453 replies to this topic

[Kungsberg]

Tours of Point Hope shipyard are happening this Saturday, May 25th, as part of the Vic West Street Fest.

 

http://www.docksideg...t-street-fest/ 

"Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 25th – we’re shutting down Harbour Road for the day! The reason? To celebrate the community of Victoria West via the fifth annual Vic West Street Fest! This free of admission, community-centric event will include live music, shipyard tours, activities for children and families, food trucks, and a local business fair."

 

Victoria Harbour Ferry seems to be offering free transportation between the Chinatown dock (bottom of Swift St) and Dockside Landing for the event.

 

Photos from previous years...

 

 

 

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[laconic]

Point Hope appears to be getting a new building. The first picture shows the excavation. The second picture shows the newly offloaded steel girders for the frame skeleton (just to the left of the vehicles)

 

The odd visual artifacts are from digital zoom and taking the picture into the sun.

 

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[Mike K.]

Cool!

[DustMagnet]

What's cooler, a new building at the shipyard or the visual artifacts that look suspiciously like single-use plastic heading for the open ocean...?

[KAS]

I couldn't get to the tour day last month, but what's the status of the added graving dock?  Is this activity to support that? 

 

And, while we're on the topic of things maritime, what's in the green containers that are on the barge over by Schnitzer Steel/Jutland road?  The barge is tucked at the dock behind the one that Schnitzer usually uses.  The containers are ending up at the north end of Point Hope - in the area that used to be used as parking, but I haven't been by when they're unloading them.  Bridge parts? 

[Mike K.]

Looking at the plans, it seems as though that steel exoskeleton is all that will be built. At least that's what renderings depict.

[laconic]

That's the second container barge I've seen brought in. Unloading is out of my view.

[laconic]

The green containers are being unloaded and trucked downtown. My suspicion is that they contain the cladding and windows for Hudson.

[KAS]

_{I've also seen the green containers at the north lot of Point Hope - across from Fol Epi/Discovery Coffee.  Which is why I was wondering if they were maybe part of the Bay St Bridge refit.  Signs went up saying "No Parking as of May 13" - Point Hope used to use the area as staff parking.  So, I figured it was a staging yard for the bridge work.  But, then those guys started using the un-built lot at the Railyards.   Yesterday, there were 2 or 3 on the ground at Point Hope, with another on a trailer.}

[laconic]

They're continuing to dig from where I thought the building was going to be placed to across the entrance area. Looks like they're extending the rail line.

[laconic]

Forms are going in.

 

 

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[thundergun]

They're piledriving a number of poles into the area on the north side of the property, right across from Fol Epi/Fantastico. Any idea what's going on there?

[Gary H]

Spur Extension...

 

As laconic noted, Point Hope is extending, essentially doubling its length, one of the new rail spurs that was installed as part of the shipyard's 2016 rail spur expansion.  This implies that future ship work could be done much closer to the southern end of the yard and closer to the main Dockside Green development to the south.  It also appears they will be moving some of the electrical utilities underground to facilitate removal of that pole near the rail line.  The first pic is from Feb, 2016 showing the original spur creation off the turntable:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Gary H, 10 July 2019 - 02:43 PM.

[G-Man]

Should get them working on the E&N tracks!

[DustMagnet]

Should get them working on the E&N tracks!

 

Does the shipyard connect to the E&N?  Do they use it to move materials (ships?) in and out?

[Mike K.]

Yup, it does. It runs along Naden's eastern perimeter and there is a train stop at the Naden gate.

[Coreyburger]

Does the shipyard connect to the E&N?  Do they use it to move materials (ships?) in and out?

 

There is no freight service (or any service) south of somewhere near Nanaimo right now

[DustMagnet]

There is no freight service (or any service) south of somewhere near Nanaimo right now

 

Was there prior to 2011 (IIRC that's when the last commuter service ran on the E&N?)

I'm just wondering why the shipyard would spend money on the E&N tracks if they aren't using them.

[Victoria Watcher]

the last significant freight died off in the early or mid-90's when vancouver island got a natural gas line from the mainland.  at some date in there the downtown converted from propane to natural gas.  propane previously arrived by rail tanker twice per week to a distribution facility at rock bay.  prior to that the downtown was powered by coal gas manufactured at rock bay (1862 to 1952) from nanaimo-area coal that came down by rail.

 

i think when the victoria plywood mill at jutland closed that halted timber freight into victoria.

 

borden mercantile was one of the last bulk feed places to stop getting freight when cn pulled out of victoria.

 

here is some 1958 video footage.  https://youtu.be/IGUllashOzg

 

something tells me those steam engines polluted a bit.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 July 2019 - 05:24 AM.

[Gary H]

They've now removed the two electric utility poles visible in the first pic.  The second pic shows the workers removing the wires to the now non-existent poles.  The last two pics were shot through two windows hand held, so not the best quality.