I had 16 years with the railway in Newfoundland.I started at age 16 while still in high school and at that time over 800 people in my community alone had employment there.I gradually watched it fade away and now ATV's,snowmobiles and hikers travel across an abandoned railbed.Just a scatter railway spike can be found laying on the gravel today as proof that once we had a band of steel connecting Port Aux Basques to St. Johns.
During my last years with the railway then know as Terra Transport i spent time travelling and living in different communities. Howley,Badger,Gander,Arnolds cove,Deer Lake and Clarenville became my home for months at a time. During that time i worked with men from many Newfoundland communities. Some have since passed away and a few i still keep in contact with.
I'll list a few here just in case someone might see and tell them.I remember four from the community of Embree,Ivan Potter,Bert Hoddinott,Jim Snow and Earl Purchase.Two brothers from Gambo,Calvin and Edgar Payne.From Howley,Dany Saunders,Bruce Blundon.Gerald Canning,passadena.A father and son from Corner Brook,Ed and Les Hann.Bill Benett from Bellview .Several from the Bonavista peninsula,Stan Button,Cyril Keough,and Lyold Woodman.George Chatman,Winston Greening from Charlottetown.Roy Moore from the Whitbourne area.Hopefully some will see this blog and get in touch.
8 comments:
Wayne I would like to say one thing and pay you a compliment, you have brought this site a long way from the day I first ran up on it, your latest blog about the Newfoundland Railroad is outstanding, and the pictures that go along with it are also outstanding, I think I have read and re-read it about 10 times now, keep up the good wor.
I second the motion Drifter. Excellent, simply excellent.
thank you guys,
few old pics of mine from the 80's.taken with a disc camera back then.that camera was suppose to be a big change in photo technology but it soon disappeared.
drifter i tried to post on your site a few times but can't.
Great blog post indeed!
The rainway is something I feel strongly about actually as it's something that should never have gone away. There is no reason why we shouldn't have a system that still works in Newfoundland and throughout Canada. It would be great for transportation issues and would help ease the amount of CO2 emissions released by cars and trucks.
The Green Party of Canada supports the rehabilitaion of our railways to use clean technology and get transporting in a better way.
Again, great blog you have here!
Stephen Harris
http://newfoundlandgreenparty.blogspot.com
I really enjpoy readiing about the area and about cape and port aux basques, as well as the railway because I didnt know it too well as I was born in 83. I can still rememebr some of the trains passing by as we were swimming in lilly pond in macdougalls, I can remember one paeticular time looking up and seeing the train further up passing by. Great job, and it deserves another vote!!!
Drifter, keep checking out my blog and if I can find a way I will post a few mp3's. not alot of newfoundland stuff, but a few newfoundland boys singing a couple of there fav. tunes. Will defantely think about the talk of the rokc thing and I am looking forward to it. I am already familliar with bob porter as I have heard some of his tune. Ghost in the fog, up she rises and the like.
Wayne you should be able to post now I had a little run in with Stalin the Shark they came over and dropped a bomb in one of my blogs so I closed the door for a couple of days.
Thanks for the pics !
I studied them very hard to see if I knew anybody to no avail.
My dad William Byrne told my brother 10 years before the rail way closed that he saw it in the future with the way they were restructuring it would close :(
Wiping a tear from my eye here now thanks!
What a wonderful piece of nostalgia for the reader and history books alike. Great read Wayne. Thanx.
Post a Comment