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Difference between revisions of "Kentville Machine Shop"
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==1868-1919== | ==1868-1919== | ||
| − | The DAR's first locomotive and machine shops stood to the south of the mainline in [[Kentville]]. Built by the [[Windsor and Annapolis Railway]] in the late 1860s and gradually expanded, the first locomotive shops included a small enclosed turntable, a three bay engine house, machine shops and blacksmith shops.<ref>Kentville Fire Insurance Plan, Sheet 1, March 1906</ref> The machine shop survived a large fire on July 8, 1915 which destroyed the attached [[Kentville Roundhouse|engine shed]].<ref>"KENTVILLE HIT BY ANOTHER FIRE The D.A.R. Roundhouse and Engine Sheds Burned and Two Locomotives Destroyed", ''Digby Courier'', July 9, 1915, Carl Riff Notes</ref> | + | The DAR's first locomotive and machine shops stood to the south of the mainline in [[Kentville]]. Built by the [[Windsor and Annapolis Railway]] in the late 1860s and gradually expanded, the first locomotive shops included a small enclosed turntable, a three-bay engine house, machine shops and blacksmith shops.<ref>Kentville Fire Insurance Plan, Sheet 1, March 1906</ref> |
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| + | The machine shop in its first year was run by T. H. Legg, Locomotive Superintendent. Equipment in 1870 included light and heavy lathes; drilling and shaping machines and bolt screwing machines. The shop was fitted with a full set of Whitworth stocks, dies and taps. The machinery included a Sharpe, Stewart, & Co. hydraulic wheel press, by which a single man could exert a force of 2,000 tons. One Lathe, nearly 29 tons weight, was described as sufficiently powerful to turn the largest driving wheels used on this side of the Atlantic. The machinery ran from a central shaft driven by a steam engine. Casting work was carried by contract from Bridgetown and Windsor Foundries. The shop was staffed by 30 men including Locomotive Drivers, Fitters, Blacksmiths, etc.<ref>[[Daily British Colonist - 25 August 1870 - Windsor and Annapolis Railway Celebrates First Year of Operation|"Windsor and Annapolis Railway Celebrates First Year of Operation", ''Daily British Colonist'', 25 August 1870]]</ref> | ||
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| + | The machine shop survived a large fire on July 8, 1915 which destroyed the attached [[Kentville Roundhouse|engine shed]].<ref>"KENTVILLE HIT BY ANOTHER FIRE The D.A.R. Roundhouse and Engine Sheds Burned and Two Locomotives Destroyed", ''Digby Courier'', July 9, 1915, Carl Riff Notes</ref> | ||
==1920-1973== | ==1920-1973== | ||
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File:Birdseyeroundhouse.jpg|[[Bird's Eve View of Kentville Nova Scotia 1879]]: detail showing W&AR [[Kentville Roundhouse|engine house]], [[Kentville Machine Shop|machine shop]] and blacksmith shop, 1879. | File:Birdseyeroundhouse.jpg|[[Bird's Eve View of Kentville Nova Scotia 1879]]: detail showing W&AR [[Kentville Roundhouse|engine house]], [[Kentville Machine Shop|machine shop]] and blacksmith shop, 1879. | ||
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| + | File:Comeau004.jpg|[[Kentville Roundhouse]] and the [[Kentville Machine Shop|Machine Shop]] with [[DAR0036|Locomtive No. 36]], [[DAR000850|DAR steam Shovel 850]] and the DAR blacksmith shop on the left, circa 1915. | ||
File:KE-00.00 Kentville Roundhouse.JPG|Detail from Kentville Track Schematic showing [[Kentville Roundhouse]], [[Kentville Machine Shop]] and [[Kentville Water Tower]], circa 1920. | File:KE-00.00 Kentville Roundhouse.JPG|Detail from Kentville Track Schematic showing [[Kentville Roundhouse]], [[Kentville Machine Shop]] and [[Kentville Water Tower]], circa 1920. | ||
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File:CSTM-STR33187a 001 aa cs.jpg|[[DAR2551|Locomotive No. 2551]] in front of the [[Kentville Machine Shop]] by the stand pipe of the [[Kentville Water Tower]], August 30, 1953. | File:CSTM-STR33187a 001 aa cs.jpg|[[DAR2551|Locomotive No. 2551]] in front of the [[Kentville Machine Shop]] by the stand pipe of the [[Kentville Water Tower]], August 30, 1953. | ||
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| + | File:Maclean002.jpg|Tender of DAR [[DAR2526|locomotive No. 2526]] at the [[Kentville Machine Shop]], with blacksmith shop in background, circa 1953-1957. | ||
