Further along we passed through Port Perry and came upon an antique shop/chip wagon west of Highway 12. I didn't see any insulators in the shop, however the proprietor brought me out to a milk crate FULL of ponies and tolls. All were filthy and smoke-stained, so I made her an offer on the lot and got my wish. She also mentioned having 3 more crates that I could have a look at on my way back. I was too busy to look over my purchase as I had both kids and was trying to drive. Next stop was Newmarket, then Pickering. I did a quick hunt in Scarborough, found nothing, and decided to treat the kids to some big city train watching. Bad move! Apparently we gave a bunch of people a scare across the 401 from Durham Jct. where the GO line flies under the CN line to MacMillan Yard. Upon returning to the car we were greeted by the Durham Regional Police who questioned us and let us go.
The day after we went to the Toronto Zoo, but since the kids were up WAY too early, we took a stab at the old CNOR line running parallel to the CPR mainline. Strangely the pole stumps were all easy to find after being down since about 1931. The area was infested with poison ivy and biting ants, so we didn't stay long, but we did find bits of 143s near the pole sites. After the zoo we crossed the Havelock Sub again and saw crossarms full of 143's once again. Our final destination was the Sutton area for the day, and we did a quick hunt along the old CNO line and found nothing before retreating to visit some family members.
On Saturday morning we headed back to Ottawa with a detour through Port Perry to view the remaining insulators. I grabbed another crate from here and headed home not knowing what the heck I had just bought, but with hopes for the best. After taking a well-deserved nap I finally sorted through my purchases. I had over 50 insulators, including 102's, 121's, 106's and a 115. There turned out to be a few keepers including 3 milk swirled <> 102's [040], a lavender <> 102 [160], a light green NECAN 102 (MLOD) with threads to the base, a nice amber swirled BTC 102 [040], a nice Brookfield 102 with a ghost embossing over the NEW in NEW YORK, and finally the Hemigray 115 in an unlisted embossing with an "H" after the M, which was re-engraved to make the second vertical bar of the "H" part of the "N".
I've attached some photos... and even though most have some chipping, it was still a great find.
Oh, and anyone wanting the locale of the pole near Havelock should email me
