Dale Wilson
Old Clarabelle Depot

Although known as Clarabelle on CPR system timetables, to prevent confusion with Canadian Pacific's other Copper Cliff interchange with Inco about two miles south, during the AER era, this station stop was known as Copper Cliff..  The sign on the depot identifies this picture as post 1930.  In the 1970s, Clarabelle was actually one of CP's busier stations in terms of tonnage handled with most of Inco's ore as well as its bunker fuel supplies going through this station.

According to Dale Wilson's Algoma Eastern, one CPR official insists that this station was actually the remnant of a much larger structure.  If so the structure was most likely cut down by the AER since the 1930 plan book shows a 14' x 22' frame station located on the west end of a 14.5' x 54' platform with a double toilet to the northwest of the station..  The platform is obviously long gone.  There is some question in my mind whether in fact this is even an original AER structure.  Assuming standard 36 inch entrance doors, the overall length of the structure, as shown in the picture, scales out at around 30 feet, considerably longer than the 22 feet shown in the plan book.  Even 32 inch doors do not bring this structure's dimensions in line with the plan book.  According to the same source, the building had been moved more than once.  This is likely true since the 1930 plan book locates the station about 500 feet west of its present location.  In the picture below, the depot would have been located in the flat area in front of the lead CPR Rail unit.  The station has obviously been moved to bring it closer to the road crossing in the foreground of the photo.

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	Dale Wilson
	Switching at Clarabelle

Approaching Clarabelle from Sudbury the main line first crosses the Inco main line from Frood Mine to the East Scale.  There are a pair of interchange tracks from the north and south sides of the Inco crossing which join the AER main line just east of the road shown in the second photo.  Just west of the station is the wye leading to Inco's West Scale.  The cabin hop shown in the second photo is in the process of crossing over the switch leading to the east leg of this wye.  The ore cars shown in the distance are spotted on the "new ore track" which parallels the west leg of the wye.  The track arrangement in 1930 is virtually identical to this 1970s photograph except the left siding is shown on the 1930 plan as being a repair track.