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Introduction
MAP
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New Brunswick Railways - East Bathurst spur (1/2)
IntroductionThe East Bathurst spur began at the New Brunswick East Coast mainline outside Bathurst (mile 108.3), and travelled 4.3 miles to its termination in East Bathurst. The spur is a remnant of the old Caraquet Subdivision, formerly owned by Canadian National. The line was originally built as the Caraquet Railway and stretched from Gloucester Junction on the Intercolonial to Shippigan. The spur served the Bathurst Industrial Park until its termination in 2003. Almost all of the track is 85 lb rail dating back as far as 1920, although there are a few 100 lb rails with the appropriate adapters. Most of the rail is labeled similar to "CANADA-ALCOMA-85 LBS SLT-13-OH-1920". Much of the rail is quite rusty. 
Tour
The spur begins at Gloucester Junction, just south
of Nepisiguit Junction, and crossed
provincial highway #11 at around mile 2.0. In 2003 this crossing was removed and
paved over. Shortly thereafter, it describes an S curve through some fields. An old
roadbed is visible to the right at about mile 3.0,
curving out into the Bathurst industrial park.
At about mile 3.3, another old roadbed is visible to the right. The ties for the old switch are still in place.
The Irving Oil Limited fuel depot has been removed. At last visit the tanks were lying on
their side.
Immediately following that
switch was a small siding holding perhaps five cars. The frog for
the switch going into the siding has been removed, effectively
making the siding single-ended. A stop sign has been placed in
the siding to warn of the missing track.
Parallel to the spur on the left is what appears to be old roadbed that curves off toward the center of Bathurst. There is an old placemarker sign reading "CN East Bathurst" with the CN partially painted out. The spur trackage continues on to cross Miramichi Avenue, a four-lane road leading into Bathurst. The crossing is protected by flashing lights.
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The first switch off the
spur curves off to the right and terminates in an area enclosed
by mesh fencing (1 car spot within the fencing). The ballast
appears to be nearly new, although the rails are quite old. A
local resident told me that a businessman attempted to build a
scrap yard there a few years ago, and met with strong local
opposition. The area is zoned "light industrial" and
his request to rezone it for "heavy industrial" was not
successful. This switch is protected by a derail.
The next switch is to the
right, to the local Irving Oil Limited fuel depot. There are five
tanks there and four car spots. Viewed from the other side, the tanks are lettered I R V I N G.
Across the road, the spur
continues for another few hundred feet before it terminates at mile 4.3. A
trailing-point switch leads to an abandoned warehouse, with a
loading dock and a spot for a car within mesh fencing. The
warehouse appears to be in disuse, and the rail section has
clearly not been used for some time. According to a CN timetable from
1973, this was the Ottawa Valley Lumber Company. The switch number is BK13.