the train on this line would likely not have been a popular choice, as the operation was just a few years away from being discontinued.

This is where the history becomes fascinating to me. Many place names that are familiar to Ottawa residents but show no sign of their rail history, come alive, thanks to these images. Which brings us to our next stop.

KINBURN STATION: 5:19 p.m.

Note the similarity of the architecture of the stations on this line. It seems to me they were designed to provide accommodation to station agents and their families. It's hard for us now to understand the need for so many stations so close together.

 

This photo above was taken in 1959, again right before the station was demolished by CN. It's amazing that someone would think to capture images of so many stations in the 1950s. That brings us to our next stop, still in the western reaches of what is now Ottawa.

GALETTA STATION: 5:27 p.m.

You must be thinking that you're seeing double. The stations along this line were very much carbon copies of each other in many places, particularly in the smaller communities. You can see an old luggage cart on the platform of this station and the freight shed, for people who shipped goods via the railway express service.

At this point in the trip, you will be leaving what was then known as Carleton County, later the Region of Ottawa-Carleton (now Ottawa), so we will pick up our trip further east in the next post. You are by now an hour into your trip and you're not even out of Carleton County. This train is the definition of milk run!

This is an image from my map of the CN Rail system, back when the Renfrew Subdivision was still in place to the town of Renfrew in Renfrew County. After the train leaves what is now Ottawa, there are a few more surprise in store on the line. That will wait for the next post. 

The Railfan 5, Take Two

If you have been reading this blog for years, you might remember that, in 2014, I participated in the Railfan Five challenge, an initiative that began with Eric Gagnon of the Trackside Treasure blog (click the Trackside Treasure link for his latest five). He's been a great influence on me. When he asked me to come up with another five photos that tell my railfan story, I readily agreed. I had to give it some thought, because Eric suggested five photos from five years. In his case, he joked that coming up with five was tough for him, given the embarrassment of riches he had to sift through from his time trackside on the mainline in Kingston. Here in Ottawa, the size of the photo vault is considerably smaller.

But then, inspiration struck.

I was just beginning to go through my 2015 photos when I started looking through my file labelled "Arnprior Local." I found a photo I instantly loved and decided that it should be my shot for 2015. Then it occurred to me that maybe finding a shot of the Arnprior Turn for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 might be a fun idea.

After all, for better or worse, this tiny runt of a train has become this blog's calling card more than anything else. I have mixed feelings about that, since I always want to offer more, but I also appreciate that readers are enamored with this train for various reasons. And, I have to say, since this train is so hard to catch, it makes every one of my photos of 589 special. So, without further ado, here is my Railfan Five, which really does tell the story of this blog, my railfanning in recent years and the state of railways in Ottawa.
 
Sept. 2015

This shot was taken when I had a few minutes of spare time before picking up with daughter at her daycare provider's house. My newborn baby was along for the ride, since she didn't like me much at first and would only settle down when I took her for a car ride. To be honest, 2015 was a very tough time for me, as I really struggled with my health and nearly gave up blogging. But then, little moments like this occurred and they always managed to stir within me that passion I have for railways. This shot really captures the ragged glory of the Beachburg Subdivision and the remnants of CN's operations in this part of the country.

Feb. 2016

Again, remember when I said that every time I caught this train, it was an achievement? This meet was fleeting and it almost didn't happen. I was on my way home from the hospital after undergoing an early morning MRI when I made sure to make my way home close to the tracks. It was on this miserable winter morning that I caught the one-car Arnprior Turn meandering its way through Bells Corners. I had to fire off a few blind shots from my car while keeping my eyes on the road. I ended up with some spectacular winter shots. I know some people would take issue with the poles and visual distractions, but I like them. If I'm going to show CN's operations here as they really are, then I have to show all the imperfections.

