Some Stories From The Kingston & Pembroke Railway

Some Stories From The Kingston and Pembroke Railway. Est. 1871. , The Angry Farmer , In the early days of the K&P, a local farmer, Bill Francis, who lived near the rail line, discovered that two of his cattle were killed after wandering onto the tracks. Feeling that the crew involved weren't showing the appropriate concern, and sensing that he wasn't going to be compensated. Mr. Francis vowed revenge., Armed with a bucket of lard, he greased the rails on a steep section of the line just past his home, causing the train to grind to a halt. Mr. Francis no doubt felt a certain degree of satisfaction as the crew had to fetch sand from the shores of Sharbot Lake before the train could be on its way again. , Source: In Search of The K&P. p.52, Caterpillars Stop Train , On a day in June 1939, Ed Hall was part of an Army band travelling from Petawawa to Kingston. On a steep grade along the way, the drive wheels of the engine began slipping, lubricated by masses of tent caterpillars, and the train soon came to a halt. As a result, it had to be backed up to a more level stretch where the train was disconnected into two sections. Then, with two men standing on the cowcatcher sweeping the rails, the engineer managed to pull half the train to a siding just past the incline, having to return to do the same with the remaining section of cars., The operation took over two hours, during which time the passengers had dinner. Mr. Hall described his meal as "less than delightful" as they watched caterpillars dripping from the trees and crawling in masses on the ground. There was a similar occurrence reported in 1919. , Source: In Search of the K&P. pp. 116 and 117