Been checking some things locally as one certainly cannot stay in the house for any length of time! Things are certainly quiet around here as the dismal weather still continues. Parks and conservation areas are open for 'exercise' according to what I read.
I went for a walk at McKeough yesterday looking at an area I will be covering for the Breeding Bird Atlas. I covered this square the last time around. Red-tailed Hawks are numerous right now, some in pairs here and there.
The landscape has changed a bit with things grown in compared to 20 years ago!
With the weather right now, we may soon see woodcocks! There were no shorebirds on my walk, but I did find Black Knots. (A type of tree fungus!)
Yesterday at home, I noticed a huge flock of blackbirds come in to the neighbourhood. It was a good mixed flock, but I was unable to get close to them. Who knows if anything good was with them. It was the type of flock one might find Yellow-headed Blackbird, but no yellow heads popped up with the ones I looked at!
Knowing they might be around the old grain elevator SW of town along the river, I stopped there late in the afternoon. Sure enough there was a decent-sized flock, but only a fraction of what I saw previously. Nothing stood out.
And now some history...for lack of other subjects!
Near the above-mentioned spot, the old electric railway went through, heading south parallelling Baldoon Road. While in the area, I stopped to photograph one of the old concrete abutments along Swan Line.
Travelling along Baldoon Road, one can still see a couple of spots where there are old concrete abutments, or level areas where the tracks once were.
The Chatham, Wallaceburg and Lake Erie Railway was opened in November 1905 and ran from downtown Wallaceburg south along Baldoon Road cutting into Chatham near Gregory Drive, along St. Clair Street, over the Third Street Bridge through downtown, and south along Queen Streen straight to Erie Beach. There was a spur line to Pain Court. The company had a park at Erie Beach with a pavillion (site of the Church camp today).
The powerhouse for electricity was located in downtown Chatham.
The (acronym) CW & LE was affectionately named Come Walking and Leave Early.
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| Opening Ceremony in 1905 |
It was used for passenger travel and freight, but later years mostly freight as the advent of the automobile made it less desirable. It lasted until 1930 when it was uneconomical to operate due to less demand, maintenance costs, and mainly the fact that the city of Chatham did not want it in the downtown area. A partial collapse of the Third Street Bridge due to weight of the loaded cars, was one of the contributing factors. The CW & LE ws required to maintain the roads where their tracks were, but often failed to do so.
Freight included gravel, grain or sugar beets. The railway ran by the old Canada and Dominion Sugar Company in Wallaceburg, a large four story complex on the south side of town.
The above photo shows some boxcars and freight engine #103 at the right.
In August 1908, tragedy struck when a miscalculation led to one trolley rear-ending another. Four people were killed including three children.
An excellent and comprehensive history of the CW & LE was written by Chatham historian John Rhodes. There are many photos included within. I find this stuff fascinating, and have read through this book many times!
Home base in Wallaceburg was on the "south side" near present-day Museum, complete with a depot. It came in along Gillard Street. I found a couple of old photos, obviously some years apart.
The upper photo was quite early, while the lower photo was probably taken after the rail line closed. Some tracks are gone and the others look abandoned. Also, many more houses.
The photos were likely taken from the old water tower.
Photos are from the post card collection I inherited from my father.
Today, I travelled along Baldoon Road just for fun. I was hoping to see some birds to supplement this story, but there were practically none!
Over towards Mitchell's Bay, there are lots of Snowy Owls. Five were in sight around Marsh/Winter Lines.
Some White-crowned Sparrows are kicking around the roadsides.
At Mitchell's Bay, I saw one small white goose, but it was too distant to do anything with. I was leaning towards Ross's though. One was seen near SCNWA the other day.
All for now...
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