Winter surprises in frozen Ottawa (Part I)

I finally made it out to capture some winter railroading shots last weekend and it brought to mind a comic strip. I recall Calvin and Hobbes peering down from a high hill, wondering why they are about to hurdle themselves down the precipice in a wagon. I asked myself a similar question this past weekend, as I braved the -30 C conditions to get a few winter railroad images.

In between the frostbite and quick retreats to my car, I did manage to capture some interesting images. These shots helped me uncover a few pieces of news that I was not aware of before. I was in the east end of the city to drop my daughter off at a birthday party at a laser tag facility, so I had a few hours on my hands. 

As the facility was just across Saint Laurent Boulevard from the Canada Museum of Science and Technology, I decided to head behind the museum to the Bytown Railway Society storage tracks to see what BRS had resting on the rails in the frigid cold.

I was happy to see the former Thurso & Nation Valley GE switcher basking in the winter sun. This bidrectional engine was built in 1946 in Erie. Pa. It was used for plant switching at the Singer facility in Thurso for years. More recently, it was considered for use on the old tourist railway between Hull and Wakefield, Quebec. That never panned out and the engine was never used. Instead, it sat in storage near Edelweiss ski resort near Wakefield.The steam operation is long gone while the rails it used, CP's former Maniwaki Subdivison, are also history. BRS had the locomotive brought to the museum, where it was restored to operational shape and painted in a classic CNR livery. You can read more about its history here.

Right beside the GE switcher, the society had its Canadian Pacific wood slatted caboose 436436 sitting on an adjacent track in the sunshine. This car was built in 1913 and acquired by BRS in 1983. Like the switcher beside it, this car was used on the T&NVR. The car, after being acquired, spent three years in and out of Thurso until that railway closed for good in 1986. After the caboose was transferred to the museum, the society took off the plywood sheeting that it was covered in, to restore its wooden slat cladding, essentially restoring it to its original condition. The car was recently repainted and re-lettered. The caboose is now used for special events like Santa meet and greets. 

This image above was perhaps the biggest surprise I found on the museum tracks. The society's recently purchased steam locomotive was resting at the end of the museum tracks, connected to the old Central Vermont crane car. I was surprised to the see the skeleton of the old E.B. Eddy steam locomotive stored outside, considering what a big deal it seemed to be when the society acquired this piece of equipment from Exporail in Delson, Quebec in the fall.

The engine is called E.B. Eddy No. 2. At it stands now on the rails, its exterior cladding is clearly somewhere else, as the chassis and insides of the machine are exposed to the elements, with some tarps partially covering certain areas. You can see the various shots that chronicled its move from the Exporail shops onto a flatbed truck here. 

When the engine was acquired, there was work to be done with asbestos removal. The society also mentioned that work would have to begin on the engine's boiler, as it must meet safety standards before anything is to happen to make it operational. I would imagine this would be a long-term project.

The E.B. Eddy switcher is a throwback to a time when downtown Hull was a warren of industrial activity, complete with railway tracks serving the Eddy operations. Although Hull still has a paper facility on the waterfront, most of the former Domtar lands have been repurposed into modern condos and housing around Chaudiere Falls. E.B. Eddy's legacy lives on in the downtown, as one of old Hull's main streets bears the Eddy name. Some of the old stone match making facilities remain, although I'm unsure what is intended there.

Railway service to the Hull waterfront continued via the Canadian Pacific Prescott-Ellwood Subdivisions, over the former Prince of Wales rail bridge, up until the late 1990s. That service ended, essentially silencing the sound of trains in the old section of Hull for good. Although the Guebec-Gatineau Railway still technically reaches Gatineau, most of that activity is limited to the east parts of the Outaouais. That railway is operated by Genesee & Wyoming. 

For more on the rails in Gatineau, you can check out my 2018 post, which is still relevant today.  

Before departing from the museum, I managed to get a few other quick shots of what was on the rails.

The old CV crane car is at the very end of the museum tracks, coupled to E.B. Eddy No. 2. Indoor storage space for the society in the museum building is clearly at a premium, which is why I would imagine some of this equipment has to be stored outside. In recent months, the organization's old CP Jordan spreader plow car has found a new home, which leaves a bit more room for what the organization can fit outside now. 

The old 1955 CN baggage car, built by National Steel Car Co., remains a fixture at the museum, although the winters can be tough!

 

Here's one final shot of E.B. Eddy No. 2, which gives you a little more context as to its size, when framed against the CV crane car. It's not a huge locomotive, but it likely didn't have to be huge, as it was a switcher that worked the tracks a few cars at a time in downtown Hull.

 

I have another batch of photographs from Ottawa's central station from the same day, but I will save them for another post, as this one is long enough. It ended up being a very successful railfanning day for me, with a number of unexpected surprises. I'll be watching the efforts of the Bytown Railway Society closely as it works to restore the old Eddy switcher back to its operational condition. It will be nice to see a part of Hull's industrial story come back to life.  

