Canadian Railroads > MLW Monday - CN RSC-14 Switching Charlottetown

In 1983 I had the opportunity to do some shooting on PEI. For Royal watchers, June 27 was significant because Prince Charles (as he was then) and Lady Di visited Charlottetown aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. I preferred to follow RSC-14 1753 as it performed some switching in town. My only note is that this is across (i.e. west of) Prince Street; if anyone has more specific local knowledge, that would be great. There were some tight clearances between the buildings, trees, and vehicles. A smoke plume is always appreciated.
Fred

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rare shot!

Very nice photo! Begs to be modeled. I got roster shots in PEI, but never saw these running. I wish I'd had more time to exxplore the province.

Brian N.

Interesting view - Great catch.
Bob

Wish I had made the trip to see the PEI lines. Circa 1978 I made several trips to see CN in western New Brunswick. Met a guy who was raving about PEI, but I had little interest in short lines and branches at the time and was looking for Big M's in main line service.  But all this time later I really wish I had listened to him! The closest I got was a bike tour of western PEI around 2000 that used quite a bit of the right of way. Some nice buildings remained, including the Charlottown shops that had been repurposed as government buildings, but everything at Borden had been leveled to make room for the northern end of the new bridge to the mainland. 

I'm ashamed to say PEI was a missed opportunity for me.

I did have a look at the Charlottetown map to try and figure out where you were.  The railway came down the east side of town (now marked as the Confederation Trail), and then curved around to the shops, possibly going west across Prince St.

Here's a contemporary view from Prince St. looking west.  The tall building in the background is the Delta Hotel, also visible in your photo.  The rest of the view here is unrecognizable.

https://www.google.com/maps/@46.2334991,-63.1212667,3a,73.3y,226.54h,86.68t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s5TaV1nXD8Fq_s2FdU0ALsg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D3.3200176601927467%26panoid%3D5TaV1nXD8Fq_s2FdU0ALsg%26yaw%3D226.53803198384662!7i16384!8i8192?authuser=0&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQwNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

But if you rotate the Google Earth image around, the old shops are on the east side of Prince St., now being used as a farmers' market.  I think it's the old CN passenger station that is now government offices (Workers' Compensation Board):
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.235898,-63.118847,3a,75y,19.4h,95.25t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sdbh5lidXTTpCah4I0SG5vA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-5.249748528771065%26panoid%3Ddbh5lidXTTpCah4I0SG5vA%26yaw%3D19.395213214207317!7i16384!8i8192?authuser=0&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQwNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

GTD



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/25 18:59 by cn6218.

cn6218 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm ashamed to say PEI was a missed opportunity
> for me.
>
> I did have a look at the Charlottetown map to try
> and figure out where you were.  The railway came
> down the east side of town (now marked as the
> Confederation Trail), and then curved around to
> the shops, possibly going west across Prince St.
>
> Here's a contemporary view from Prince St. looking
> west.  The tall building in the background is the
> Delta Hotel, also visible in your photo.  The
> rest of the view here is unrecognizable.
>
> https://www.google.com/maps/@46.2334991,-63.121266
> 7,3a,73.3y,226.54h,86.68t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s5TaV
> 1nXD8Fq_s2FdU0ALsg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpix
> els-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client
> %3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D3
> .3200176601927467%26panoid%3D5TaV1nXD8Fq_s2FdU0ALs
> g%26yaw%3D226.53803198384662!7i16384!8i8192?authus
> er=0&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQwNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw
> %3D%3D
>
> But if you rotate the Google Earth image around,
> the old shops are on the east side of Prince St.,
> now being used as a farmers' market.  I think
> it's the old CN passenger station that is now
> government offices (Workers' Compensation Board):
> https://www.google.com/maps/@46.235898,-63.118847,
> 3a,75y,19.4h,95.25t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sdbh5lidXTT
> pCah4I0SG5vA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa
> .googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmap
> s_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-5.2497
> 48528771065%26panoid%3Ddbh5lidXTTpCah4I0SG5vA%26ya
> w%3D19.395213214207317!7i16384!8i8192?authuser=0&e
> ntry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQwNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
>
>
> GTD

You're right about the track curving in toward the yard; it passed a Canada Packers plant, which had its own noise and aroma. The rail facilities were all on the east side of Prince Street, as you note, and also the WCB note is correct. I'll have to scan some more of this stuff, even though I'm not happy with what I'm getting out of VueScan. Not sharp at all. That will eventually piece the picture together. You can get some idea of the arrangement if you have CN Lines v. 19 no. 4, p. 13. I'm on the roof of the shops building, looking almost north, I guess, at the west face of the station. The shot in this thread is behind me and to the left, across Prince Street.
Fred