Happy Friday again… This week’s old photo is again part of a recent acquisition of railroad infrastructure photos.
There is no date on this one, but there a a few photos in the series with similar id numbers, and those date to January, 1921. At the time of this photo the bridge was considerably smaller than today.
We visited the underside of the bridge in the Summer of 2009. As you can see it is much wider today that it was when the photo was taken. Any railfans out there have any background on when it was expanded?[Edit – Thanks Bernie for the correction, I was one bridge to the east!]
Have a safe weekend everyone, see you back here Monday.
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Andrew :
The M.C.R. bridge over London / University is the bridge over the cut on the west side of the SW&A car barns on University west. Today it is an park with a path way. The bridge at Salter St. was for the C.P.R.
Right you are Bernie! Thanks for the update, I’ll correct the post.
You can see the metal dangling above the tracks that warned of low bridge – similar ones seen by Fort York here in Toronto.
HAHAHA!! This is GREAT! This is down the line from me! I’m south of the ETR crossing, directly behind ‘the cut’. My father took my brother and I down to that area to do some tobogganing down the hill. I always thought it was at the Wyandotte bridge that he took us, guess I was wrong. I never realized till recently that the track actually went to the river. I’m hoping to find more pictures of this line, the ETR in that area, and the local business connections (Post Cereal, the MCR to ETR connections across wellington to Post Cereal,the small siding to the rear of the building next to where the ETR line went across Elliott to Post Cereal, etc…).
Awesome picture!
Just a comment that the Detroit-Windsor train tunnel runs not far below this track line now. Some time in the 80s, long after the surface tracks had been pulled out, there was a proposal to develop a riverfront park marina with boat slips dredged into the old railway cut. The plan went quietly away not unlike the disappearance of a more recent proposal for a canal along the Curry Avenue railway cut, looping around the Art Gallery and returning to the river.
As children in the neighbourhood, we were happy as clams to have some sort of elevation. Cardboard boxes, or sleighs, (if your family could afford them) Anything to go down that hill, and try avoiding the tracks.
Always aware of the RR police?
It was a route for homeless men, to enter the city somewhat secretly also.
Backed onto this via-duct was light industry. A bakery at Salter, including stables for the cart horses.