27

Collection of photographs of the P.E.I. Narrow Guage Railway, at the Elmira Railway Museum.
31 August 2002
Elmira, Prince Edward Island

28

Jack and Patricia Dunphy
Jack Dunphy remembers well when the railway used to occupy P.E.I. For Jack, a worker with the railway, tells us his father before him, also used to work with the railroad. Joe Dunphy was a sectionman in the 1940's for the Souris Branch. He was also one of the crew that put in culverts and built the bridges.
Jack recalls one winter in 1972 when he and Charlie MacDonald used a snowmobile to travel from Harmony Junction to Elmira cleaning the switches along the way. On the way back Jack was driving, hitting an ice patch the snowmobile flipped sending the men, picks, axes and shovels flying in all directions. Luckily, neither man was hurt.
Getting the train through the snow was often a case of ramming into snowbanks, backing up and ramming it again. Jack was watching this procedure one day, the driver gunned the engine full tilt into the snow when a ball of fire shot from the stack sending sparks and ashes over an entire field.
Snow shovellers kept their shovels in shape by heating them on the stove and putting wax on so that the snow wouldn't stick. Patricia's (nee MacDonald) father shovelled at Joe Allan's Cuttin' near their farm. At lunch time they all came home with him to eat lunch. In May, around 1943 a storm hit, men spent all day clearing the track but the following day it rained and not a flake of snow was left.
Patricia spent many hours walking on the tracks looking for cows. Walking from Souris Line Rd. to Crane Hill she would sometimes drive them home along the track. She can recall a time going by horse and wagon to take the cream to Souris. The train came along and blew the horn, scaring the horse who bolted, giving Patricia a wild ride before he was brought under control. She and many people would walk along the track in winter and spring to church in Souris and New Zealand.
Maintaining the railway proved to be hard work for everyone. Replacing ties was hard back breaking work. To get the old tie out they drove a spade in and pulled it out. Ties were heavy and water soaked, in a short time a man had to wring the water out of his shirt.
Blocking the rails was also hard work. When a piece broke off a rail it was repaired by cutting a block to fit. The iron had to be cut by hand using a hacksaw. It was attached with a plate and bolts.
Near Harmony Junction there was a shack where the men went to sharpen their axes. Hours were spent getting the edge perfect. When the axe was sharp enough to cut the hair on your arm, it was ready. It probably took hours because of the homemade beer kept at the shack.
Harmony Junction had a large station, one end was used for storing tools and coal. Sectionmen gathered around the stove in cold weather to eat their lunch. The station was also a place for people to meet and talk.
A mishap and a tragedy were recalled by this source. A gas trolley went off the track in the Harmony Junction area, one man sustained minor injuries. It is believed that the frog was filled with ice, sending the trolley onto another track and unable to make the turn, it simply flew off the rails. The tragedy occurred when a man by the name of Joe Sweeney, engaged to marry a Chaisson girl, was killed by a train. It was thought he was trying to hitch a ride, made a grab for the car, missed and fell.
In closing, Jack said the railway saved the highways. All freight went by rail and there was no need for large trucks with heavy loads, "Maybe the railroad should have been paved for the trucks."
People would walk from the Glen Rd. to Harmony Station to catch a train or mail a letter. A stamped letter could be given to any member of the train crew.
Harmony Junction Station was torn down. George MacAulay got the water tank. The tank was made of a very fine wood and was taken apart and used for windows, trim etc.

