Canada Day On The Rails

     One of the joys of photography is how seamlessly it fits in with other interests. Anyone who knows me or is a follower of my blogs, knows that I have an ongoing fascination with trains. (or practically anything that runs on rails) I come by it honestly. My Father was a brakeman/conductor on the Ontario Northland Railway.  I was practically raised on trains. Or, if not on the trains themselves,  the lore and stories of adventure that went along with them. As  child and youth growing up in small town Northern Ontario,  the railway was, quite literally, my ticket to the outside world. To this day, l can't board a train without a happy feeling of anticipation of the adventure that awaits. Sometimes, the adventure was simply the trip itself, travelling through scenery that was a little less familiar.  For me, a window seat on any form of transportation is still a prized possession.

     This fascination with all things railroady extended to streetcars and subways during  the  brief period of my life spent in Toronto. (my first home away from home)  Saturday afternoons would often find me on Queen or Dundas St., my trusty Yashica FX-3 camera slung around my neck, taking pictures and checking out the junk shops

to see what treasures could be acquired on a  budget of ten dollars. A few photos made, a bite to eat downtown,  and then a ride home on the streetcar.  Often It was one of the venerable PCC cars still operating in those days. 

     So, with a car rented for the long weekend,  my son and I headed out to the Halton County Radial Railway. It is home to  vintage streetcars, railway stuff,  and a beautifully restored radial railway car. I had visited this place before, (Did I mention that I'm a bonafide 
railway nut?) but that was some time ago. I thought that it would be a nice way to spend the afternoon. We stopped in at the gift shop to buy our tickets. The rides are quite short, about twenty minutes round trip. But with your admission ticket you get to ride as often as you like on whatever cars they have operating that day.

     Our first ride was aboard #8, the beautifully restored radial car from the London & Port Stanley Railway. This car is awesome. From the craftsmanship in the interior woodwork and brass detail to the beautiful panes of stained glass in the windows. This car was definitely built in the heyday of railways!  It's almost like rolling along in a beautiful Victorian living room.

The interior of Car #8 The scruffy lookin' kid in the right hand corner is my son, Greg.

     As their name implies, radial railways were relatively short passenger (and sometimes freight) lines that radiated out from larger centres. Unlike their streetcar cousins, radial cars were usually built a little bigger and heavier to handle longer distances away from city streets. They often had amenities such as washrooms and a baggage section for express packages.
    
 Naturally, I gravitated toward the head end of the car and struck up a conversation with the operator (motorman) who allowed me to ride there for pretty much the whole trip. I found all of the volunteers who keep this operation running to be very friendly and knowledgeable. On returning from our ride, I asked if I could take pictures from the opposite (non boarding) side of the track. They were quite kind and helpful in accommodating my request. 

      On our return to Rockwood Station, the operator, noting my interest in the equipment, introduced us to one of the shop guys who carefully restore and maintain these cars. In short order, we got a tour of the shops where several cars were in the process of being restored. We were treated to a behind the scenes look at what goes into this operation. At one point we were looking at a copy of a  blueprint of the truck assembly of a Peter Witt streetcar. It was from about 1915 and had been pulled from the archives of the Toronto Transit Commission. A lot of the parts needed for the restoration of these cars are no longer available. Replacement parts are often machined or crafted right in the shop. As a guy who does mechanical work for a living, their craftsmanship and attention to detail was not lost on me. These guys do amazing work!  

  

       Our last trip of the day was aboard a 1915 Peter Witt streetcar formerly operated by the TTC. Although not as ornate as #8, It too, has been carefully restored with attention to detail right down to the vintage advertising in the overhead card slots.

This time we got off at Meadowvale Station. One of the old streetcars there has been turned into a small cafe/snack bar where you can get ice cream.  As the lady behind the snack bar  scooped ice cream for us, I mentioned that I used to ride these streetcars  back in the day. I remarked that an ice cream shop/snack bar at the back of the car would have been a nice touch when these cars were in operation on the TTC!

The snack bar at the end of the line.

 

     After enjoying our ice cream we caught #8 again for our return trip to Rockwood Station. I made a few more photographs and chatted with some of the volunteers.  It was a great way to spend Canada Day. I liked the place so much I bought one of their baseball hats. You see, in addition to trains, rail travel, streetcars, cameras and photography, I'm kinda partial to  baseball hats too.

                      

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              ...more later

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