April 2017

This is the one meet I don't have a good story for, sadly. Those who read this blog know that my strengths do not necessarily lie with the technical knowledge of railways. Instead, I feel my strength lies with the personal stories and the big picture thoughts on railways in general. That's why I wish I had something profound to share about this meet, but I don't. An old warhorse GP9 pulls a string of four cars west (four cars! That's as good as it gets on this line). The great thing about chasing the Arnprior Turn is that you are almost always guaranteed to see a classic piece of motive power. CN doesn't usually have anything new working up here. And that's okay with me.


April 2018

This shot was taken from atop of snow pile at the end of a very long winter. It was also taken at a time when I was having a phenomenally hard time at work, right before I switched ministries and found a much better job in the public service. I recall capturing this shot and once again feeling better about life in general. And that is something I can't stress enough. For me, being trackside makes life better. It's a stress reliever and it's a way for me to connect with my family history. There's something about railways that runs very deep within me. It's very hard to explain. When I was putting together this post and came up with the idea of featuring the Arnprior Turn as my theme, I keep hoping against hope that I actually had a shot for each year. This was my only meet with this train in 2018. That snow pile really helped the shot, coincidentally.

March 2019

Have you noticed that, of all the shots I've shared of CN trains on the Beachburg Sub, not one features a current CN livery? All of them but one have the safety scheme. This last one was really special since I was able to capture some leased power in the midst of a snow squall. Once again, I was standing on a snow pile about 10-12 feet high, which allowed me to avoid chopping off half the train behind the weed-choked fencing. I remember when I first arrived at this spot that day, there was no snow falling. But by the time the train rumbled by, most of my shots were almost blurry because of severity of this squall. It makes no difference. It made for a very interesting shot.

So, I'd be lying if I said that my story as a railfan in the last five years didn't somehow include this train. CN 589 has been a cruel mistress at times, but it has also done wonders for this blog. So, despite my somewhat lukewarm feelings toward CN, I am grateful for what little success I've had in the last few years.

I remember in the original Railfan Five post that everyone who took up the challenge made a mention of a train-related organization that they intended to support. In my case, my support in the coming year will be directed at the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in Smiths Falls. They do tremendous work with not a lot of help. This museum is a must for all railfans. I can't wait to bring my girls back there this spring.

Other Railfan 5 blog entries worth checking out include Steve Boyko's Railfan 5 on his Traingeek site as well as Chris Mears' entry on his site, Prince Street.

Starting year six with 589

It just goes to show you that there's no substitute for your being observant. When it comes to the famous Arnprior Turn, you really have to track it week to week and try to find trends, if you want to catch it. You've likely read in this blog before that there is no trackside signal to watch, no scanner to listen to. You just have to know when CN's 589 makes its way over the Beachburg Sub and Renfrew Spur as it services Nylene Canada in Arnprior each Wednesday.

In February and March, I noticed many times on my walk home from the bus that I would hear 589 blowing its horn as it crossed Corkstown Road. I live fairly close to that crossing, but it's easy to notice this horn as the sound carries a great distance. And it is decidedly different from the Via trains I hear on the Smiths Falls Sub, which is farther from where I live..

In early April, I made mental note that 589 was passing through my neighbourhood around 4:10 p.m. to about 4:20 p.m. for several weeks in a row. One day after work, I was home early so I decided to see if my observations would pay off. I camped out near a massive snow bank near Northside Road in Bells Corners to maybe catch this train.

Turns out, I was right. I heard the train's horn around 4:10, but had to wait another five minutes before the train trundled its way over the Robertson Road flyover before strutting past my vantage point. I hopped onto the nearby seven-foot high snowbank (now long gone) and clicked away.

No leased power in Ottawa! Just the standard tired old geeps that work the Ottawa jobs, in this case 4708 with the old safety scheme. And I'm not sure why the cars and SUVs were parked like this in the lot.

Given the unchecked growth near the tracks, these shots will not be possible once the green takes hold and blocks much of the view.

