The Rural Voice, 2003-12, Page 3811OLIDAY GREETINGS
A very merry Christmas and sincere best wishes to aff our good friends.
from the Staff and Directors of .. .
howick MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY
Wroxeter, Ontario
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Hoses
Bearings
Hydraulic Pumps
Cylinders
Best Wishes
from all of us
to all of you - our friends
and customers.
Happy Holidays
and Thanks!
Distributed in the north of Ontario by Barfoot's
BARFOOT'S
WELDING AND MACHINE INC.
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517 Brown St., Wiarton (519) 534-1200 1-800-265-6224
34 THE RURAL VOICE
train had arrived and was given the
okay to stay at Goderich for the day
to ensure that the train got out safely.
That week, he and his colleague had
been kept busy cleaning out grade
crossings as no other train had been
up for several weeks. In the historic
waiting room, we talked together
about the good old days while we
awaited the train crew's arrival. As
the dawn grudgingly broke, a taxi
delivered the train crew from the
hotel. Upon entering the station, the
conductor phoned London to obtain
train clearance. Then, without too
much ado, the crew got on with its
job.
The engine was revved up.
uncoupled from the loaded
flatcars and then used to back
the caboose up the main track. After
some directions from the conductor,
the caboose was uncoupled and the
engine surged ahead over the lead
switch. The switch was promptly
thrown to the other track, and the
caboose was allowed to roll by
gravity down the north side track. To
the brakeman's surprise, it rolled so
well that it glided all the way down
to the beach, and the engine had to
go down after it and pull it back up
into a suitable position alongside the
flatcars. With the caboose brakes
tightened, the engine moved ahead
and was switched back onto the track
next to the station where it coupled
onto the string of flatcars and their
load of yellow graders-. The section
crew then helped the train brakeman
check over the outbound cars as the
engineer gently eased the train
forward. Even on this last day of
operation, the crew members took
care and pride in their work, as they
meticulously cleaned away any ice
and debris from the rolling stock.
The engine was well north of the
road overpass before it cleared the
flatcars over the lead switch. It then
backed the load downgrade to couple
onto the waiting caboose.
Once the train was assembled, I
got into my car and headed out to
Shapit to get my last photos of the
train going through our home farm.
The roads were icy and a light
snow was starting to fall, so I drove
carefully. At Shapit, I was surprised
by how much the pine hedges had
grown and spread across the
abandoned gravel pit. Numerous
spindly maples, stunted by the poor