Ah Qubec.. All that French.. It's a good thing that FD is not driving around over there.. Her reaction to this sign would be something like, "oh look they have renamed that place to Barrie. Let's see what it looks like.."



Superb photography Pierre.

Thanks Tom.

You may get the answer here (Wikipedia)

Happy New Year !

Pierre.

Great shots Pierre!
The -10º to -15º with wind chill factor made for clear crisp skies which show up wonderfully in the background.

WRT the wikipedia entry:
"... nine violet colored silos. They are covered in treated clay tiles that were manufactured by the Barnett and Record Co. of Minneapolis. These silos are rare examples of using this technique to cover and insulate silos. The cement silos on the other side were added in the 1940s, and were used to store the barley used to produce the malt. The barley was germinated and dried in the buildings that lined Saint-Ambroise Street.[2] The factory had an enormous output of 250,000 pounds (110,000 kg) of malt per year, and distributed it to distilleries and breweries.[1] The closing of the Lachine Canal in 1970 forced the company to transport its malt by train only, and around 1980, the building was actually too small and the transportation costs too high, so the company abandoned the site and moved into a new malting complex located at 205 Riverside and Mill Street, Montreal.[1][3] The building was then sold for $500,000 and became a soya and corn storage facility for Quonta Holding Ltd, before it was abandoned in 1989 when Canadian National ceased its rail line service to factories in this area of the canal.[1] The ancient clay silos are now protected as part of the Lachine Canal National Historic Site. [Sadly...] They have been so battered from both the elements and vandalism, that it is no longer possible to restore them.[1] ..."

Lots of old bits of rail along the canal and there are some branches here and there along or near the canal that still see rail traffic to some light industry.
Trainspotting next time at the Atwater rail bridge should yield a few lovely shots. The Atwater bridge sees loads of rail traffic, including oil from Alberta, that does not have the benefit of pipelines, (aka Keystone, or Quebec pipeline to Atlantic), wood; plywood, autos, grains etc, in various eclectic consists ... including the regular Via train traffic every hour or so.

On New Years Eve, my family went to a party in Dorval and on the same line, that runs along highway 20, we saw a train of 110 oil tank cars just sitting there waiting to be dispatched; empty or full, I do not know.

- Mark