ACR 1947 Maintenance of Way Documents

Ditto stencils and pencil on newsprint were used by the Algoma Central Railway's Maintenance of Way officials to document staffing changes, caution against unsafe practices and to convey work assignments. 

As you will observe, the common thread in most of these items is that they mentioned Rolly Martin during his brief maintenance of way career with the ACR.

As obsolete as a steam locomotive or a maintenance of way 'speeder' ... Ditto stencils were a mainstay of school teachers before affordable photocopying. 

The stencil was inserted in a typewriter (to produce the copies seen below) and the hammers struck a thin purple 'carbon' sheet (or the message/image could be written/drawn using a normal pen), leaving a residue of purple letters on the back sheet of sturdy white paper. 

After removing the top carbon sheet, the stencil's upper edge was clipped onto the drum of the Ditto machine. The drum was rotated by hand (or electrically) to bring the sturdy paper with purple letters residue into contact with a light coating of alcohol, and then a sheet of copy paper. With each drum rotation, the alcohol enabled a small amount of the 'purple substance' to be transferred to a single sheet of paper ... making one copy. After running off 200 or so copies - which became fainter and fainter - the purple carbon residue was depleted and another stencil had to be prepared from scratch.

In the 1960s, 'freshly' copied Ditto handouts were treasured by some students for their distinctive alcohol smell. Probably composed of neuro-toxic methyl alcohol and other chemicals, Ditto solution probably decreased our collective IQ by a point with each 'fresh' exposure.

> At LC Gagnon's retirement, I think it was a student gift presenter who joked that they should mount a plaque dedicated to him by the Ditto machine. Over the years, he was a big believer in concisely documenting the key points, themes or ideas to remember for his English and History students using this technology. 

To the best of my knowledge, GV Martin (Section Foreman, Brient, above) was not related to Rolly Martin.

To find the Algoma Central Railway stations mentioned on these documents, here is a link to Rolly's employee timetable:

ACR 1947 Algoma Central Railway Employee Timetable

Author Dale Wilson (Nickel Belt Rails) was a great researcher/interpreter of Canadian railway history. 

As he mentions in Algoma Rails (2009; Nickel Belt Rails) AM Wilson (the undersigned, above) was his father.

*  *  *

from: Algoma Central Railway; OS Nock; 1975; A&C Black.

The ACR as Rolly Martin would have seen it - Engine 81 is northbound at Hawk Junction in 1950.

LC Gagnon wrote to the ACR for steam locomotive information and the side elevations are posted here:

ACR 1950 Locomotive Side Elevations - Algoma Central and Algoma Eastern Railways

*  *  *

With modern metallurgy and rolling techniques, the piped rail is probably as extinct as the Ditto machine.

An 85 year old definition is reproduced below ...

from: Maintenance of Way, Rules & Instructions; 1939; Canadian National Railways.

*  *  *

As 'telegraph' (telephone/telecom/code line) poles were equally spaced ... 

they made convenient distance measuring tools for precisely locating trackside features or for calculating flagging distances. 

*  *  *

from: Algoma Central Railway; OS Nock; 1975; A&C Black.

Undated photograph of the enginehouse at Hawk Junction. The Algoma Central was completely dieselized by the end of 1952.

*  *  *

This 4 x 9.5 inch interdepartmental mail envelope was probably used to send the two newsprint-based (above) instructions to Rolly.