29

Tools and equipment
31 August 2002
Elmira, Prince Edward Island
TEXT ATTACHMENT


30

Clive Bruce
In 1925, Clive began working with the railroad. He obtained his job at the age of 15 by visiting a work site just to see what they were doing. When asked if he wanted a job for the summer, since the crew was one man short, he said yes without hesitation. The work week was made up of five days and after insurance and taxes, he cleared $2.98 a day.
There were several dumps between Souris and Elmira, which were gullies that had to be filled in to level the ground. One dump, just west of East Baltic Road had to be built up 25 feet. A second one was one mile east of the East Baltic Road.
A temporary narrow track was built to carry "go carts" which aided in the filling of the dumps. They were small open cars which were cranked with a crank and cables in order to dump the contents. A steam shovel was hauled by train to do the digging and putting the clay in place.
The train also brought the rails and ties as they moved along. Some of the men on this crew were: Jack Howlan, his son Harold and his nephew Jack Locke from Charlottetown, Ivor Stewart, Fred Carew, Bernie Holland, Temple Dunphy and Fred Dixon. Fred Dixon later moved to Truro, Nova Scotia.
An interesting story about Fred Dixon proved to be an excellent job opportunity. While working at the yard one day a train came in from the west coast with frozen pipes. A supervisor at the yard asked the men if they could thaw the pipes, which had to be finished in twenty minutes.
Fred knew how to do it so he went to work. He wrapped all the pipes in burlap and fired the boiler, using the steam he had them thawed in less than twenty minutes. The supervisor was so impressed that Fred soon became a supervisor in Moncton. Fred had learned how to thaw the pipes by watching his father do it in the mill using water and steam powered equipment.
Clive remembers the railway being used to ship fish only once a year, it was when a company boat was not available. Salt for fisherman came by train, it was then hauled to the different individual ports. Clive believes Jerome Chapman shipped the salt and it was hauled by Southern and Campbell.
Clive also worked on the crew that put in the wide gauge track. To finish the work quickly they only drove every third spike. It took two months to go from Elmira to Souris, once this was done they finished driving the spikes and replaced the ties.
A "Y" was put in at Harmony Junction for the train to turn. It was so hot during this time, that they worked early morning and late afternoon and evening. Black flies and mosquitos were so bad, they had to use vaseline and sheep dip. The vaseline was used to protect the skin and the sheep dip was to fight off the bugs.
Clive's wife Pearl used the train from Souris to Harmony Junction to pick blueberries, the cost was ten cents. For those travelling from East Baltic to Souris, the cost was twenty five cents. Lumber was hauled from Souris to Connaught Sawmill, two mills in this area were Acorns and Knights. Some of the finest sand for glassmaking was found at Norris Pond. Joe Neil shipped the sand by flat car to Quebec. It was also good for making fine cement.
During the winter Clive would go to Elmira Station and light the fire at 4 a.m. At this time a car was kept at the station for the train crew to sleep in and a dining car for eating their meals. The cook stove wold be lit for breakfast which the men shared with Clive. It was Clives job to clean the switches at Elmira, Munns Road, and East Baltic.
A passenger train came every day all except for one. Freight day was Wednesday, and potatoes were loaded on Monday and Tuesday. Heaters for potato cars had to be lit the night before loading. A cook stove at the end of each car had to be lit by pulling it through a hatch in the roof. The stove sat on a tripod and had to be kept out in the open until they were sure it was lit, followed by lowering it back into the hole.
At times the stove would go out after all this work, then some brave soul would climb into the hole to restart it. Clive did this once and was nearly overcome from the fumes, which could kill you in a confined space. Extra fuel was put in the car and the stove would be filled as needed by the train crew.
Six or seven church parishes would get together from time to time from Charlottetown for a Tea Party. To accommodate them, a special train was sent out and upon arriving at the station, special truck wagons pulled by horses would take them to the Tea Party.

31

Tools and equipment used for track maintenance, on permanent display at the Elmira Railway Museum.
31 August 2002
Elmira, Prince Edward Island