Image:DAR1092d.jpg|[[DAR1092|No. 1092]] in [[Kentville]], N.S. [[Kentville Machine Shop]] on August 27, 1956. | Image:DAR1092d.jpg|[[DAR1092|No. 1092]] in [[Kentville]], N.S. [[Kentville Machine Shop]] on August 27, 1956. | ||
Latest revision as of 17:59, 19 March 2024
1868-1919
The DAR's first locomotive and machine shops stood to the south of the mainline in Kentville. Built by the Windsor and Annapolis Railway in the late 1860s and gradually expanded, the first locomotive shops included a small enclosed turntable, a three-bay engine house, machine shops and blacksmith shops.[1]
The machine shop in its first year was run by T. H. Legg, Locomotive Superintendent. Equipment in 1870 included light and heavy lathes; drilling and shaping machines and bolt screwing machines. The shop was fitted with a full set of Whitworth stocks, dies and taps. The machinery included a Sharpe, Stewart, & Co. hydraulic wheel press, by which a single man could exert a force of 2,000 tons. One Lathe, nearly 29 tons weight, was described as sufficiently powerful to turn the largest driving wheels used on this side of the Atlantic. The machinery ran from a central shaft driven by a steam engine. Casting work was carried by contract from Bridgetown and Windsor Foundries. The shop was staffed by 30 men including Locomotive Drivers, Fitters, Blacksmiths, etc.[2]
The machine shop survived a large fire on July 8, 1915 which destroyed the attached engine shed.[3]
1920-1973
A larger new machine shop and blacksmith shop was built on the north side of the mainline beside the roundhouse in 1920. The new shop was 60 x 180 feet and stood between the roundhouse and sanding tower. It included an attached 30 x 144 foot blacksmith shop and brass moulding shop and stores building.[4] Two large doors faced east allowing locomotives and rolling stock to enter for major service work on two inside tracks which included a 80 foot inspection pit with a drop pit for driving wheels.[5] At its peak in 1927 the shops and roundhouse employed 126 men, including dozens of machinists, boilermakers and seven blacksmiths with seven apprentices as well as a brass foundry. The shop made the DAR largely self-sufficient for most car, locomotive and MOW parts.[6] It did Class 1, 2, and 3 repairs, the last being complete dismantlement and rebuild of locomotives. Locomotives rebuilt in the Kentville Shops included No. 39 "Lescarbot" which received a feedwater heater system in a complete rebuild in 1927.[7] and No. 544, which received a new boiler in a major rebuild in January 1936.[8] The DAR shop also did considerable non-railway contract work in slack times.[9] Shop facilities also included showers and a steam laundry for shop workers.[10] Staff drooped to 100 during the Depression, but the shops still remained busy in all trades.[11]
The shop received major equipment upgrades in the late 1930s when larger steam locomotives arrived on the line. However the shops saw staff reductions starting in 1939 when 50 employees were laid off in the machine shop, blacksmith, carpentry and paint shops, leaving only the roundhouse and running repairs staff untouched.[12] Further reductions steadily followed in the late 1950s when diesels replaced steam. Routine maintenance was moved to the former Car Shop and major rebuilds were shifted to Saint John and Montreal. By the early 60's, the shop buildings were empty. In 1964, the American Can Company leased the building from the DAR to produce cans for the various food processing plants and canneries in the Annapolis Valley.[13] The shop buildings were destroyed by an accidental fire in 1973.[14]
Gallery
Lightning, a broad gauge locomotive in front of the W&AR Engine House and Machine Shop in 1872.
Bird's Eve View of Kentville Nova Scotia 1879: detail showing W&AR engine house, machine shop and blacksmith shop, 1879.
Kentville Roundhouse and the Machine Shop with Locomtive No. 36, DAR steam Shovel 850 and the DAR blacksmith shop on the left, circa 1915.
Detail from Kentville Track Schematic showing Kentville Roundhouse, Kentville Machine Shop and Kentville Water Tower, circa 1920.
Annotated detail of Kentville Fire Insurance Map showing the Kentville Roundhouse, Kentville Machine Shop and Kentville Railyard, Aug. 1921.
Kentville roundhouse, turntable and shops from the coaling tower, 1940s or 50s.
Locomotive No. 2552 on the Kentville Turntable with the Machine Shop and the Boiler Plant in background, circa 1942.
