Embedded Files
The following photo provides an overview of a large section of the St Martins branch.
My HO version of the Hampton and St Martins Rwy is based on the prototype - place names remain and significant landmarks are modeled, but in a much busier, mid-1950's environment. There is also a substantial helping of "what-might-have-been", the product of too much imagination.
Although the prototype disappeared in 1940, the general manager of my layout, Otis (Rusty) Brown, has succeeded in making the railway marginally profitable by generating adequate new business to allow the little branchline to survive. One of his major feats was to extend the rail line to the harbour providing access to new markets for producers inland. We are not sure what he promised the land owners in return for right-of-way, and we hope they never decide to collect.
Rumor now has it that there may be substantial reserves of potash at Cassidy Lake, only 2 km from this spur ..........perhaps someday!
Rusty also clinched a major contract to handle manganese ore produced by the Markamville Manganese Mining (3M) Corporation, and the newer Glebe Mine at Walker Settlement by extending a 15 km spur from Upham to the minesite. Production has reached the stage that an ore concentrator at Hammondvale became feasible.
On the Bay of Fundy at the southern end of the Branchline lies St Martins, a busy village where shipbuilding once thrived. Its economy now relies heavily on tourism, fisheries, and the shipment of forest products by sea
Gully Bridge - Near the highest elevation on the railway, the tracks cross a deep chasm. The original wooden trestle / Howe truss combination was replaced in 1928 by a 7-span 300 foot steel deck plate girder bridge. My model of the Gully Bridge is a close representation of the prototype. (Winner of 2005 MFMR Photo Contest - Colour Model)
This sawmill at Porter Road is one of many on the railway - lumber is one of the main commodities to be shipped. While much of the output is sent to its final destination by rail through Hampton,there is still a small quantity destined for the port at St Martins (Winner of 2004 MFMR Photo Contest - Colour Model)
Henry Lake is a summer destination for Saint John residents, and G.R. Henry has done a fine job promoting maple syrup and apple production. The lake itself supplies ice for reefers transporting local seafood and produce.
The heavily forested area is also the source for an active wood finishing industry. At Patterson Siding, Australian entrepreneur Stu Marcus produces dowels, clothespins and, at Shit Creek Paddles, they are said to make paddles that have saved many from messy situations.
Even in the 50's, the Hampton & St Martins has retained the use of two ancient 4-4-0's, much like its neighbour, the branchline from Norton to Chipman. The additional heavy traffic from the Markhamville and Glebe mines will now force the addition of the unthinkable - diesel power!
Leaving Hampton, the Robertson Trestle is the first significant structure encountered on the railway. The salmon must be running in the Hammond River - the fella in the red shirt has quite a catch at the mouth of Robertson Brook
One of several logging operations on the railway, this one at Robertson Siding
Robertson Siding is also the source for much of the potato shipments coming out of the Hammond River valley
The mine traffic has turned the once-quiet communities of Upham and Barnesville into a junction and rail yard.
The O'Dell sawmill in Barnesville and Reid Bros. in Upham generate a significant amount of traffic for the railway moving logs and finished lumber.
Upham Post Office The G.R. Henry Feed Store in Upham is located next to the Reid Bros. sawmill
Just across the Hammond River from Upham, there is a new branchline serving two manganese mines along the upper part of the Hammond River valley. The Markhamville Mine and the Glebe Mine each produce 3 rail carloads of ore daily which is then sent to Hammondvale to be processed into concentrate which is then shipped via Saint John to offshore markets
Hampton Station is the northern end of the railway and the rail connection with Canadian National Railway to Saint John and beyond. It is also the Kings County seat, with the court house, land registry and records office, county jail, and commercial centre for the local area
Passenger traffic is still a part of the railroad's business. In addition to the regularly scheduled connections to Hampton, a railfan following seems to have developed, possibly because of the beautifully maintained Overton-type passenger cars. After a slight miscue during the inaugural run, there is a great interest in the newly re-introduced Sunday excursions from Hampton to St Martins complete with a live brass band - a revival of 50 to 60 years earlier. For more information, see the news articles in the "Intro to the HO World" section
The courthouse and post office are diagonally across the street from the railway station
Woodrows Building Supply was built by fellow club member Bob Boudreau based on a Fine Scale Miniatures kit. It is located at Hampton on my Hampton & St Martins Rwy
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