Over the course of the later part of 2021, I made a point to visit and explore the rich railway heritage across Ontario to explore a sliver of the vast swath of the story of the railroad in Ontario. There was no way I could capture the entire history in a single part of a year; there is also a greater depth of history that covers the entirety of Canada. Instead, I decided to focus on fifty hand-picked locations in Southern Ontario.
A Brief History of the Railway in Canada
I wrote a five-part series to provide historical context for the Railway project, covering everything from the earliest days of tracked travel and steam engines to the railway in the 21st Century.
Part 1 – Humans, Horses, and Steam (3838BCE – 1850CE)
Part 2 – A New Way to Move (1850-1880)
Part 3 – The Drive West (1880-1900)
Part 4 – A Golden Age (1900-1950)
Part 5 – Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1950-2021)
A Faded Glory
00 – A Faded Glory: A Starting Point
01 – Streetsville Junction – Credit Valley Railway (1879-1914)
02 – Milton – Grand Trunk Railway (1906-1961)
03 – Guelph Central Station – Grand Trunk Railway (1911-Present)
04 – CN Locomotive 6167 – Montreal Locomotive Works (1940-1964)
05 – Palmerston – Wellington, Grey & Bruce Railway (1871-1996)
06 – Burlington Junction – Grand Trunk Railway (1906-1982)
07 – King City – Ontario, Simcoe & Huron Union Railroad (1853-1964)
08 – Aurora – Grand Trunk Railway (1900-Present)
09 – Unionville – Toronto & Nipissing Railway (1871-1991)
10 – Uxbridge – Grand Trunk Railway (1904-1996)
11 – Jerseyville – Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway (1895-1954)
12 – TH&B Locomotive 103 – Montreal Locomotive Works (1913-1954)
13 – International Railway Bridge – Grand Trunk Railway (1873-Present)
14 – Bridgeburg B-1 – Grand Trunk Railway (1873-1975)
15 – Warren Street Shops – Canadian National Railway (1964-1982)
16 – Ridgeway – Grand Trunk Railway (1900-1975)
17 – Niagara-On-The-Lake – Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto Railway (1913-1960)
18 – Bridge Street Station – Great Western Railway (1879-Present)
19 – Stratford – Grand Trunk Railway (1913-Present)
20 – Stratford Motive Power Shops – Grand Trunk Railway (1873-1964)
21 – St. Mary’s Junction – Grand Trunk Railway (1858-1941)
22 – Blyth – Canadian Pacific Railway (1907-1988)
23 – Goderich – Canadian Pacific Railway (1907-1988)
24 – Goderich – Grand Trunk Railway (1903-2001)
25 – Woodstock – Grand Trunk Railway (1885-Present)
26 – Woodstock – Canadian Pacific Railway (1899-Present)
27 – St. Thomas – Canadian Southern Railway (1873-1989)
28 – Kettle Creek Bridge – Michigan Central Railway (1929-1999)
29 – St. Thomas Locomotive Shops – Michigan Central Railway (1916-1989)
30 – Port Stanley – London & Port Stanley Railway (1856-Present)
31 – Toronto Union Station – Toronto Terminal Railways (1927-Present)
32 – John Street Roundhouse – Canadian Pacific Railway (1929-1986)
33 – Toronto North – Canadian Pacific Railway (1916-1946)
34 – Leaside Locomotive Shops – Canadian Northern Railway (1916-1931)
35 – Don Station – Canadian Pacific Railway (1896-1967)
36 – CN Locomotive 4803 – General Motors Desiel Canada (1953-1984)
37 – Peterborough – Ontario & Quebec Railway (1884-1991)
38 – Havelock – Canadian Pacific Railway (1929-1991)
39 – Owen Sound – Canadian Pacific Railway (1946-1994)
40 – Owen Sound – Canadian National Railway (1931-1970)
41 – Hamilton – Canadian National Railway (1931-1993)
42 – Hamilton – Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway (1933-Present)
43 – Brantford – Grand Trunk Railway (1905-Present)
44 – Port Hope – Grand Trunk Railway (1856-Present)
45 – Belleville – Grand Trunk Railway (1856-2012)
46 – Kingston Inner Station – Kingston & Pembroke Railway (1884-1966)
47 – CP Locomotive 1095 – Canadian Locomotive Company (1913-1960)
48 – Sarnia – Grand Trunk Railway (1890-Present)
49 – Petrolia – Grand Trunk Railway (1903-1927)
50 – London – Canadian Pacific Railway (1893-1989)
51 – A Faded Glory: Retrospective