Map of Gypsum Spurs

[Dan Conlin]

I found a 1909 geological map with a great depiction of the spider's web of gypsum spurs that once surrounded the DAR at Windsor. See attached. I knew about some of these quarries but I was never sure which had rail connections. There was even a short line across the river for something called Smoot Quarry. The Miller Creek Quarry had yet to be built. If you want to see the original, you can download it here: http://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/starweb/geos ... 1=R=107895

These geological maps from the 1900 era, often called the Faribault maps, are a great source of information about terrain and long-vanished industries. You can search for others here: http://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/starweb/geos ... scan_e.web

Dan Conlin

[Paul Charland]

Nice find Dan.

I was hoping to find a map that would show Digby but that would have made things too easy. They do have a map of "Digby (east)" that cuts off between Bear River and Digby, but no "Digby (west)".

Interesting find on this Digby east map, the 1971 and 1973 maps still show the Deep Brook gypsum loader that was removed decades before.

I went to Google Earth and you can still see the built up area underwater where they would have but the steel framing to hold up the loader from the storage building.

Paul

[stem]

Hey, all of that is pretty interesting for the Gypsum history page. I'm surprised you found such a good crop of old maps from Windsor and Bear River as well as the aerial evidence.

[Paul Charland]

I was hoping to find a detailed map of Digby!

Interestingly I had a look at a 1930 map of Digby and there was no sign of a wye or any place to put one (as shown in the hand drawing).

Paul

[SamuelMClark]

Paul here's a topo map of the Digby area.

[Paul Charland]

Hi Samuel,

I was looking for the military maps that are 1:25000 scale (I think). They typically show a little square for a house and the general shape for larger buildings. Oil storage tanks would be a circle and that's what I was hoping to see, a rectangle would be a horizontal storage tank and a circle would be a vertical tank.

I'm also wondering about Atlantic Wholesalers. They say they are on First Ave, and there was a siding right across the tracks from the bulk Fina plant, but no building.

I'm not convinced Atlantic Wholesalers wasn't in this building at the corner of 1st and Church Streets. It's right beside the mainline and there is enough room to get a siding between it and the main.

Paul

[Dan Conlin]

I like the mapping of the Deep Brook facility. Always wondered what the set-up was there. Here's a great album page of Deep Brook in action from one of Charley McBride's albums, the first dump on June 18, 1940.

[Paul Charland]

I think I should have rotated the building another ten or fifteen degrees counterclockwise, I think it may have fit into the square notch in the trees and that would have put the loader at ninety degrees from the center of the building.

Paul

[Dan Conlin]

Yes, I think I know what you mean, comparing the map to the satellite views. I think McBride's photo shows a bit of the building to the right.

Dan

[stem]

Tell me about the pictures. Charlie McBride's album? He let you photograph it or you actually have it?

First dump? For the year? If Hantsport opened in 1947 and this was the first dump ever, this facility didn't last long in service.

[Paul Charland]

Here's a better map of the gypsum loading facility south of Deep Brook. I had a look at the photo Steve posted a couple of months ago and it shows cars between the storage building and the water.

Paul

[stem]

Thanks Paul. I put this on the wiki by the way.

So what about the questions I posed? Got any answers?

[Paul Charland]

Hi Steve,

Well, no answers for your questions but I do have a couple to add to the collection.

Was there a run-around on the main at the spur to the loader?

I didn't see any evidence of a wye, that would mean running ten miles back to Annapolis Royal or ten miles to Digby to turn.

The two photos you posted of the engine switching the gypsum cars... there is only one engine, where did they leave the other (usually two D-10s were required to handle the gypsum trains).

Paul

[Paul Charland]

OK, the photo(s) Steve posted. In the second photo you can see the train on a trestle and the storage building in the background. I thought initially that they were dumping gypsum through the trestle and wondered why, but I'm now wondering if this is just after construction and they are dumping ballast through the trestle to bury it... that would also explain the single engine as this isn't a gypsum train at all.

Paul

[stem]

I think you're talking about the photos Dan posted. I see what you mean about the ballast look but I think it is consistent with the size and look of gypsum loads coming out of Windsor if you look at this photo:
http://www.dardpi.ca/wiki/images/R-107.jpg
More so than the loads coming out of Round Hill:
http://www.dardpi.ca/wiki/index.php?tit ... y_1987.jpg

At the same time, that's not one of the Big Otis cars used for gypsum as they had 8 sections/chutes. This one look like an Otis design but with only 6 sections and no numbers on the car to figure out what it is. Maybe I'll take a look at the MP14 from 1941 or so and see. I would point out that most ballast cars didn't have sides this high though from what we've seen.

And in the only photo we have on the whole facility, I still haven't figured out how it works:
http://www.dardpi.ca/wiki/images/Deep_Brook_Shed_a.jpg

I think the long conveyor to the dock is just for loading ships. But inside, how do they get it up that high and gather all the way across (the whole length of the building) from such a large pile inside? Likewise, how do they load the inside with incoming gypsum from Windsor?