Stittsville is not part of regional rail plan after all

Well, it seems we weren’t the only ones who were wondering what Mayoral candidate Clive Doucet had in mind when he outlined his regional rail transit plan, which seemed to indicate that Stittsville would be served by the old CP Carleton Place Subdivision.

Stittsville Central took a look at the same map we did and wondered whether Mr. Doucet indeed intends to connect the exploding western suburb via the old CP line, which is now part of the Trans Canada Trail.

It turns out, that the old CP line between Bells Corners and Stittsville will remain a trail. In response to Stittsville Central’s question, Mr. Doucet’s campaign has suggested that Stittsville be served via a connection to Kinburn via the Renfrew Spur rail line.

This also seems to solve a similar geographical issue in the city’s east end, where Vars and Navan are connected via a non-existent rail line.

Getting back to Stittsville, I have to say that I don’t see the logic to suggesting Stittsville will be served by a connection in Kinburn. Any quick look at a map of Ottawa’s west end will know that Kinburn is by no means a neighbour to Stittsville, since it is closer to Carp. That begs the question why the Doucet campaign would link Stittsville with Kinburn. Of course, it’s politically convenient to suggest to Stittsville residents that they will be first in line to be connected to a regional rail system, but a connection via Kinburn makes little sense, since it’s not exactly located between Stittsville and downtown Ottawa, which would make the most sense to a commuter.

If anyone is expecting passenger rail to return to Stittsville via the old Carleton Place Sub, think again. Plans to connect the suburb do not include this old rail line, pictured in 1972 when it hosted CP Rail's Canadian.

In a radio interview this week, Mr. Doucet also backed off some of his planning for regional rail connections in Gatineau. His map shows connections as far away as Chelsea, which would require a rail line be re-established on the old CP Maniwaki Sub. Mr. Doucet said the regional system will go as far as Place du Portage in downtown Hull. Since I now work in downtown Hull, I can say that the terminus will be much more likely be Terraces de la Chaudière, which is not the same as Place du Portage.

This is about as far as Clive Doucet's regional rail will go, according to his latest comments. The brown buildings on the left are realistically the end point of his Quebec connection.

This is all academic, of course. I would be shocked if Mr. Doucet was all that close to incumbent Jim Watson.

Still, I have to give Mr. Doucet for being the first politician to champion regional rail. It was nice while it lasted.

Forward thinking in Gatineau

As part of my railway wanderings in Hull recently, I came across the old Hull West station, which still stands on avenue Montcalm. The modest wooden station has seen better days. The roof definitely needs to be replaced, but a few businesses have made use of the building since it was last used for rail purposes. Right now, an arts store calls the station home. Before that store, a restaurant was located in the building.

The trip to see the station was an interesting little walk for me, because it revealed a couple of surprises.

As many people on this side of the river know, the City of Gatineau used the old Lachute Subdivision right-of-way through the city to construct its RapiBus express commuter service. This is the same approach that the City of Ottawa used to build part of the first phase of the Confederation Line LRT service (part of the new Confederation Line uses the bus Transitway, which was once part of the old CP Carleton Place Sub in the west end).

What I found to be really refreshing in Gatineau’s case was that, when the work on the bus road was done, the city reconstructed the old Lachute Sub. The line is now owned by the city, having most recently been used in 2007 by the Quebec Gatineau Railway, which used the sub to access the Eddy Spur and its last remaining customers in old downtown Hull.

Last used in 2007. This is what has happened to the Lachute Sub near the Ottawa River. The rest of the right-of-way has been rebuilt through Gatineau proper.

With this rail line in good shape, I would imagine the city would have a much easier time of realizing its light rail goals to connect downtown Hull with Aylmer in the west and the old City of Gatineau in the east. This is a forward-looking approach that has been in short supply in this region of late.

I don’t mean to harp on this again, but I can’t help but wonder what might have been possible had the City of Ottawa considered buying the portion of the old Beachburg Subdivision from Nepean Junction into North Kanata. As it stands now, the second phase of the Confederation Line will not reach Kanata, which is where the largest commuter demand is in Ottawa. North Kanata is an area that is bustling with technology businesses and has a sizeable amount of newer subdivisions. As it stands now, this area will continue to be served by buses for the foreseeable future. Had the city taken a forward-looking approach like Gatineau, who knows what might have been possible?

However, this is the same city that, until it was essentially forced into a corner, was prepared to convert the Prince of Wales Bridge into a pedestrian and cycling path over the bridge. This is also the same city that will not entertain working with CN to get light rail operating on the existing Beachburg Subdivision past Federal junction, a stretch of track that is essentially unused save for two trains on Wednesday. And let’s not forget that before the city, the old Regional Municipality sat on its hands as the old CP Carleton Place Sub was converted into a recreational path (albeit, a wonderful piece of the Trans-Canada Trail). Now, with the explosion of residential development in Stittsville, light rail would provide a welcome option for an area where the roads are at capacity, to say the least.

