Nowhere Montreal, bridges, train, factory

Back in the pandemic year 2020 I rode my bike along an old industrial road that is normally hard to access due to heavy traffic and very noisy. Its an industrial area between east Lachine and ville st Pierre, although condo housing is popping up all around due to its location being near the Lachine canal. Due to it being in between a bunch of neighborhoods, I dubbed it 'Nowhere Montreal'. Perusing Google maps the other day, I was looking for a way to ride my bike onto the other side of the Lachine canal, the side you're not allowed to be on! From an access road off st Joseph blvd (in nowhere Montreal) on the east side of the train bridge underpass, there is a direct lane to a grassy ridge leading down to the canal embankments. There are no railing on this side so I stayed away from the edge. I've painted this bridge many times but always from the other side. You can see the bikes going a long across the canal, I could hear cyclists talking to each other. It was mostly quiet and sunny here, but I didn't stay long it wasn't exactly allowed to be here! 

Other side canal train bridge, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026 (No. 5178a)

The first painting I did, its the same bridge but further up on Norman street. A red-orange tanker car said Canada on it, but I changed it, and the graffiti to my initials. There was some really old graffiti on this bridge, by SAKE. He used to write everywhere in Montreal (including nowhere Montreal), but most of his stuff is gone now. I used a lot of bismuth vanadate yellow (PY184) which can go over top of other paint layers to create lime-green foliage. Its a bad habit I know, I like the way it turns the rinse water yellow. My rinse water was olive army-green after today!

Train bridge and rail car, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026 (No. 5176b)

 

An old factory in Lachine's east side used to make giant steel beams for bridges, such as Cartier bridge and Mercier bridge. Massive overhead cranes are all along its front side, they were used to move the beams around and load them onto train cars. I wrote about it in more detail in a blog from last September. This scene is showing the rear of the old factory in perspective. There was an impressive array of different cladding, and bright blue tarps used to fill holes. It seems they are trying to preserve the structure and not let it crumble down. 

Old beam factory perspective rear, watercolour 8 x 10" hot press, May 2026 (No. 5393a)

 

Here is a side view featuring the textured brick wall and aluminum siding with bright yellow door. Along the top runs a long tinted-glass sun roof, presumably to let natural light into the interior.

Old beam factory side facade, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026 (No. 5178b)

 

This factory is still functional, its called Corbec inc up on Victoria street. Like the other factory, its exterior is a collage of different cladding including old red brick, red and blue aluminum, green-tinted windows, and a giant aluminum sided warehouse looming in the background. It seems to do metal work from what I can tell. In fact, the internet says it is a galvanizing plant. So, toxic runoff. 

Corbec Inc spring, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026 (No. 5177b)