I went out to Carley (on the Canadian Pacific mainline, between Craighurst and Medonte) this afternoon. There, I poked around the former railway facilities with my friend Paul Frechette. Among other things, we found evidence of the grain building, the livestock pens and the station. Most notably, I took a few pictures of the footings for the old octagonal enclosed water tank. This is the one which appears on the cover of
The King's Puzzle.
The second picture shows the concrete footings a little closer. This place is oozing with atmosphere, which is why I've chosen it as the primary setting for my next book. Matter of fact, I'm going to be standing at Carley at 9:00 p.m. on May 22 this year, to see if I can summon up any ghosts. At least a couple of friends are coming along,
let me know if you're interested too.
I absolutely love exploring old station sites, looking for water tank footings, the remains of stations and such. A few of the water tank footings I have discovered over the years where at Whitefish Falls, Wanup, Britt, Parry Sound and Dock Siding. At Whitefish Falls not only did I discover the tank footings but the cocrete octagon base for the octagon wooden building as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd Keith, did you see that the latest issue of Railroad Model Craftsman has a scratchbuilding article on the CPR enclosed tanks?
ReplyDeleteThey did a thorough job at Hawkestone erasing all traces of the water tank, depot, etc. Only the bridge, dam and pump house foundation remain.
ReplyDelete