Where the Canadian used to roam. This is the old Carleton Place Sub in Stittsville, a suburb of the city that now numbers more than 30,000. How useful would this be for light rail now?

The plans for Gatineau’s light rail system are still very much in the early stages, as the environmental assessments and other early legwork need to be done. However, given that the Lachute Sub is in such good shape and the old remnants of the Waltham Sub right-of-way appear to be there for the taking, you have to think that Gatineau is in a much better position than Ottawa was, partly due to planning smarts and partly due to luck.

Either way, there’s a lesson to be learned here. Maybe old rail lines are worth keeping after all.

Side note: While checking out the old Hull West station, I noticed there was a nearby sign that said “CP parking only,” which was obviously overlooked when CP stopped using the Lachute Sub back in the late 1990s. Next to the tracks, there’s a no trespassing sign that asks people to report any untoward activity to CN Police. I wonder why. It’s my understanding that Gatineau owns these tracks. I can’t imagine why that sign would be there. As a contrast, if you go to the entrance to Walkley Yard in Ottawa, you’ll see a no trespassing sign that lists a private security firm’s name and number.

As far as I know, CN’s police has no presence here, which has me wondering about this sign.

Back to the Future in Hull

I recently transferred to a new workplace across the Ottawa River in Hull. I have begun to explore the old part of the city a bit. Luckily for me, I am located across the street from what is known as the Eddy siding. It’s a stretch of track extending from the Prince of Wales Bridge east through the old section of Hull next to the Ottawa River. Despite the fact that the Canadian Pacific ended its Ottawa operations in 1997, a significant portion of its old trackage remains in place in Hull all the way to the old Eddy plant at the corner of rue Eddy and boulevard Alexandre Taché.

With a little struggling through the bush, you can find your way to a little bluff that overlooks this section of track, where the old Eddy siding branches off from the old Lachute Sub.

Doing a little research on this line, the only reference I could find was to the Eddy siding, although I don’t think this line fits the definition of a siding. In its final days, it was definitely just a spur. The spur veered north from the Prince of Wales Bridge toward downtown Hull. At the western edge of the Eddy property next to Portageurs Park, the spur split into two tracks, one of which made its way between two long Eddy buildings before crossing rue Eddy (just north of the Chaudière crossing over the river) and running alongside the old Domtar facility (next to avenue Laurier). The tracks then made their way beneath the Portage Bridge. The rails have been removed east of rue Eddy for years, although their path is unmistakable.

For those who like to track the traces of rails in Ottawa and Gatineau, this little spur is quite a gem. You can walk along much of its existing length in Portageurs Park along the waterfront. The rails are fenced off near the old Eddy plant, but are exposed closer to the Prince of Wales Bridge.

Nature has reclaimed much of the Eddy siding, like this section near Millar Street in Hull (as seen from Portageurs Park

There are a few pieces of interesting reminders of the old railway operation, although I would advise to stay off the tracks. I'm pretty sure the City of Gatineau  owns the Lachute Sub up to Lorrain Boulevard. The city also likely owns the tracks in Hull. Near the Prince of Wales Bridge, there is a fair bit to see legally on public land.

Here’s an old milepost sign near the Lachute Sub tracks (get your zoom ready).

This is an old switch stand that has been left in place.

Here’s an old silver box that has been covered over in weeds and graffiti.

This gives you a glimpse of the bridge that carried the Eddy spur over what is known in English as Brewers Creek. Just west past this bridge, barely visible from boulevard Taché, is another old switch where the Eddy Spur connects with the old Waltham Sub (I think it's the Waltham Sub). Given how long it’s been since the last remnants of the Waltham Sub were dismantled, I was surprised to find this switch still in place.

This flyover is accessible from a nearby park. This bridge was where the Lachute Subdivision passed under what I am assuming was the Canadian Pacific Waltham Subdivision. Can you see the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill?

Here's a shot of the old flyover from beneath.

Also, near the Eddy plant, you can see where the tracks have been severed with a yellow bumper still installed. There is an interesting piece of maintenance equipment on the rails, complete with little wheels. I’m not sure what it is or why it’s even on the tracks.

Here's another shot.

Finding any fairly recent photos of trains on this trackage is not easy online. There may have been some enterprising railfans who took photos of this operation, but I wasn’t able to find anything. Even finding information about the old CP operations in and around Hull is not easy.

In the next little while, I am going to do a little research on the history of the tracks that all once converged in Hull, including the Eddy Spur, the Waltham Sub, the Maniwaki Sub and the Lachute Sub. Given that Gatineau has announced ambitious plans for a light rail line from Aylmer in the city’s west end to old downtown Hull, it seems as though there will be a bit of a railway renaissance in Western Quebec at long last. It’s a shame there is so little existing infrastructure left, but at least the Eddy Spur is still in place, more or less. I would think it has a bright future ahead as a commuter link between Ottawa and Hull.