Look at those sad old telegraph poles. I'm surprised they have lasted this long. Many have been knocked down trackside or taken down by weeds and the elements.

There's a reason I don't set up at this spot often. Way too many visual hazards, but in this case, I only had time to make it here. Beggars can't be choosers.

Those who know this part of the city know that the train in this last shot is crossing over Highway 416, which is located well below Northside Road.

Alas, the Arnprior train has shifted its times since I caught it in early April. I tried to get out there to catch it at the same time the following week, but had no luck. Such is the life of an Ottawa railfan, I guess.

The Arnprior Turn's Greatest Hits (and Misses)

The Arnprior Turn has been a mixed blessing for this blog. On one hand, it really has generated a lot of enthusiasm among local railfans. It has also spawned a lot of discussion on this blog. On the other hand, it has at times overshadowed everything else that I wanted to share. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm just trying to describe my ambivalence toward this one lonely train.

The reason I sometimes stay away from posting too much about CN 589 is because someone from outside the city might get the impression that there is nothing else to see in Ottawa other than this lonely little runt of a train. No so. CN's freight operations east of Walkley Yard are much more extensive. After all, CN has to interchange cars at Coteau, Que. It also serves Ivacco in L'Orignal. These trains have never really been covered in this blog simply because I don't have the time to catch these freights. One day...

And, let's not forget that CN also operates 589 on the Smiths Falls Sub twice a week, for the most part, where customers like SynAgri and Kott Lumber require fairly regular drop-offs and pick-ups, depending on the time of year.

All this to say, there is more to railfanning in this city than the Arnprior Turn. However, I have pursued this train for several years and have caught it a select few times. The trick to catching this train is figuring out how much work CN crews need to do in Walkley Yard before they set off for Arnprior. But I have caught the train a few times and wanted to present a small photo album of my favourite shots from my meets.

In April 2015, I nearly caught the Arnprior Turn on its return to Walkley Yard. I say almost because I was a little late and watched the train pass over the Moodie Drive flyover as I waited at a traffic light. I was just on my way to a spot to photograph this train when it passed by me. This was the only really decent shot I got while waiting at the traffic light. It was the first of many frustrating experiences with this train.

A month later, I had a morning to myself so I set off for a spot on the Trans-Canada Trail near Corkstown Road to catch this train. I had heard that it was passing through at a certain time. The tip turned out to be a good one, as I didn't have to wait long to catch it. This was one of the few times when I was able to catch the train at this spot. Its timetable often fluctuates, which means it will leave you waiting. And waiting.

I didn't have to wait too long to catch this train a third time. In September 2015, I was on parental leave and would sometimes take my baby daughter on a short drive before I picked up my oldest daughter from daycare. I often took a different route to the babysitter's house so I could pass by the Beachburg Subdivision's Corkstown Road level crossing. This was the result as a two-car consist was making its way back to Walkley Yard. It took a lot of photoshopping to touch up this shot, which was taken in some harsh sunlight from a parking lot near the crossing.

I mentioned that this train was a frustrating one to catch, right? In June 2016, I was taking photos near Fallowfield Station when I decided to head back to Bells Corners to set up for a meet with this train. As you see, I was just seconds late. Here you can see the train crossing Highway 416.

In February of 2016, I was on my way home from an early morning appointment when I was travelling on Northside Road, which parallels the Beachburg Sub. I nearly missed the train, but as it passed, I managed to pull over and get a few shots. I can't tell you how many times I have had near misses with this train. Thankfully, this hasty meet turned out okay. I got quite a few shots from this meet, but I liked this one. As I mentioned before, the changes in this train's timing often meant I have been left waiting at this spot only to realize I was not going to catch 589.

