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rail spurs & electrical substations

Prometheus The Supremo

Prometheus The Supremo

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i've noticed that some electrical substations (i think that's the proper term) have railway service to them. here's some examples.....


roselawn & marlee
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v...&scene=28287430&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1

signet & finch
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v...&scene=28274107&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1


what's the purpose?

is it to bring in replacement parts/materials that can't be trucked?

was it to bring in equipment/materials for the original construction of the facility and nearby hydro transmission lines?

are those rail lines still used (put to service)? do they still build substations with their own rail lines?
 
The one on Roselawn certainly no longer has service as the Belt Line, to which that spur connected, is no longer there.

I think it was put in for construction, and maintenance, purposes. A lot of electrical equipment used to be extremely heavy, and probably was over the per axle weight that trucks (or the roads around the substation) could handle. With Roselawn, I don't think there was much beyond dirt roads when that substation was built, further reducing the practicality of trucking. Nevermind that most freight was rail shipped then anyways.
 
My Grandfather worked for a company called BEPCO that supplied electrical equipment like substations (and Toronto's first subway cars), and when I was kid I used to love going through the old catalogues and seeing gigantic dickensian things.

Google "mercury rectifiers" if you want a laugh.
 
There's still some biggies - there's a long railway spur along the 407 in Milton near the Mississauga border to a big station near the 403 and 407.

There used to be a spur near Highway 27 and Steeles, removed when the 407 was built. And you'll still notice transformer stations intentionally built at or near railways.

When the Bruce plant was built, they built a very long spur off the CN line to Southampton to serve it for construction. Not long after, both spur and line were abandoned.
 
Earlscourt_Lad said:
The one on Roselawn certainly no longer has service as the Belt Line, to which that spur connected, is no longer there.

I think it was put in for construction, and maintenance, purposes. A lot of electrical equipment used to be extremely heavy, and probably was over the per axle weight that trucks (or the roads around the substation) could handle. With Roselawn, I don't think there was much beyond dirt roads when that substation was built, further reducing the practicality of trucking. Nevermind that most freight was rail shipped then anyways.
Click to expand...

that's right about roselawn and the belt line. i wonder when was the last time they used the spur at finch? every time i ever passed by there the track was rusted over with no sign at all of any use. i guess today everything is trucked. since they got trucks that can carry huge bridge beams i guess electrical parts can't be too hard either.


the spur lines are interesting remnants of our past though. it's too bad they don't get used & get ripped out.
 
Definitely looks disconnected. I bet last time they relaid the tracks along there, they decided there was no point to re-lay the switch there. Curious how it seems to go through the property of the building right there. I would have thought it would have been on its own ROW.

f1244_it2425.jpg


So the substation wasn't there c. 1930, but my supposition about roads seems to be correct. Roselawn is hardly more than a dirt road.
 
Earlscourt_Lad said:
Definitely looks disconnected. I bet last time they relaid the tracks along there, they decided there was no point to re-lay the switch there. Curious how it seems to go through the property of the building right there. I would have thought it would have been on its own ROW.

f1244_it2425.jpg


So the substation wasn't there c. 1930, but my supposition about roads seems to be correct. Roselawn is hardly more than a dirt road.
Click to expand...

The Paton factory is a condo now. The factory was moved up to Listowel in the late 90s and isn't operating near capacity. Women don't knit anymore.
 
I-Z1 said:
The building(s) north of Carlaw and Dundas still have some, for their elevators, they are enclosed ...unless you really want a fast sunburn.
Click to expand...


D'oh! That would be the UV that you referred to earlier...........

Mustapha said:
The Paton factory is a condo now. The factory was moved up to Listowel in the late 90s and isn't operating near capacity. Women don't knit anymore.
Click to expand...

They're part of Coats now I believe. I think yarn, like many things, has had its manufacturing shipped overseas.
 
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