Truro Sub MSTS/OR

[Paul Charland]

OK, I've mad e it into Truro, about to join the CN. I have Andrew's drawing of the east end CN yard, is there any drawings out there?

Did the yard on the Hopewell sun exist back then?

Why are the two mainlines east of the DAR connection split for a mile?

Anyone have a trackplan for Windsor, I'll be converting that as soon as I'm finished the Truro area. I have track charts for the remainder... I think!

Paul

[DARMIDLAND]

The mainline of CN splits at King St. Crossing. The original track to Halifax was the southern one with a steep grade pushers sometimes used out of Truro east. With WW2 starting in 1940 CN began to upgrade the line through Truro. About 7 miles of a new track which became the South track . This became the middle track between the DAR and the old CN mainline with a lower grade out of Truro to the east. CN removed the south track in early 2000's to cut maintenance costs and are back using the original main line route.
I do not have a detailed track plan of Truro but will try to locate one.

[Paul Charland]

Thanks Andrew,

I was wondering if it was something like that couldn't think of any competing railway in Truro at might have had their own mainline.

Paul

[DragonHeart]

The south track was removed 2002 I was in high school back then, I say them removing, it was taken out before the crossing at the Feed mill The crossing was the same as the one just up the street. I took pics of the line I remember seeing trains heading out about 6pm. The Old feed mill sell gets rail srives Co op use to own the lot next to the mill. I also rember T1 at the Station that was removed storthy after I use to work at VIA for a job placement back in 2000. Rumer had it Truro club had a layout in the old fright shad.

[Paul Charland]

You don't know when the yard on the Hopewell Sub was added do you? I've laid about as much as I can using a 1947 aerial shot that cuts off just at the engine facility. An earlier aerial shows there were three or four more yard tracks beside what was there but had been removed by the time the 1930 shot that's in the Nova Scotia archives was taken. If I were guessing, that might indicate the "new yard" heading toward Cape Breton had been built and there was no longer any use for these tracks.

Paul

[DARMIDLAND]

Around 1939 the larger yard was built east of High St . This St. Was blocked off and a road bridge constructed over entrence of the yard. It is still there today if you google map. Some yard tracks have been removed. Coal tower was between roundhouse and High St.

[Paul Charland]

Thanks Andrew,

I just finished the new yard this evening, you can still see where the original year was, looks like it is still there but over grown with weeds. The overpass is there, there is also what looks to be a pedestrian bridge east of that, one mainline appears to go around one of the footing of the bridge, do you know if this was also built when the yard was, or was this added sometime later?

I'm down to connecting the wye that was around the roundhouse and the connection from the river to the new yard... then figure the earlier track plan for Windsor.

Paul

[DARMIDLAND]

There was a mainline outside the south side of the yard for Sydney traffic. 1955 pic of tracks and coal tower east of roundhouse.

[Paul Charland]

Thanks Andrew,

I was looking for the coal tower. Any idea where the ashpit was?

Is that the ashpit where those three guys are working... and they cleaned it out by hand? Is that piles of ashes to their right?

Paul

[DARMIDLAND]

That is the ash pit and there is a small crane just behind the men that was used around the facility to dig out the ash. These would be the same tracks the 2 DAR steam engines would be serviced on and then put in the first two stalls east side of roundhouse. Usually 2 engines stayed overnight in Truro.

[Paul Charland]

Thanks Andrew. Finished Truro this afternoon. I'll start trying to piece together Windsor tomorrow, at least removing the causeway track. I have the old bridge already in place, now I have to try remembering what track I used when I set it in place.

Once I get the track in for Windsor there are a few more minor changes between there and Kentville that I'll have to do, and not much to Kentville. If anyone here wants to beta test the route they are welcome to. It will operate in MSTS but later on it will become a Open Rails only route as they have to code for operating the turntables, MSTS does not.

Paul

[SamuelMClark]

I'd like to try it out, though before you make it only make it Open Rails only I'd like to make sure I get a final copy that will work in MSTS for the Middleton Station

[Paul Charland]

Hi Samuel,

I'll try to keep that in mind. For now that only thing that would make the route OR only are the turntables. The code will be in the next OR general update, v1.2, and I have no idea when that would be. I also think that even if I had this version of OR the route would still work in MSTS, just not the turntables... but I'll have to ask at the time. Otherwise things should work in both.

I did a Central Vermont 2-10-4 that nobody could get to run in MSTS but it runs fine in OR. It's around 90,000 polygons and I'm not sure it that was the problem or how I got OR to recognize the fifth driving wheel, maybe MSTS didn't like that. Well, there isn't an engine that big on the DAR so I think I'm safe there.

I've removed the roads and rails between the 1970s version of Windsor and just piecing together a trackplan of the station area. The yard on the north side looks the same but shorter if I'm correct (ends just beyond the wye), I see in an older map what appears to be a siding coming off a shorter yard to Windsor Wear.

Paul

[SamuelMClark]

Paul additional information for your Truro Sub for Rolling Stock

"In 1905 the D.A.R. purchased the Midland Railway, which linked Windsor with Truro, because it provided a convenient link from the D.A.R. to the rest of Canada. In the 1950s Friday came to be called “pig day” by D.A.R. employees because many Kentville-Windsor-Truro trains, such as this one at Brooklyn, would pick up stock cars of hogs destined for interchange at Truro."

http://yarmouthhistory.ca/yarmouthhisto ... R..html#26

[Paul Charland]

Cool, I'll have to remember that!

Made it across the Avon River yesterday, hope to get the yard placed today.

Paul