32

Bobby White
During the railroad years, many men found summer and fall employment as part of the extra gangs.
Among them was Bobby White, a rugged young man, too young to go to war in the mid 1940's but willing to work hard. He recalls many of the duties that were required of these gangs, people that worked with him and a few stories about his time with the crew.
The extra gangs started working around the first of May and finished up November 1st, earning $1.25/hr for their first year and $1.50 the second. Their work in the spring involved going to Charlottetown for 10-14 days to shovel coal ashes from the sheds there. They were loaded onto flatbed cars and spread over the tracks to stabilize the railbed.
The summer and fall seasons saw the men doing maintenance work on the tracks. The ties and spikes had dates on them so the workers would have an idea of when they should be replaced.
In many cases the rails themselves needed replacing. When the rails are laid, a small space measuring a few inches was left between the rails to allow for the expansion of the rails caused by the summer heat. An audible click was heard when the train passed over these spaces in the winter.
Mr. White remembers seeing places between Mt. Stewart and Royalty Junction where this small gap was not big enough and the whole rail bent and curved like a snake under the hot summer sun.
Spikes were pulled out of the ground and ties were shifted as a result of this bending. To fix it, a large chisel and hammer were used to cut a piece out of the track to release the pressure and straighten the track.
It is a well known fact that the tracks on the Island wind around the countryside like a friendly cat wraps around your legs. Since the rails were straight, putting them down around curves created some special problems.
The rails were laid down straight but a few strapping young men with bars were needed to bend the rails to create the proper curve. Andrew Leslie, Tommy Gallant and Bobby White were picked for this task, being the most able of the gang. This process was referred to as "lining" up the track.
One of the other duties of the extra gangs were to fill any hollows or holes that had formed underneath the track. The track was jacked up and fill (i.e. clay, crushed rock etc.) was packed into the hole to build it up, making the railbed level and more stable. This was called "raising the track and packing it."
The work done by the extra gangs often took them some distance from their homes. As a result, they stayed at the site sleeping in sleeper cars and having their meals in the cook house (a box car converted into a dining area).
Usually, one of the men on the extra gang was appointed cook for the crew. Mr. White and his fellow gang members were fortunate to have Chester MacDonald, a Bear River native, for their cook, as he was able to make just about anything taste good. The men were required to stay for a week and were allowed to go home for the weekend.
Travelling home at the end of the week was done by train but the train did not leave early enough on Monday morning for the men to get to work on time. Some went by trolley Sunday evening or early Monday morning.
Much fun was had on these trolley rides going down the "Ashton Straight," a 4-5 mile stretch of track that was very straight and along which the trolley would just fly. Mr. White said he and Frank Whalen could get that trolley going pretty fast down "the Straight" sometimes and had quite a lot of fun with it!
Each 30-35 member crew had a boss to oversee the workings of the men. Sam Hood was the boss for the gang Mr. White was a part of. He was well respected by his gangs, being a very fair and level headed man who never seemed to get rattled by anything.
He looked after his men and saw that they were fairly treated, even standing up to authority when necessary. One day, the crew were to replace rails between the Mt. Stewart and Royalty Junction.
Mr. Hood went to the station close to the area and asked if there were any trains scheduled to come through their work area. Upon finding out there were no trains scheduled, he told his men to proceed.
A common practice for work crews was to lace torpedoes - small fire crackers clipped onto the track that would go off when the train hit them - along the track 1/4 mile from their work area. The noise they would make alerted the train that there were men on the track ahead of them.
Flags were also put up farther down the track - in case the torpedoes didn't go off or were not heard. Not long after Hood's gang started working, they heard the torpedoes going off. The men looked around, bewildered, since no train was scheduled and the rails had already been taken up.
Hood, however, remained unphased, so much so that he did not even get up off the track he was sitting on when the train pulled up and stopped. The engineer came out and asked what was going on. Hood replied that he checked with the station and no trains were scheduled through there and they could wait 'til the men finished or they could back up to wherever he came from. Simple as that.
In those days, superintendents or track masters performed random checks on the extra gangs. Mr. Hood was not very fond of these men snooping around and did not hide the fact.
On one occasion, the men saw a superintendent by the name of Jack Howatt preparing to jump off the back of the train as it slowed down for him. However, the train did not slow down enough.
When the man jumped, he lost his footing and did three somersaults, landing in the woods with the backside tore out of his pants. One of the men shouted to him to see if he was alright. Sam Hood quipped "I hope he broke his neck!"
Usually there were few mishaps to report during the gang's work term.
However, one did occur in Souris involving a flatbed car full of ties and the cook house. Both these cars were on the siding and someone wanted the flatbed moved.
This was a relatively simple procedure, place a bar under the wheels to get it rolling and a brakesman turns the wheel to put on the brakes. However, this time the wheel was turned the wrong way and the flatbed didn't stop. It smashed into the back of the cook house, sending all the dishes and cookware crashing to the floor!
Mr. White also remembers the railway buildings in the Souris railway yard.
The turntable consisted of a large revolving platform with two long handles onto which an engine was driven. Four men on each of these handles would turn this platform so the engine faced the way in which it came.
This apparatus was located on Pond Street on the present site of Ching's Warehouse. The Roundhouse, which housed the engines during their overnight stay in Souris, was situated where the Souris Consolidated School's parking lot is now.
A freight shed was also part of the scenery in the railway yard. Part of it was hauled to the race track 12 years ago and used as a horse barn. The roof was replaced but the walls were sound enough to make a strong, solid barn.
Very little evidence of the buildings and sheds belonging to the railroad can be seen in Souris today with the exception of the freight shed. In fact, the only sign of the train ever being in Souris is the railbed. But Mr. White's fond and vivid memories of the railway can help one picture a time that some of us can only
imagine.
Passing Track vs Siding
- A passing track was a section of track off the main railroad where trains or cars could be pulled off to allow another to pass. These passing tracks were open at both ends with a switch at each end.
- A siding is the same thing but is open at only one end with one switch.

