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Weymouth

From DARwiki

Weymouth, Nova Scotia

Yarmouth Subdivision, Mile 41.4
Next Station East: Sissiboo Falls
Next Station West: Church Point

Weymouth from the air, 1931. Railway station middle left. Railway bridge lower left. Courtesy Nova Scotia Archives

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Apart from Digby which had enough activity to employ a switcher steam engine that also switched the wharf, Weymouth was probably the busiest DAR station between Yarmouth & Annapolis.

Weymouth had 3 saw mills and thus there was lots of lumber shipped by train. Upriver the Sissiboo Pulp & Paper Company operated a pulp mill from 1904 to 1928 which included a short branch line to Weymouth in operation from 1894 to 1928. There were several automobile cars for GM & Ford dealerships and several tank cars for the ESSO dealership. Beer was delivered by train in boxcars as well as feed for livestock. Some furniture & pleasure boats were shipped from a local industry. There was a small mill that made wooden barrels for rum and other commodities. The station agent name was “Robbie Hill” who lived above the station with his wife & daughter.

There were 5 daily trains a day: Mixed freight and passenger - one westbound in the early morning and the other, eastbound in the evening. Two passenger trains: No. 98 eastbound in the late morning and No. 95 westbound in the afternoon. The daily way freight was very busy switching the yard & industries. The freight would arrive around noontime from Yarmouth and would take on water. The engine crew would have lunch while the brakemen would unload freight items from a box car ahead of the caboose into the station on a moveable ramp with dollies. Most of the time the freight would back up onto the bridge to finish switching and to get a good run to climb the grade eastbound (1.5) out of Weymouth. It would then try and make a meet at North Range with No. 95. The way freight crew would sleep in Annapolis along with the crew from Kentville and exchange trains and engines the next morning for the return trip to the originating terminals.

The Weymouth bridge spanned the Sissiboo River which had a center span that opened to allow smaller ships to enter the small Weymouth harbor where they docked at the Government Wharf and loaded lumber & pulp wood. There was a bridge tender person named Restaire Gaudet who would walk the bridge for inspection after the trains passed in the day time and was also responsible for opening the bridge for the ships with the use of a bar (key) attached to a gear system. I had the opportunity to help him with this chore on several occasions. As well, torpedoes were placed on the tracks on both sides of the bridge for the protection of trains or section cars. The westbound trains also climbed a grade on the other side of the bridge as Weymouth was in a dip or bowl. The water tower was on the west grade. This meant that the trains eastbound that stopped for water were going down grade and had to be ready to stop for the spout. On rainy day or wet rails, the westbound trains often had wheel slippage & the impressive sound was heard for a long time until the grade was achieved.[1]

The Highway No. 1 level crossing at Weymouth received the DAR's first set of wigwag warning signals and bell in April 1937[2]

Features

Commerce

Gallery

References and Footnotes

  1. ↑ Recollections of Albert Melanson. Received by email 2020-06-12
  2. ↑ The Advertiser, Feb. 18, 1937 and April 22, 1937
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