Since I have been back working in downtown Ottawa , I have not been able to even think of chasing this train. My last meeting with this train was again on the Trans-Canada Trail near Corkstown Road in April of this year on a day off. I really liked this shot because it captures a vintage GP9 in the old safety scheme pulling a four-car consist. This is the longest Arnprior Turn consist I have seen. The crew even gave me a wave. I would imagine they have a good laugh at the few foamers who bother to try and catch this train.

Looking for some railway history

Chances are, you can take just about any town in Canada without rails and find some sort of railway influence in its past. Even now, in communities where railways still pass through, you will likely find a much more extensive railway past.

This year, I hope to dig up some more rail history as part of my meanderings here on the blog. In the coming months, I am hoping to share some photos and thoughts about some historic railway towns here in the Ottawa Valley. I am hoping that some of my blog's readers who live in the Ottawa area can make some suggestions for some piece of local rail history they would like to see me approach.

As an example, I am putting together a post about Almonte, which is a beautiful town west of Ottawa that was once served by the Canadian Pacific's Chalk River Sub. I am proud to say I have witnessed action along this old rail line in Almonte.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share some interesting photos that will kick off Beachburg Sub's Year of Rail History. Since this year marks Canada's 150th birthday, I think it's only fitting that we take a couple looks back and celebrate our history.

This photo above is a shot of Mooretown's old Pere Marquette railway station, which was saved for the museum after it was moved from its spot on the St. Clair Parkway where it was used as a private home. The station itself was sold off for use as a home when it was deemed redundant to the railway at some point. In 1988, the family living in the old station moved to a larger home so the station was moved to the Moore Museum grounds, just down the road from the tracks.

Of course, Mooretown's train station is a success story. Some locals obviously felt the old station should have been saved, so they loaded it onto a large trailer and brought it from its spot on the river and to the museum. The image above is from the Moore Museum. It was sent to me by a reader, but I don't know much about the circumstances of the move. This is only one of two stations to survive along this old rail line, the other being the Dresden station.

Of course, many other buildings on the Sarnia Subdivision were not so lucky. For a time, CSX kept a trackside shed in Port Lambton, which bore the town name. That trackside structure was sold to a local resident and used in the family's back yard as a shed.

The other day, I saw a larger shot of this timetable on one of my Facebook railway groups, which began to get me thinking about history.

As you can see, there were once eight passenger trains plying the Sarnia Subdivision. This is not surprising, since railways were the main mode of transportation between towns before cars became the dominant mode of personal transportation.

But what I found interesting is how many stops these passenger trains made. For example, in my hometown, Corunna, you had four trains a day, two northbound and two southbound. I am determined to find out more about passenger service on this line, particularly when it ended. I am guessing it was discontinued shortly after the Second World War, but it may have been sooner.

My hometown is a place with almost no visual history remaining. There are possibly two or three Confederation era homes left in the town and one church, built in 1862, but that's it. The rest of the town appears as if it was thrown together after the 1960s. I would love to find out more information about my hometown's train station. This timetable is the first document I have seen that proves there was some sort of passenger station (or possibly shack) in Corunna.

Closer to my current home, I recently uncovered two references to two railway stations in Bells Corners. I am pretty sure the old CN station was located behind the fence in this picture, where Northside Road meets Cassidy Road (Cassidy Road used to be part of Cedarview Road).Sadly, it was not saved. In fact, Ottawa had many more stations scattered around the city but none were saved, except the old Union Station downtown.

I also read a reference to the other Bells Corners railway station, which was located along the old Canadian Pacific Carleton Place Sub (now a recreational trail) along what is now known as Fitzgerald Road. I wasn't able to find anything more specific as to where the station was. What makes this task so tough is that there is very little online about the history of Bells Corners (same problem with Corunna).

This is a shot of the old Carleton Place Sub. The station would have been located somewhere on the right side of the trail. My goal this year is to try and find out where the old station was located.

So, that is my mission for this year. I welcome any suggestions from anyone out there as to what they might want me to research. Hopefully, we can shine a light on some long forgotten railway relics this year.