Pile Driver No. 922 beside the Kentville Machine Shop in 1947.
Water stand pipe with the Kentville Machine Shop in the background, c. 1950.
Aux steam crane and tender No. 4 with locomotive No. 1018 in front of the Kentville Machine Shop, circa 1950.
No. 2665 departing Kentville in August 1951 leading Train No. 95 through the Kentville yard. Visible is sand tower and the roof of the Machine Shop's stores shed.
No. 470 leading the Kingsport local, Train No. 11 past the east end of the machine shop and the coal tower August 1951.
Locomotive No. 2551 in front of the Kentville Machine Shop by the stand pipe of the Kentville Water Tower, August 30, 1953.
Tender of DAR locomotive No. 2526 at the Kentville Machine Shop, with blacksmith shop in background, circa 1953-1957.
No. 1092 in Kentville, N.S. Kentville Machine Shop on August 27, 1956.
Locomotives No. 2501 and No. 2209 inside the Kentville Machine Shop circa 1958.
DAR locomotive 2501 in the Kentville Machine Shop, photographer and date unknown, probably circa 1958.
DAR locomotive 2501 with the tender of No. 2209 in the Kentville Machine Shop, c. 1958.
Crane No. 3 beside the Kentville Roundhouse with the Machine Shop in the background, c.1958.
Kentville Roundhouse with Kentville Machine Shop, 1958 July 31.
No. 8131 and No. 8132 with the north wall of the machine shop to the right beside the turntable. The car shops and power plant are on the left, August 1959.
Engine 2209 at the Kentville Machine Shop entrance, 8 August 1959.
CPR diesel No. 8135 passes through the Kentville Railyard along the the south side of the machine shop in 1961.
Burro Boom Car No. 418135 made from underframe of Pile Driver No. 400002 coupled to Flanger No. 400434 in front of the derelict Machine Shop on May 5, 1964.
Dayliner No. 9057 in 1973. The burned ruins of the machine shop can be seen through the legs of the coal tower.
The Kentville Roundhouse with the Kentville Machine Shop foundation in foreground, June 18, 1970.
Kentville Roundhouse with the foundations of the Kentville Machine Shop in the foreground, circa 1974-1975.
Kentville Railyard, Kentville Car Shop, Kentville Coaling Tower and the foundation of theKentville Machine Shop, October 1990.
Kentville Railyard with the Kentville Track Scale in the centre & the foundation of the Kentville Machine Shop in the foreground, 1990.
References and Footnotes
- ↑ Kentville Fire Insurance Plan, Sheet 1, March 1906
- ↑ "Windsor and Annapolis Railway Celebrates First Year of Operation", Daily British Colonist, 25 August 1870
- ↑ "KENTVILLE HIT BY ANOTHER FIRE The D.A.R. Roundhouse and Engine Sheds Burned and Two Locomotives Destroyed", Digby Courier, July 9, 1915, Carl Riff Notes
- ↑ Kentville Fire Insurance Plans, Sheet 7, December 1951
- ↑ Canadian Railway and Marine World, "Projected Lines, Construction Betterments, Etc. Work in 1920", November 1920
- ↑ D.A.R. Plant an Eyeopener to Visitors" Rotarians Visit Roundhouse and Shops", Halifax Chronicle Herald, February 5, 1927, Carl Riff Notes
- ↑ D.A.R. Plant an Eyeopener to Visitors" Rotarians Visit Roundhouse and Shops", Halifax Chronicle Herald, February 5, 1927, Carl Riff Notes
- ↑ Links and Pins, "Railway Notes", Halifax Chronicle Herald January 18, 1936, Carl Riff Collection
- ↑ Gary W. Ness, Canadian Pacific's Dominion Atlantic Railway Vol. I, page 16.
- ↑ Georgina Robinson, "The DAR Machine Shop", Kings County Vignettes Vol. 8, Kings County Museum, page 23-24.
- ↑ Links and Pins, "Railway Notes", Halifax Chronicle Herald January 18, 1936, Carl Riff Collection
- ↑ "Fifty Lose Jobs D.A.R. Shop Layoffs - Maybe More Later", Halifax Chronicle Herald July 27, 1939, Carl Riff Collection
- ↑ Memorandum of General Information on the Dominion Atlantic Railway, Feb. 17, 1969, page 9, Dominion Atlantic Railway, Library and Archives Canada HE2810 D7 D7 fol.
- ↑ "Fire Department Supplement", Kentville Advertiser, Feb. 23, 1988, page 10.