33

Tools and Equipment used for track maintenance, on permanent display at the Elmira Railway Museum.
31 August 2002
Elmira, Prince Edward Island

34

Blair Weir
Blair worked with C.N. as a trackman, also referred to as sectionman, beginning at the age of 21. He started working in June of 1966 and retired in 1994. From 1982-1994 he worked both on and off the Island. His area of responsibility extended from Mt. Stewart east to St. Peters.
As a young lad Blair recalls the coal cars coming into Morell, which always guaranteed work, for it would take two to four people three days to unload the car by hand. The coal was shovelled into a nearby warehouse located near the existing Morell Co-op. Potato cars also required loading, which again would take three to four people, depending on how quick they needed to be loaded.
It was 1966 when Blair actually started to work for C.N. Railway. At that time there were only three section headquarters, one at Mt. Stewart, St. Peters and Souris.
At the peak of times for C.N., four or five section headquarters now occupied that stretch with about for men to a section. This was a result of crew cutbacks probably dating back before Blair started in 1966.
Blair recalled a stretch of six to seven cars called the "White Fleet." Each of these cars looked similar to a mobile home but all contained a different type of room. A diningroom, recroom, washroom and bunk car were provided by C.N. to accommodate the men away from their homes, called to the duty of working for C.N. to service the railway.
The fleet would be put up on what is called "off track siding." Every station had one, with some areas having one to five off track sidings. Some of the off tracks were privately owned, but C.N. would take care of the maintenance and services. The off track siding would also be used for unloading such cargo as automobiles.
Blair's work as a trackman or sectionman generally covered the Mt. Stewart to St. Peters area however, when deemed necessary, the crews would be called to another location to assist in an emergency. There were times that men worked from daylight to dark trying to make accident sites passable. Blair recalls the crew size diminishing from six to three men per crew. There would be an extra eight men on call for each area during the extra work load times. There were times when you could see burned coal remains on the tracks. These coal remains were distributed from Charlottetown and used on the tracks as extra bedding.
As a trackman, there were many incidents he could recall of trouble on the rails. Snow troubles for example were a constant hindrance to trains, Mt. Stewart and St. Peters being the most troubled areas. Blair can recall wing plow derailments happening quite often.
In 1980 there was a wing plow derailment at Harmony Junction, it took three days to make it passable, cars and engines were in the woods, with wreckage everywhere. The spring season brought with it washouts that destroyed the tracks. From St. Peters Bay to 1/4 mile west of MacKinnon's Irving at St. Peters, due to high winds and tides, a serious washout occurred which took four days to make the stretch of track passable.
A lot of hard work was involved as crossings and ties had to be repaired and land underneath the tracks had to be built up. After the track was jacked up, rock and ballast, shipped over from Foley Lake, N.B., was packed under it. The track would then be laid back down and aligned and the ties put back in placed. P.E.I. had a lot more manual labour, where off Island heavy equipment was available.
In the last ten years of service, P.E.I. was allowed to lease heavy equipment, which came from Moncton, for a couple of months in the summer to lift and align the track. If the equipment was not available, the rails were lifted by hand, with four men at each end of a rail, using rail thongs to lift the track.
When the spikes would rust underneath the head, it was called "cut throat" which would throw the tracks out of alignment. The spike was removed by a "draw bar" and replaced. If you walk along the tracks today, you may find some of these old spikes.
Railway tracks had speed limits which assisted in decreasing the number of derailments and other accidents. Limits of 10 to 30 miles per hour were allotted to places depending on the area you were in. Controlled by signs showing the permitted speed limits, there was also a time table stating train departure and arrival times.
An unusual story was recalled by Blair which took place back in the winter of 1984 after a heavy snowfall. Wing plow operators, Andy Leslie (Souris), Omer Ferguson (Montague) and Ronnie Gillis (Miscouche), had orders to clean the track to Montague. Sammy Birt(Mt. Stewart), Blair Weir (Morell) and Mike Egan (Mt. Stewart) were told to follow the wing plow with a motor trolley, their job was to clear and salt the crossing and clean the switches.
The plow was ordered to go to Montague but when they came to Cardigan Junction they seen it fit to go back to Mt. Stewart. After turning the plow around and heading back at full steam ahead, they forgot one thing, "to signal the motor crew!!!"
Heading back at such a high speed, there was no way to stop when they caught site of the motor trolley. Blair recalls not knowing the train was heading back, until they actually saw it. The car was smashed to pieces as the plow certainly couldn't stop.
Blair proceeded to explain that you can't jump right away, you have to wait until the train is almost ready to collide, for everything goes flying. This information was passed down from older rail workers for there is no type of training for this type of accident.
Luckily no one was killed in the collision however, Sammy Birt at the age of 55-60, suffered a broken foot and some other minor injuries. He was hospitalized for some time and did not return to work for the railway.
Blair recalls the C.N. Strike's and how the workers always received what they demanded. I guess this was like the beginning of the end. C.N. started to make major cutbacks and people started to find other modes of transportation for themselves as well as their goods.
Blair now displays a black and brass clock on his mantle. B.J. Weir 25 Years of Service is inscribed on it. This was given to him in recognition of his many years with the railway.