CN 589 at Northside Road

The good news is I finally caught CN's Arnprior local in Bells Corners, which has been on my to-do list for a while. The bad news is I just barely caught it and had to improvise to get a few shots.

The morning I caught it, I fully intended to set up a shot alongside the tracks on a stretch of Northside Road in Bells Corners. Unfortunately, I had a last-minute appointment scheduled for early in the morning across the city, which compressed my timeline somewhat. After navigating my way back to my neighbourhood through snowy conditions, I was driving down Northside, just past the bridge that carries the CN Beachburg Subdivision over Highway 416. As I made my way around a bend in the road, not more than a few metres from a parking lot where I was going to set up, I saw the train plodding along. I was about a minute too late to set up. On to Plan B.

I had my camera out so I pointed it at the train and took a few blind shots while focusing on the road. The consist headed to Nylene Canada in Arnprior was about as short as you will find. CN GP38-2W 4760 was pulling DNAX 300908.

I noticed a strange badge on the side of the tank car, which, upon further inspection, turned out to be Dana Rail Care. It turns out, DNAX 300908 is the reporting mark belonging to the Delaware-based company, which specializes in railcar washing and maintenance. I have never seen one of these cars before, so that made up for the fact that 589 only had a single car in the consist. Considering that I have seen this train in recent months (sans camera sadly) pulling as many as four cars, it was a bit of a let down to catch it with just a single car.

As the road and right-of-way diverged a bit, I was able to get some wider shots of the tiny train. It should be obvious that, if you are planning to shot a train in this area, summer is not a good time since there is so much brush and weeds growing along the tracks.

I was reasonably happy with my shots, especially the snowfall that I managed to catch. I have long thought that my collection of railway images was severely lacking in winter photos. I think I have managed to address some of that shortage in recent weeks.

I thought I would include this shot, which places the railway tracks in context. The rail line winds around the northern edge of Bells Corners, winding past a number of small-scale industrial and commercial facilities. Here 589 slips in behind a commercial complex before the trackage passes over Robertson Road.

I also though I would throw in this initial shot, which I took as I made my way around a bend in the road and first noticed the train. I left in the glare from the windshield, just to illustrate how quickly I had to try and grab some shots. I did end up with a few shots where road signs were blocking the view of the train. In this shot, I just barely squeezed in the train before some of the road signs began.

 

In recent weeks, I have found myself driving around areas that cross the Smiths Falls Subdivision and have noticed that one of CN's main customers along the line, Kott Lumber, has been ordering two lumber cars at its Moodie Drive facility. This is the first time I have noticed more than a single car at the facility. Further along the tracks, at the SynAgri feed mill, there have been no hopper car deliveries in recent weeks, which suggests to me that the mill will not need any rail service until the spring.

 

I also mentioned in the summer that bundles of rail ties have been left by the tracks, which suggested that track work was about to be done in and around Ottawa. Those ties are still sitting trackside, which means the track work is still to be done. It might be something for local rail watchers to keep an eye on as the spring weather takes hold here. 

CN cleans house in Ottawa: Last piece of Carleton Place Sub dismantled

It's officially on borrowed time. The last stubby little piece of the Canadian Pacific Carleton Place Subdivision is being removed by CN. This tiny spur has been used for years for car storage but the last few covered hoppers were removed in spring 2013, leaving the little spur unused for the last two years. CN has begun to remove the trackage and will no doubt soon replace the Bells Junction switch with continuous rail. That means Bells Junction will officially be just Bells on the CN network map, if it is anything at all.

So, with another piece of Ottawa's rail network gone, I thought I'd share some photos of these rails in their final days alongside what the scene is like today. This, below, was the remnant of the Carleton Place spur on New Year's Day 2015. Even then, its days appeared numbered.

And this is the scene now. The line that once turned away from Beachburg has been cleared. Walking along the right-of-way (not on it), there were piles of rails, tie plates, spikes and other scraps littered around.

