Canadian Railroads > Theme-less Thursday - Action at CP's Ignace, ON Station, 1984

Back on October 11, eminence_grise posted the water tower at Ignace, Ontario, on a Wednesday, at https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,4395285.
I never saw the tower on my trip through in 1984, but did seem to recall something funky about the place, so that post inspires this one. I don't know how exceptional this practice is, but CP had their station located between the EB and WB mains, if I remember correctly.
1. On July 12, 1984, EB grain moves on the north side of the station, at 1255, behind SD40-2 5988 and SD40 5510 and 5503. The point of this shot was to get a fair piece of the south face, plus the train. I hustled to change position, to take the second photo.
2. Same train, minutes later, perhaps with a crew change completed (memory fails me), now pulling away from the station and continuing eastward on the north main. This also adds to the sense of the station.
3. Taken at 1220, just over a half-hour earlier, this is WB mixed freight behind SD40-2 5997 and SD40 5514. Did you ever imagine you'd get a little misty-eyed for all spartan-cab SDs? The light's not ideal, bu I've included the shot to show you the distinct gap between the WB main, which passed south of the station, and the EB main, passing north of the station. The station is implied by the otherwise unnecessary clearance between the two mains.
To put out as a question for the more informed to answer, did they keep this arrangement consistent, and did they have to have operators and crews on EB movements running around the other side of the station, or was there a functional second bay on the north side? Why was it set up this way in the first place, and assuming it's gone, what's there now from a function perspective? Curious, and thanks in advance.
Fred

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Back when it was reverse running from west of the Lakehead to east of Winnipeg.

KG

Posted from Android

Ignace was/is a crew change point, meaning that all eastbound and westbound trains stopped there and the crews collected train orders from the operator in the station. The station thus didn't need dual operators offices with a view of the tracks.

An intermediate station, Raith ON. in this two track territory was to the north of the two tracks.

eminence_grise Wrote:
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> Ignace was/is a crew change point, meaning that
> all eastbound and westbound trains stopped there
> and the crews collected train orders from the
> operator in the station. The station thus didn't
> need dual operators offices with a view of the
> tracks.
>
> An intermediate station, Raith ON. in this two
> track territory was to the north of the two
> tracks.

Ah, thanks for the explanation.
Fred