Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative - Wiki
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Claremont's
Claremont's, Nova Scotia (Also known as "Clairmont's Siding")
Subdivision Halifax, Mile 16.47, Elevation 460'
Next Station West: Stillwater Lake
Next Station East: Mount Uniacke
Facilities & Features
- Siding, for nearby Lakelands settlement, circa 1900
- Proposed Station, never built, 1910
- Siding for ballast steam shovel, Mile 18
Commerce & Industry
Once contained a siding, likely used by the Clairmont Family in nearby Lakelands.
Description & History
Claremont's is located a few miles south of the village of Lakelands. It is believed to have been named after Colonel Clairmont, a prominent family head in Lakeside active in lumbering. In 1910 architect Charles McClare attempted to develop a landscaped suburban community at Lakelands in a real estate scheme called the "Lakelands Development Company". A critical feature was a suburban train station to connect the wealthy new residents to Halifax. McClare drew plans for a finely-constructed stone station for Claremont's which he promised "will be certainly the most interesting station on the entire line between Halifax and Yarmouth." The development failed to attract enough investors and collapsed. None of the fine homes or the station were ever built.[1] Just west of Claremont's, a cutting through a bank of glacial till provided a small ballast pit known as Steam Shovel Siding.
Gallery
DAR line from Newport to Mount Uniacke, detail from 1909 geological map showing Hartville, Ellershouse, Dawson Siding, Stillwater and Claremont's.
1918 Track chart showing the Clairmont's area.
1918 track chart showing Steam Shovel Siding at Mile 18, just west of Claremont's.
The proposed station at Claremont's Siding, planned but never built to serve nearby Lakelands, 1910.
Claremont's Siding, looking west, showing DAR mainline with the overgrown siding curving off to the right, Mar. 22, 2020.
References & Footnotes
- ↑ Sadie Siroy, Doorsteps and Crossroads: Stories from Mount Uniacke, Lakelands, Hillsvale and South Rawdon (1993). p. 10-14, 45.
