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Views of the Northern Railway Pier and Queen's Wharf from the East and West.
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| Northern Railroad Pier |
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| Queen's Wharf looking west |
In 1852 the Board of Harbour Commissioners decided that a winter harbour along the western bay shore was a convenient and desirable thing for the accommodation of the shipping of this port. The Queen's wharf at the foot of Bathurst street and what in now the easternmost of the piers of the Northern railroad were then in existence. Accordingly, Mr. J. G. Howard, the veteran engineer of High Park, in March, 1853, submitted a plan for an outside winter harbour to the west of the Queen's wharf and tor an inside winter harbour in the water lot lying east of the Queen's wharf and up to the Northern pier ; these water lots stretching out as far as what is known as the windmill line. As soon as this plan of the Harbour Commissioners became known. Mr. Cumberland, then the President of the Northern road, had cribs sunk and booms put down for rafting timber, thus shutting off the possibility of using any considerable space of the water lot between the Queen's wharf and the Northern pier for a winter harbour. An arrangement was effected by which the Harbour Commission secured a small portion of the water lot to the eastward of the eastern line of the Queen's wharf but it was so small that it has never been available for the purpose intended. The city then cribbed and filled in at a cost of $10,000, the water lot west of the Queen's wharf which had been intended for the outer harbour, but the Canadian Pacific Railroad one night set a large gang of men at work putting tracks down on it and thus stole the property and the improvements at the same time. The first Northern pier was that running at an angle eastward from the foot of Brock street. On this pier stands the grain elevator shown in view No. 2. Since that time several piers have been constructed between this and the Queen's wharf. View No. 1 is taken from the original Northern pier looking west with the Queen's wharf in the distance showing the booms and the logs. View No. 2 shows the Northern pier and elevator looking from the west with a small portion of the booms and logs.
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This electronic edition is based on the original in the collection of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston.
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