Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River at Warneford Station with rock cuts, a wooden box culvert and the remains of the siding. **Be sure to watch this segment of the episode where you will see the siding from the air via drone: https://youtu.be/-NalpgEiUw4
Part 8 of 8.
Active, 1914-2005.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River at Warneford Station with the start of the siding, a flanger sign and the realigned grade. This realignment was a result of a 1946 diversion which saw a 0.5 mile section of line shifted from the north bank of the river to the south bank and two trestles removed. The video is highlighted by drone flyover which follows the river from east of the first trestle to past Warneford Siding. The old grade is subtle, but if one looks carefully, you’ll see a line of poplar trees following the curve of the river.
Part 7 of 8.
Active, 1914-2005.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River just east of Warneford Station with large rock cuts. This is the realigned grade following 1946 diversion which saw a 0.5 mile section of line shifted from the north bank of the river to the south bank and two trestles removed. *Be sure to watch this segment of the episode where you will see the realignment from the air via drone: https://youtu.be/-NalpgEiUw4
Part 6 of 8.
Active, 1914-2005.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the original section of grade and the remains of two 348-foot trestles between Mileposts 24.9 and 25.2. This 0.5 mile section was abandoned and the grade rerouted south of the river in 1946 at the request of the Brompton Pulp and Paper company. *Be sure to watch Episode IV first which explains why the realignment was done: https://youtu.be/odbV6r7QgiM **Be sure to watch this segment of the episode where you will see the realignment from the air via drone: https://youtu.be/-NalpgEiUw4 ***Apologies for the muffled audio starting at 2:53. I put my GoPro in its waterproof case to protect it from damage, forgetting that it covers up the speakers on the camera. I did my best the raise the audio levels in editing, but it obviously sounds distorted. Many thanks to Jeffrey Smith who provided the information to locate this forgotten section of grade.
Part 5 of 6.
Active, 1914-2005.
Did you know that in 1940s a section of the former Kinghorn line was re-routed?
In 1946, the Brompton Pulp & Paper Company requested that Canadian National Railways realign a 0.5 mile portion of the then Dorion Subdivision just east of Warneford Station. In this area, between Mileposts 24.8 and 25.3 (74.5-75), the grade crossed from the south bank of the Blackwater River to the north bank and then back on two 350-foot trestles. The Brompton Company felt that the trestles impeded the rafting of logs on the river.
After some legal wrangling, the grade was shifted and the trestles removed, and it appears that the grade was also moved west of the second trestle to lessen the curvature on the new grade. The crossing appears on period maps and the old grade is very visible on the north bank of the river. Be sure to check our tomorrow’s post for imagery of the original route.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River just east of Warneford Station with culverts and rock cuts. Also features a 1946 diversion of the grade which saw a 0.5 mile section of line shifted from the north bank of the river to the south bank and two trestles removed. Many thanks to Jeff Smith who provided the information to locate this forgotten section of grade. *Be sure to watch this segment of the episode where you will see the realignment from the air via drone: https://youtu.be/-NalpgEiUw4
Part 4 of 8.
Active, 1914-2005.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River with rock cuts, a milepost marker, a concrete culvert, old ballast pits and the remnants of a massive 1999 forest fire.
Part 3 of 8.
Active, 1914-2005.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River with rock cuts, a milepost marker, a concrete culvert, the sites of logging spurs/flags stops and the remnants of a massive 1999 forest fire.
Part 2 of 8.
Active, 1914-2005.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels Highway 11 and the Blackwater River with rock cuts, telegraph poles, a milepost marker, a concrete culvert and the remains of logging spurs.
Part 1 of 8.
Active, 1914-2005.
Remember when you were a kid and time seemed to stretch on forever? The school year took eons to get through and summer vacation lasted an eternity? I certainly recall those days. I don’t think it’s just me, since other people say the same thing, but doesn’t it feel like time goes faster the older you get? The school year flies by and a two-week break disappears in two days. Sometimes it makes you wish you were a kid again.
Hey kids, I’m finally back. I know, I don’t write as often as I should; in fact, I don’t remember the last time I wrote a post. I think it may have been last April. In any case, it was a long time ago. It’s now 2024, and yet another year has flown by. As you can guess by the title, or maybe you didn’t, I recently celebrated my 50th birthday. I’m happy I made in through 2023 relatively healthy, but turning 50 isn’t that exciting. In fact, if I’m being honest, it’s a bit depressing…I’m getting old. I really don’t feel 50 mentally, maybe physically some days, but it’s hard to believe I’ve made it through a half century on the planet. Good for me!
Things have been busy as usual. We’re heading back to school in a couple days after a nice break, which as I already alluded to went by way too fast. It was good to get away from the grind for a bit though. When things start up again on Monday, we only have two and a half weeks before we move into exams. Then it will a new semester, which means that we’re on the downward slide toward summer. It’s hard to believe but I have now, fingers crossed, moved into the last bunch of years of my teaching career. Back in November I completed my 26th year in the classroom…that really makes me feel old!
So, it’s now January and we’re smack in the middle of winter. It really doesn’t feel like it though. In fact, the weather has been downright bizarre. It was a super dry fall and that trend has continued into the winter. We are well below our normal snowfall, with only a few centimetres on the ground, which just fell right before New Years (yes, we had a brown or green Christmas, or whatever you want to call it). We are getting some snow today though. The temperatures likewise have been off the charts, as it only has been “cold” the last week. It was +14C one day in mid-December and Christmas Day was +8C. People are blaming things on El Nino, but I’m sure there is some climate change at work as well.
I am currently in the quiet season for my railway work if you haven’t noticed. This is the time of year that I get around to posting all of the videos I did back in the spring and the fall. I am also trying, “trying” being the key word, to finish off my book on the Pigeon River Lumber Company and the Gunflint and Lake Superior Railroad. I actually need to look at some of that material in the coming weeks while we are locked inside away from the cold. I did make arrangements to complete one of the pieces of research I need for the book. Hopefully, if things work out okay, I’ll be heading down to Gunflint in May to meet up with the archaeologists from the Superior National Forest to explore the remains of the logging camp (Camp 8) that I found back in 2017. This was supposed to have been done back in October 2019, but a freak snowstorm ruined those plans and then the pandemic hit. I can’t believe it will have been five years since I was last down in that area.
My work on the Kinghorn line continues unabated though. There is always something to do with that project, whether it be updating information on my website, fiddling with GPS data or planning for the upcoming season of exploring. Since I completed hiking the entire line back in August 2022, I have now committed to redoing most of the sections of the line to improve the information in the video series I have put together. It is a time-consuming process and does generate a bit of stress, since I try to get as much work in as I can during the early spring and mid fall when the leaves are down and things are more visible. Hopefully I will have most of the sections redone by this fall so I can just concentrate on more specific areas.
Anyway, it’s time to move along. I can’t promise I’ll be back soon because I know that will be a lie. Let’s just say I’ll be back with more updates at some point down the road. Until then…
Poverty, Agony, Distress & Want! 