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Warneford

Beardmore Station Warneford Station Fairloch Station

Warneford Station, originally known as Blackwater Station (after the Blackwater River), was located west of the community of Beardmore, Ontario at Milepost 25.6/75.3.

It is not known for certain, but the name may have been changed (there was already a Blackwater Station in southern Ontario) to honour Reginald Warneford, a British aviator with the Royal Naval Air Service and a recipient of the Victoria Cross in 1915. The stations at Jellicoe and Hogarth were also renamed during World War I for well-known servicemen.

It lost its siding in 1958 and was removed as a station in 1959. Approximately half a mile west of the station, at a sharp bend in the grade, was 2500-foot through spur to a ballast pit which was installed in 1981 (known officially as Pit Track KI-38). It was removed from service in 1989, but reactivated by 1996.

In 1946, a section of the railway just east of the station, between Mileposts 24.8 and 25.3, was completely re-routed at the request of the Brompton Pulp and Paper Company. Here, the grade crossed from the south bank of the Blackwater River to the north bank and then back. The paper company complained that the trestle bridges across the river impeded the rafting of logs, so the trestles were removed and a new grade completely south of the river was constructed. The old grade is still visible on satellite maps. You can read about the work done below (Courtesy of J. Smith).

BTC Volume 35 (19450401-19460331) pp171-181

Post 1946 Grade & Warneford Station