Ken's Journal Moncton, New Brunswick |
| Leaving St Martins on a rather gloomy day, I moved to Moncton, New Brunswick for a few days. Not that there was anything in Moncton that attracted me, but it was rather central to other places that interested. |
| Cape Jouriman marks the beginning of the 8 mile long Confederation bridge that connects Prince Edward Island with New Brunswick. After ten years of planning and construction, the bridge opened to traffic in 1997. There is one travel lane and one breakdown lane in each direction. The bridge was designed as a multi-span, concrete box girder structure. At the Jouriman departure for the bridge, there is the Cape Jouriman National Wildlife Area with several hiking trails and the old Jouriman Point Light. | |
A 3/4 mile hike brings you to the Jouriman Point Light. The light is no longer operational - and to me anyhow, looked to be in need of a lot of TLC - actually, it was pretty shabby. Bring your bug spray too. The hike is along a marsh and the mosquitoes love it. In this shot, you can see the Confederation Bridge in the background. |
From a distance, the light looks pretty good. |
But get a little closer, and you can see the flaking paint and trim falling off. Under the deck there's a large colony of barn swallows. |
The Confederation Bridge - disappearing into the mist in the distance. I'll cross this bridge to PEI in a couple weeks time. |
On the way back to Moncton from Cape Jouriman I stopped at one of the New Brunswick Museums. This one is the Carriage and Wagon Works of George Campbell. The factory was operational until the doors closed in 1956 and remained boarded up until 1995 when the heirs of George Cambell donated the facility to the New Brunswick Museum Trust. It is still undergoing restoration. |
Anyone could build a wagon - except for the wheels. It took a very skilled wheelwright to make wheels that could track true and withstand the beating given out by the roads of the day. George Campbell was one os those wheelwrights. This is a picture of wheel hub blanks - these were found in the factory when it was reopened in 1995. The blanks were turned from green birch logs and the hole was drilled in the middle to help the green wood dry evenly without splitting. |
A stack of wheels in various stages of completion - originals found when the factory was reopened. |
The jig used for the assembly of wheels. The center post was used to "dish" the wheels so they would track straight and handle the stresses of leaning into a turn. |
An original built in this shop.
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When times were slow, the factory built six foot long wooden boxes - coffins. This is a stack of some of the original hardware. |
"Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind." -- Seneca |
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