Canadian Railroads > More from the Halifax Cut

The two main yards in Halifax, Rockingham and Ocean Terminals, are connected by a long cut dug in the early 20th Century.  Since Halifax was already well developed at that point, many bridges were required to span the cut, and the two closest to the present day VIA station (mile 0 of the Bedford Sub) are shown in this photo.  The closest carries Tower Rd., while the one in the background is the Young Ave. viaduct.  The train here is 137, which made its first pickup at HOT early in the afternoon, before picking up more cars in Rockingham, and then leaving for Moncton.  Because the train made a pickup at two different yards, some crews claimed a yard ticket for the extra work, which CN refused to pay.  Years later, the issue was arbitrated, CN lost, and now everything originates in Rockingham, with transfers moving cars between the two yards.

I had planned to chase this train west to Truro and perhaps farther, but this was April 12, 2001, and as they were making the Rockingham pickup about 14:30, I heard somebody say, "Looks like we're not going anywhere.  15 is on the ground at Alton." There's a picture here of that mess: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,1850990,1850990#msg-1850990

GTD

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