Searchmont and Bellevue Bridge Detail Photos

Conversing with Blair Smith – another ACR fan and modeller – recently, he sent me this link to an information page with a gallery including many high-quality detail shots of the truss bridge over the Goulais River at Searchmont. This crossing is located just to the south and in sight of Searchmont station, and alongside the main road into town.

Searchmont Railway Bridge

Plenty of excellent details for anyone interested in modelling the ACR at Searchmont.

A little bit of searching on the same site also brings up a page for the trestle bridge over the Bellevue valley just over 10 miles to the south of Searchmont, again with an excellent set of detail photos.

Bellevue Valley Railway Bridge

Searchmont Station Sold to Preservation Group

More news today out of Algoma country.

A group calling itself the Searchmont Station Preservation & Historical Society has announced this afternoon that they’ve reached an agreement with CN to purchase the former ACR station at Searchmont. Their hope is to rebuilt and restore the structure, although one of CN’s conditions is apparently that the structure be moved away from the tracks, so it won’t be in its original context, but the plan is to keep it the town of Searchmont.

Here’s a link to some additional information on the group’s blog on their website:

http://www.searchmontstation.com/1/post/2014/04/april-14-2014.html

Searchmont station was built in 1902, and is one of the oldest surviving structures on the ACR line. Originally, it was a much larger structure than today, with a larger express/freight section on the north side, and a smoking room in a round extension on the south end. Eventually both of the extensions were removed (the smoking room was damaged by fire early in the station’s history) and certainly by the 1940s the station looked much as it does today.

Here’s how Searchmont station looked in the summer of 2013, although heavy snow this winter has since brought down the overhanging roof over the platform:

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The station closed around 1994, and has been abandoned and neglected for 20 years. At some point, about 5-6 years ago, the interior was heavily vandalized and with several broken windows the interior has been largely exposed to the elements for the last decade, so the structure is in rather rough shape, so it will be quite a project to restore. Apparently the preservation society also hopes to rebuilt the original extensions, so this will be quite the renovation project.

Searchmont Station Details

This series of photos of Searchmont station was taken on July 13, 2013. The station has certainly seen better days, but at least it still stands for now.

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Searchmont station, track (east) side.

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Awning over side door on south side of building.

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Remains of the bracket and control rods for the former semaphore train order signal in front of the operator’s bay.

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Roof rather ends and supports.

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Passenger waiting room and baggage room entrance doors on the track side of Searchmont station. A large window in the waiting room has been boarded over.

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The rarely photographed rear side of the station.

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Grounds and outbuildings behind the station. Note old storage shed hidden in the trees and outhouse at far right. Both smaller structures are painted white with dark green trim.

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Old 2-stall outhouse behind Searchmont station.