Canning Questions

[Paul Charland]

Hi All,

I started working on Coldbrook a week or so ago, while doing so I had a look at the data I recorded a few years ago from the consists Andrew Blackburn provided. While looking to see what traffic was going into and coming out of Coldbrook the first month I looked at had a few cars being received in Canning. The consignees were Valley Fertilizer and Scotian Gold so I just thought I'd accidentally typed Canning and it should have been Coldbrook.

This morning I went through the data for the entire year and found cars destined for Canning for six or seven months of the year and also cars destined for Coldbrook as well. One of the consignees for Canning was Phil's Home Furnature, doing a Google search provided a page with an address and using that address in Google Earth found the current owner is A's Homestyle-Fireside Cafe but the building is certainly large enough to have been a furniture store... it's about a block or so from the tracks.

OK, getting to the point of this, the tracks were removed in about 1961, so why are there cars billed for Canning throughout 1975, the year of the consists provided by Andrew? Phil's shows up in the 1974 phone book, along with an 800 number for the DAR in the Canning section, other places along the former Kingsport branch do not have a DAR number listed.

The 1973 Employees Timetable does have an entry for the Kingsport Branch but really only indicates a speed restriction for the bridge by the roundhouse, another for one leg of the wye at Aldershot, and no whistles in Kentville town limits, ending at the first crossing north of the roundhouse. No mention of any customers or the length of the branch.

I guess the thing that makes me wonder if there were still tracks into Canning in the early to mid '70s is the fact cars are being billed to customers in Canning. There are plenty of off line customers receiving cars in Kentville, if there was no rail service in Canning, would these cars not just be delivered to Kentville and therefore just be listed in the consists as Kentville cars?

Paul

[fergusontea]

I bought furniture in the mid-90's from Phil's in Canning. They were on Main St, next door to the Bank of NS. I don't know if the bank is still there?

I have seen car load listings in the 1970's of farm machinery for Lawrence Parker in Medford, which is just north of Kingsport. To me, this just means that the cars went as far as Kentville, then they trucked the equipment to Medford.

-mike
Formerly of Sheffield Mills

[Paul Charland]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the reply. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't something I was missing before I started buildings for the Aldershot area.

Paul

[stem]

The only other person that I know of that has some history and has kept tabs on this area is Dan Conlin.

[Paul Charland]

Hi Steve,

I'm OK with Canning being closed in the early sixties. Maybe the "Canning" traffic became part of the Port Williams team track traffic.

Paul

[stem]

I let Dan know you were looking anyway. He always seems to come up with interesting details and observations.

[Paul Charland]

Thanks Steve.

[Dan Conlin]

I have nothing much to add to this - I think you guys are right on that these were old CVR customers that the DAR was retaining by unloading their freight in Kentville and trucking it to Canning. There was a big team track in Kentville by the freight shed across from the station which would be my bet on what they used, although the team track at Port Williams would be a bit closer but I am just guessing.
There is a an old retired DAR freight manager in Hantsport - I have his name at work - I'll try and put the question to him.

Dan Conlin