Local buildings, no longer there
The sump pump has seen a lot of use today. At an estimate, I’m getting a well-empty every two hours. That’s good. Now if the freezing temperatures can kick in after the water stops running, I’ll mark it up as a win. Otherwise, I’m going to have to move to Plan B, which involves me and a yellow bucket. The snow is gone, pretty much. However, there’s more on the way, because this is Canada.
I love when research proves a rumour to be true. Recently, I learned that the local railway used to build their own cars, right in the middle of the city. Not down in “the yards”; uptown. Uphill. Apparently they would lay in a set of temporary rails when it came time to make delivery.
And so I ran it by the guru (every interest group has one or two), and he confirmed that he had heard the same story. Well! Time to find out what lay at the bottom of the story. Turns out that the industrial building NOW on the site was a replacement, after a destructive fire back in ’46. However, the ownership trace for the property shows that a reputable builder of chairs (the famous Butcher chair), other furniture and rail cars operated for years on the site. Eureka!
I cross-checked the story, and now know some more local history. The rail connection goes back to before WW1, so photos are scarce, but the newspapers of the period do tell me tidbits. That’s what keeps me digging. Some afternoon, I’ll take a walk by the site, because I can.