35

Snow
1923
Munns Road, Prince Edward Island

36

Alvin Rose
In the late 1950's early 1960's an engine and two cars loaded with potatoes went off the track about one mile east of the East Baltic Station. This happened during the winter in the middle of the night. To get the potatoes, they had to cut away the brush and shovel the snow.
Alvin was part of the crew that shovelled the snow off the tracks in Souris during the 60's. The train went under the road they had made to relay the snow up the bank.
Peter Mossey was the station master for East Baltic, and Wallace Rose had the post office. Wallace's children would often pick up the mail for him.
Theodore Robertson, who had a store in Red Point, picked up items for his store at the East Baltic Station. Some items included 90 gallon barrels of molasses, which he rolled onto his waiting sleigh by himself. By the time the bottom of the molasses barrel was reached, it would be very thick, and this was used mostly to
make candy (taffy). Columba Jarvis was a great story teller and was often sitting by the old potbelly stove, ready with a good yarn to tell.
Railway cars were left at the East Baltic Station for the nearby sawmill. During the day the cars would be shunted to the mill and later in the afternoon they would be loaded with lumber and returned to the station, where they were picked up the next day.
It was exciting to meet the train, everyone came early to hear the latest gossip. Many young people would often walk to Souris and take the train back. This was considered fun, money was scarce so they could not afford to take the train both ways.
It was easier to walk down and take the train back because most times you would be tired from the long walk, and the train ride home was very relaxing and especially easy on the feet.
In addition to riding the train, small open cars about eight feet in length were borrowed by young people to go for a ride on the rail track, this involved a lot of pushing as the cars had no power, not even a hand pump. The cars were always returned to the siding when the fun was over.
Alvin's mother-in-law Helen remembered as a child running through the Mussel Mud with her good shoes. In later years her son George jumped off the top of a freight train car and broke his leg, he was 12 or 13 at the time.
She use to have to get up several times during the night to bottle feed baby pigs, and to put wood in the stove to keep the baby chicks warm. In the spring the roads were scraped with a team of horses. This was a way of paying your taxes, instead of receiving government money for your work, your tax bill would be credited.
In the spring women often took the train to Souris to get wallpaper and paint for their spring cleaning ritual.
Telephones had nineteen or more homes on the same line.
The rail line was fenced with a mesh wire to keep animals, cows, and horses off the line. Some of this fencing is still visible in some parts of the woods today.
Alvin feels that the land probably should have been returned, however he said with a smile, " I do enjoy riding on the trails with my snowmobile."

