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Categories: Photo Du JourWindsor

Wyandotte Street Subway

Unsued in years and in disrepair, the Wyandotte Subway is due for demoliton and removal shortly. Unlike its neighbour to the east at Drouillard Road, which is being rehabilitated and was built with steam shovels, and other heavy machinery, this one was built by hand.

During the middle of the depression, in a effort to create work for the enemployed men of Walkerville, the town of Walkerville, started to build a subway under the Pere Marquette railroad tracks just east of Walker Road. The entire thing was dug by hand with shovels.

Starting August 13th, Wyadotte Street closes from Walker to Cadillac for the removal of this underpass, and the refurbishment of the Drouillard Road one.

More of our local history gone. Hey, maybe if things keep going the way they are going now, we can build another one as a new make work project…

Andrew

View Comments

  • PW Herman.....
    .......Calling the motor company Ford's is not strictly Canadian. Memory says it was fairly common to refer to FoMoCo in the posessive, reflecting the family ownership. Same thing was true to a lesser extent at Walter P.'s company. Can't say I remember anyone saying they worked at Durant's, though.

    Don't know about the current ownership of the right of way in question, the Windsor/St. Thomas line being pulled in 1997, but the Pere Marquette came under control of the Chesepeake and Ohio in the mid '20's as part of the Van Sweringen "empire" and was formally merged into the C&O in 1947.

    As another aside, the Pere Marquette Historical Society has pictures of still standing Ontario PM buildings on it's website http://www.pmhistsoc.org including a depot in Kingsville. Essex County is considering fixing the exterior of the building and looking for people to restore the interior, according to the site.

  • Whatever happened to the turntable for the train engines that used to be on the riverfront, not far from where Peabody Bridge once stood. Anyone know ?

  • CSX abandoned the line and abandoned all pretense of caring about the bridge. They fought the City in court over maintenance costs and won. North of the bridge is owned by VIA.

  • Thanks a TON Andrew, for your ongoing catalogue of Windsor's municipal abuse and neglect. I took a charcoal rubbing of that plaque you photographed a while back in the hopes I could recreate something for in front of my Walkerville home. Like you, I hope it lands into a public museum collection locally.

  • Rich....
    ......maybe we could ask Andrew if he has a picture of the turntable pit. Somewhere around here I've got a picture of CN 4-8-4 6167 on the turntable from the mid '60's, and another from 1994 of just the pit with a couple of ducks swimming in it.....

  • Sounds good. Douglas if you find those pics maybe if you want send them to Andrew and he can post them here. The last time I seen the turntable it was full to the top with water and yes it was a bathing tub for ducks & geese.

  • I don't have any of the Turntable... If you can come up with the photo Douglas, I'd be happy to post it...

  • Douglas,
    I would also be very interested in seeing any photos that you may have of the turntable/roundhouse...please post if you can.

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