4 Friday, April 23, 2021 brooklintowncrier.com Durham Nuclear Alerts Tests Coming Buried in the history of Devil's Den is the former Canadian Northern Railway's (CNR) Ghost Railway, a term used to describe a train that ran empty for portions of its trip. Though no true ghosts frequented the trains, the devil was rumoured to stalk the "den." As far back as 1874, there had been a strong, superstitious belief among inhabitants that nightly noises echoing through the area were of the devil himself holding court. The superstition generated fear, but what the inhabitants probably heard was the sound of horse thieves who frequented the gully. Train service Built under the charter of the James Bay Railway Company in early 1910, a mixed freight and passenger service ran from Toronto to Ottawa twice daily. Steam engines filled up at the Brinlook Station water tower and where the CNR crossed the Whitby/Port Perry line (Nip and Tuck), a switching tower stood guard. The 735 ft long steel railway trestle over Lynde Creek, crossing the deep gully of Devil's Den, was built by men mindful of their surroundings. During World War I, the railway was used by troop trains to transport soldiers. Out of this endeavour another local legend was born. It is said that someone once tried their hand at sabotage since ahead of a run, a section foreman found a logging chain tied around the rails on the Devil's Den bridge, placing a troop train in peril of a derailment and a 95-foot drop. Reportedly, after this discovery, armed guards were placed at each end of the bridge. Bootlegging While prohibition in Ontario (1916-1927) officially put an end to the sale of alcohol, another type of phantom emerged. Bootleggers often used the train to ship bottles of contraband to their customers waiting down the line. This cargo was often concealed in crates of turnips. CNR started out with a load of debt and the real revenue generated from a ghost train did not cover the railway's expenses, let alone pay down the debt. In order to survive, the line was bought out by the federal government in 1917 which led to amalgamation with the newly formed Canadian National Railway (CN) in 1927. By the early 1930s, economic depression forced the railway to reduce traffic. At the same time highway and air traffic became more popular modes of transportation. After only two decades of use, an application to abandon the railway was submitted to the government and on December 21, 1935, the line closed. Most of the track was then torn up, but the bridge re-mained standing until 1937. What exists Although the railroad has been gone for close to 100 years, a bridge pillar still exists on the west side of Baldwin Street. Across the road is Lyndebrook Golf Course, where Brinlook Station once stood, whose driving range roughly corresponds with the former Canadian Northern right of way. In the Heber Down Conservation area, remnants of concrete bridge abutments that served as bridge foundations can still be found along the aptly named Railway Trail. One cannot help but wonder what other superstitions are buried in the history of the Devil's Den ghost railway. Devil's Den and the Ghost Railway By Jennifer Hudgins The Region of Durham will conduct its spring test of the nuclear alerting system on May 3 and 4. The system warns people in the unlikely event of an emergency at the nuclear generating stations in Clarington or Pickering. The test will take place during daytime hours over two days: On May 3, an auto dialer will call listed landline phone numbers within 10 kilometres of the nuclear generating stations. The calls will show as coming from 905-666-6291. On May 4, the outdoor sirens will sound for up to one minute. The sirens are within three kilometres of the stations and will be heard by people who are outdoors and in that area. Cell phone, radio and TV alerts will be tested by the Province of Ontario on May 5. Learn how you will be alerted by looking up your address at durham. ca/AlertMap. This is just a test, and you don't need to do anything if you get an alert. In a real emergency, hearing the sirens means you should go indoors and tune into local media outlets or official government channels for instructions. The next test is scheduled for fall 2021. For more information, visit durham. ca/NuclearPreparedness, or call the nuclear alerting information line at 1-866-551-5373.