37

Elmira Railway Museum.
31 August 2003
Elmira, Prince Edward Island

38

Hon. George Mullally
Before the train came into existence on P.E.I, people lived rather isolated lives. The only mode of transportation was by horse and cart or by foot and the closest urban centre was often a couple of hours drive away.
This, coupled with the fact that most items needed to survive were supplied by the family farm, meant that trips into town were few and far between. When the train came along, much of this changed.
People could now travel to Souris and even Charlottetown more often. Young people could attend St. Dunstans University with fewer worries about transportation and living arrangements.
People even used it to travel to Boston to visit relatives or to work and also out West on the Harvest train for a couple of months work. It opened up greater opportunities for farmers to sell their produce and to bring special items like mussel mud, lime and farm machinery to their farms to produce higher yields.
The train now became important for a wide range of reasons. A special train could be called upon for serious medical emergencies. In the late 1940's, a man from Gowan Brae sustained a puncture wound to the stomach during a farming accident. In order to save him, a train was called to take him to Charlottetown. In another case, a young boy from Gowan Brae was taken to Charlottetown with a severe case of appendicitis.
On a lighter note, the train was used for things as simple as telling time. Years ago, clocks did not keep their time very well. To the time people used to listen for the train whistle which invariably blew at the same time every morning or afternoon.
Because of the train, people also had a chance to socialize. The station was a meeting place for many people whether they were meeting people at the train or just dropping by to see who was coming or going.
Travellers on the train also took the opportunity to have a good time. Often the trip home consisted of purchasing some spirits before the departure and partying all the way home. There was almost always a fiddler on board which added to the merriment.
While those up to Harmony and Souris were benefiting from the railroad, the people living further east had yet to experience it to the fullest. The section from Harmony to Elmira did not exist until 1911 or 1912. In 1908 James J. Hughes, during a election, promised to get this section built.
Although he was defeated, he expressed his interest to Prime Minister Laurier. The Prime Minister, surprised but impressed with the defeated mans request, sent Mr. Hughes to see the finance minister who found the money to fund the project.
The station house was based on 1860's to 1870's architectural design. Station houses built back then had separate waiting rooms for men and women at either end of the building as was called for by the etiquette of the era.
But it had since then become socially acceptable to have a mixed waiting room and one of these waiting rooms was used for storage. It was because of this design and the fact that this was the end of the eastern line that Elmira Station was offered to the Heritage Foundation by the railroad for preservation.
Two station agents were remembered working in Elmira. Mr. Large was the first station agent hired for this station and it was believed Peter Holland took over after him, remaining there until 1932 or 1933 when he left to work in Souris. The exact date Peter started is unclear but he was known to be there during World War I.
The station house in Souris was a large building with a mansford roof, providing a dwelling for the station agent and his family and also housing a waiting room, parcel room and a station agents office.
When it came to getting work on the railroad, politics played a role. It always helped to be on the right side of the fence, so to speak, when looking for this particular job because, with the government owning the railroad, they were government positions. Permanent jobs like station agents, engineers, fireman, baggage men, etc. more than likely had political connections attached but it also seemed to have run in families.
Sometimes a father would be succeeded by his sons or the son would at least have a jobs of some description working on the railroad because of the family connections. Although this may seem a little bit prejudicial, these arrangements probably worked well as sons, nephews, and brothers would have first hand knowledge of the railroad from their elders.
These were very secure jobs as a regular paycheque's were received and it would only be natural for a father to show his son, nephew, or brother the ropes in hopes he could carry on and have a secure job.

