Aldershot station / wye

[Dan Conlin]

Mike,
I had another look at the Aldershot wye you plotted and compared the Google Earth trace to a 1930s topo map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... 3&t=h&z=17
I think your plot it is very close, perhaps just a few few feet to the north.
The building you flagged as the Aldershot station however is a barracks/admin building. The old Aldershot station is now at 45 05 44.5 N 64 30 38.5 W. It was moved a bit from its original location on the wye.

Dan Conlin

[fergusontea]

Ok. I was pretty sure that was the station by the roof outline but, not knowing if it had been moved, I wasn't sure. I fixed my map pointer.

So where did the station originally sit?

-mike

[Dan Conlin]

I am not sure where the original sat. My guess would be on the mainline between the two legs of the wye, but that's just speculation. Geoff Turner, a Steam Mill resident tell me he had heard that there may have been two Aldershot stations - one for telegraph/operations use, the other for passenger/baggae traffic.

I will try to make time to peak at the 1930s air photos for Aldershot and pass on any conclusions.

Cheers,

Dan

[mountainrail]

I have attached a photo of Aldershot station taken by Harold Jenkins in June 1943.
This could be the second station refered to above.
Hope this helps some.

Jim O'Donnell

[fergusontea]

Hmm. That station does not have a hip roof like the one we're calling the station.
Also, judging by the shadow, the side nearest the track could be any direction BUT the south side, so it's not the one I originally thought was the station unless it was also moved.

-mike

[stem]

Great photo. Looks like it might have been been cropped over the years though. It's clear to me that the switch that is visable in the photo on the very right hand side is the south end of the wye, placing the station about 60' south of the frog on the south wye switch with the front of the station facing North-East.

Now look at Mike's map. (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&pt ... 3091c925db)
Turn on statelite photos and turn off labels. You can see the curve going past Aldershot on the right side. You can see where Mike has marked the building with a blue dot and called it the station. From that pin go NW up that road until you come to the tracks. Notice the different color roadbed just in this area compared to the other roads in this field. This could well be where the wye started and ran up on what is the road now. And so the station would have been just south of that and the view we see of buildings in the distance with a treeline behind that would be correct.

The shadow indicates this photo was taken later in the after noon by the roughly 45 degree angle (shadow is on the north-east side, sun on the south-west side).

Interesting that there is no platform. Has this already become a residence? Look at the curtains in the windows indicating a woman's touch.

I would love to know what that says at the bottom of the photo. It looks like it bled through from the back. I tried every trick in my book to enhance this and try and read it but to no avail. <sigh>.

I agree with Mike when he says that the staiton he marked is not the same station as in the photo. Not even close. If you want another building that comes closer, go NW from Mike's station pin about 200 feet and that building in the field with the dark roof would be a more likely match even though it's missing the dormers we can see in our photo.

[mountainrail]

Steve,

I presume the writing you refer to is on the skirting below the siding on the end of the station - that says:
Harold A. Jenkins
Windsor Nova Scotia

This is a copy of an original photo. Harold often embossed his name on the bottom of prints, and it shows up faintly on a copy. He had sold his negatives to Andrew Merrilees, which he afterward regretted, so he then copied many of his prints to be able to reproduce them again.

Jim

[Dan Conlin]

Wow what a neat view. Thanks for sharing Jim!
This is clearly a different building than the one I photographed. Geoff Turner, a Steam Mill resident told me that Aldershot had two station buildings. He thought my picture resembled the one mainly used for military telegraph traffic and there was a different building used for passenger/baggage/express. I think this photo is the latter. It looks to be a classic DAR/W&AR station with an story and a half add-on.
I do not think this building still survives as I think I would have noticed it on my various visits to the base.
I will try and have a look at some 1930s or 40s air photos in the next little bit to see if this sheds any light on the question.

Dan Conlin

[Geof Turner]

Hi Jim,

Can you send me a copy of that photo of the Aldershot station taken by Jenkins in 1943?

Most of the building survives and was moved to the corner of HWY 359 and North Aldershot road in Steam Mill Village.

I was talking to Robert Morine who lives in the building and told him of your photo. He was interested in getting a copy.

There is a building next to his house that also resembles a railroad picture, I'll get a picture of it online when I get my

camera fixed.

Thanks,

Geof