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[photo]
Looking North Toward Pier 8. Photo copyrighted in Canada by W. G. MacLaughlin
Salvaging the Railway Facilities at Halifax, N. S.
An Account of the Damage Done by the Disaster of December, 1917, and Work of Restoration
By F. B. Tapley
Assistant Engineer Maintenance of Way, Canadian Government Railways, Moncton, N. B.
THE COLLSION OF THE STEAMERS "Imo" and "Mont Blanc" in the narrows of Halifax harbor, on December 6 last, caused an explosion of the cargo of the "Mont Blanc," which wrecked about one-third of the area of the city and water front, and damaged the railway facilities in the vicinity of Richmond yard and North Street station, and along the water front at Deepwater, which is farther south. The evidence on the ground would lead one to believe that the "Mont Blanc" exploded in the vicinity of Piers 6 and 8, the greatest damage being done there, and extending southwesterly to the North Street station, and northeasterly to Willow Park Junction,—the radius of the greatest force of the explosion extending about 5,000 ft. While there were evidences of the force of the explosion all over the area of the city, the greatest damage was within the radius mentioned.
Extent of the Damage
On Pier 9, which is the most northerly railway pier along the water front, a wooden shed was so badly shaken by the force of the explosion that it collapsed in a heap. The sub-structure of the pier was not damaged, although with the large amount of wreckage piled on it, it took considerable time to find it out. Pier 8, next down the water-front, was destroyed from the water level up, a portion of the old crib below the water level remaining. It was a wooden pier of crib construction, ballasted with stone. Pier 6, a wooden pile pier, without a shed, was completely blown away, and no trace of it remains to mark the spot where it stood.
At Richmond Yard station, the car repair buildings and cattle pens were blown to atoms, while the switchmen's shanties throughout the yard were so badly wrecked as to be unfit for repair.
The North Street passenger station sustained very heavy damages. The front and back thirds of the train shed roof were blown upward with the blast of the explosion, and then collapsed and fell down inside the brick walls. Thirteen of the roof trusses in the centre of the shed, with the roof boarding, framing and sash on them, remained standing, but were later pulled down for safety. The glass was blown out of all the windows, and the doors out of the casings, but, being vertical, counterweighted, sliding doors, many could be operated afterwards. In the head-house of the station, which is a solid brick structure, the damage was very heavy. Downstairs all the doors, windows and fixtures were blown off. The main partitions stood up under the force of the explosion, but the light wood counters, ticket wickets and similar fixtures were blown down and badly broken. The brick walls were found to be in good condition, except for a few loose bricks next to the roof timbers; these, no doubt, were loosened by the disturbance in the roof.
On the second floor, all doors and windows were blown off, and the plaster partitions bulged and broken. The damage to the third floor was practically the same as on the second floor, and a portion of the roof on the monitor was blown upward. Later, in the heavy storm of Sunday, December 9, this portion of the roof collapsed. The power plant and power house, adjoining the station, suffered broken pipe connections and a wrecked roof, all doors and windows being blown off or broken.
The damage at Deepwater, where the local freight and ocean passenger facilities are situated, was heavy, but fortunately did not put the facilities entirely out of business.