39

Old lamps, Elmira Railway Museum display.
31 August 2003
Elmira, Prince Edward Island

40

Margaret Tobin
Margaret's husband Bun began his employment life working as a farm hand. In 1940 he bought his own farm, still worked as a farm hand and was now working as an extra with the railway.
As years passed and he continued to get more work with the railway, he quit being a farm hand and farmed his own land for 10 years. Although Bun was considered an extra he continued to get full time work and could no longer farm his own land, he did get some young boys to do the work for him but this did not work out.
He eventually sold the farm and he, his wife and children moved to a house in Morell East where they lived for one year. The house Margaret now resides in, is where they spent most of their family life.
"We were lucky we didn't have to move around much." Bun would have to sometimes work out of town for a while but he would board with someone in the area he was working in. At times he would be gone for the week, come home on weekends and be off again on Monday. A lot time was spent raising the children alone, Margaret recalls.
As the children got old enough and started school, Margaret went to work at the fish plant. She recalls fish (lobster) being shipped in from Shediac but they did so by truck, it was more convenient than train at the time.
Bun was also working full time in Mt. Stewart, St. Peters, Farmington, Souris, Harmony and Elmira. He worked with many crews and in later years he was home almost every day. Margaret recalls how hectic it used to be getting up at 5:00am to pack lunches so Bun could be off to work at 7:00-4:00pm. She would then get the children off to school and have herself at work for 8:00am. This was quite the routine every day.
There were times when Bun would certainly get his exercise. "I can recall mornings he would walk from here to St. Peters." Sometimes Bun would have to leave St. Peters and walk back to Farmington. He would then catch the train back, getting a little rest.
Margaret says they never made much use of the free passes that were given to them from the railway, "although I have travelled on the train to Charlottetown to do business and shop." She would leave in the early morning and be back by the evening.
Margaret travelled to Toronto once aboard the train with a friend, Donna Kelly, about 25 years ago. The children were old enough to care for each other and Bun would be home in the evenings so she decided to go and enjoy the trip, and they did, she chuckles. It took two days to get there, they stayed for two weeks and made the two day trip back.
When she would go to Charlottetown she would board the train in St. Peters, when they lived there and in Morell when they moved. You could get your ticket before you went on the train.
Edgar MacKinnon was station master in Morell at the time. As you boarded you would find a seat and wait for the conductor to come and punch your ticket. "I enjoyed the very relaxing ride. It is a shame that they ever took it off, " Margaret says.
"I remember once in his later years with the rail when Bun was injured pulling out spikes. One broke and he toppled back landing in the hospital for a week with a double hernia."
Margaret does not recall Bun getting paid while he was out of work with his injuries. She does remember the railway workers getting straight pay during holidays, Christmas, New Years, Easter, they would only get one day at a time.
Bun missed the crew he worked with when he left the railway. After retirement he spent a lot of time around the home. He never really wished to go to far from the home when he was working or when he was retired. "You see, he had asthma and he had it so bad that he never wanted to journey to far."
When he worked he took medication with him and as it got worse he had to go on a machine when he got home. "That is what claimed Bun in the end, the asthma was just so bad." He was usually O.K. while he worked, when he got home is when he had trouble.
"They were good ol' days and it kept them out of mischief," Margaret laughs.
"They had to work hard, that's for sure," as she talked about how hard the rail crew worked.
"I believe they did the wrong thing, they never should have taken up the tracks or taken the train off." A lot of people were employed by the railway even the shovellers that were only called in the winter. "Money was money."
Bernard James (Bun) Tobin was born on April 27, 1913. He worked as an extra then a sectionman for the railway. Bun married Margaret Jane (MacKinnon) Tobin in October of 1942 and they had three children. Bun died on November 3, 1989.
While Bun worked as an extra for the railway, these are the men he worked for.
Tom Ledwell, Souris
Brent Gillis
Charlie Leslie, Souris
Stanley Brown, Morell
Bill Power, Tracadie
Emmett MacDonald, Morell