Monday, January 29, 2018

The Kitchissippi Museum presents: 1960s west Ottawa home video train footage!

I am excited to finally launch this amazing video footage that I acquired a while back from local railroad aficionado Bruce Chapman. Bruce himself filmed all of this on his home movie camera back in the mid-1960s. He has quite a bit of train footage, so for this video I went through and pulled out most of the footage filmed within Kitchissippi.

There are a total of 8 clips filmed mostly in 1966-1967. Some are dated, some have accompanying info (below) from Bruce Chapman, and I've done my best to label key reference points in each video. There is no audio that was recorded.

You can view the footage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOnHaBu6HqA&feature=youtu.be

The first clips are the most exciting, as the footage is filmed from inside the cab of the engine, essentially providing an unbelievable opportunity to experience (at least to some degree) the feeling of driving down the CPR rail track along Scott Street inside a train in 1967.


Here is a list (and start times) of the different clips:
0:00 - October 28, 1967 - Final days at Ottawa West station. Leaving Ottawa West station going west towards Churchill Avenue, alongside Scot Street, from inside the cab of the RDC of #261.
2:59 - 1967 date uncertain - In cab of RDC unit on train #262 travelling from Brockville to Ottawa; this is footage from Churchill to Ottawa West station
4:50 - April 2, 1967 - Train #90, 8795-8745-8749 bringing 4-8-4 3100 to Ottawa, crossing Churchill Avenue
5:30 - October 28, 1967 - Ottawa West station's last day, panning the area from inside the yard
7:26 - Date unknown - "Scott Street in Ottawa; 'light' diesel locomotives heading westbound to pick up the rest of their train which they've left west of Westboro station, as their train was too long to fit into the small Ottawa West yard in one cut. The locomotives are all MLW: RS-10, RS-18, RS-10, RS-18"
8:26 - Date unknown. Shot from up Gilchrist Avenue looking north. "RS-18 and RS-10 on train #90 passing by on Scott Street."
9:31 - 1966 - Train #75, the through freight from Montreal to Ottawa on the M&O Sub, arriving at Ottawa West station early one morning (after crossing the Prince of Wales bridge)
10:12 - April 12, 1966 - #2 ("The Canadian") and #4 ("The Dominion") consolidated at Scott Street/Gilchrist Avenue

2 comments:

  1. This is fantastic, Dave. I remember running down the street from our/your house to wave at the trains.
    Brenda Whalley

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  2. Thanks Dave! We lived on Smirle near Scott St until 1964 and then moved to Daniel near Island Park. Remember crawling through the fence at Smirle to cross the tracks to get into Tunney's pasture.
    And putting pennies on the track. They came out hot and flat!

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