Here's one last look at Bells Junction and the long-since disconnected signaling equipment that once served a transcontinental rail line. This junction was created in 1966 as part of a scheme to tear up a large portion of the rail network from Ottawa, as part of a beautification scheme. The CP Carleton Place Subdivision used to pass beneath the Beachburg Subdivision a little further west of this junction (you can read about the history of this junction here). The CP line, which once wended its way through a number of west-end Ottawa neighbourhoods and farm fields, was ripped up all the way to Bells Corners, where CP built a turnout off of Beachburg. This shared trackage arrangement lasted until 1990 when the last of Via Rail's Canadians used the Carleton Place Subdivision. The Canadian's route was then changed and the subdivision was torn up, since CP had ceased all freight operations on the line before 1990.

Here's a shot below of some rails on their way out of Ottawa. This has been a familiar site for me in the last year or so. It's a shame to see this spur go, but it really served no purpose once it was no longer used for car storage. I was surprised that CN stored cars at all, since half of Walkley Yard is empty at any given time (this is the former CP side of the yard), making it a much better site for storage.

This photo below was taken during one of the first expeditions I took when I started this blog in April 2013. These are the last cars that were stored on the line in May 2013. Shortly after I took this photograph, the cars were removed. I recall that, around 2012, CN also stored a row of flat cars on this line for some reason.

 

Here's an interesting shot from the past, when Bells Corners was beginning to develop close to the tracks. Here a CP passenger train branches off Beachburg on its way west over the Carleton Place Sub to Carleton Place in 1973. Given the length of the consist, I can only speculate that it might be the Canadian.

 

 Canada Science and Technology Museum image

 

So, this area will soon take on a different look. With this spur gone, there will be almost no spurs left on the Beachburg Subdivision and Renfrew Spur. Some spur trackage remains around Carp but, other than that, the line is pretty much a straight shot out to Arnprior now, with no junctions or spurs. I can't help but think we are in the final days of freight trains in Ottawa's west end. I can only hope, as a rail fan, that Nylene Canada continues to thrive and make use of rail service for years to come. Because it really is the last customer left standing for Ottawa's rail fans in the west end.

Guest Post: Passenger Timetables of the Carleton Place Sub

(This is another post from Beachburg Sub contributor, Dave M. Please note that Dave has started his own Ottawa railway blog, Ottawa 589, which I encourage you to check out. Also, as always, please feel free to leave a comment and let Dave know what you think - Michael)

By Dave M

CP Rail passenger train branches off at Bells Junction onto the CP Carleton Place Subdivision. From the Canada Science and Technology Museum archives.

Since 1870, trains travelled over the Carleton Place Sub, which was CP Rail's passenger line from Ottawa to points northwest. I've often wonder how many passenger trains travelled this section of track from Bells Corners to Stittsville, Ashton and Carleton Place. Going through my limited timetable collection (and what I've dug up on the internet), I managed to find timetables 1927, 1939, 1950, 1960, 1966, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1987.

1927 Timetable

1939 Timetable

1950 Timetable

1960 Timetable

 

1966 Timetable

 

 

1977 Timetable

1979 Timetable

1981 Timetable

1987 Timetable

Unfortunately, the Carleton Place Sub was abandoned in 1990. It has found a new life as a very well used recreational path. If you are looking for more information on the Carleton Place Sub, the Mississippi Valley Associated Railroaders has a good site, which you can find here.

Two CP Rail passenger trains meet at the old Carleton Place Station. Photo from the Canada Science and Technology Museum Archives.

Collecting timetable snippets for this post was challenging. I am looking for schedules prior to 1927. If any readers have any spots where I can find old passenger railway timetables, feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks to Dave for this. Next week, I am happy to share another Beachburg Sub reader, Don Douglas's guest post about his successful meet with our favourite weekly train, the Arnprior local in Carp. -Michael