ONE WEEK NORTH OF THE BORDER
Searching Out Ontario Shortlines
EVERY YEAR FOR THE LAST THIRTEEN, RAILFAN& RAILROAD editor Steve Barry and I have taken a week-long trip somewhere in Canada. There’s a lot of unique railway action north of the bor- der. Every year we try to cover new ground as well as revisit old haunts. While this year’s adventure was Num- ber 13 in a series, it did not prove un- lucky for us. In fact quite the opposite. This year’s plan was to cover the for-
mer Canadian Pacific St. Thomas and Port Burwell Subdivisions, as well as the Guelph Junction Railway, all now operated by the new Ontario Southland Railway. If we were really lucky, we hoped to throw in a good dash of action on the Trillium Railway as well.
32 JANUARY 2012 •
RAILFAN.COM
BY GEORGE PITARYS/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR DAY 1: Saturday, August 20
The annual George and Steve week
in Canada didn’t start off very auspi- ciously. I left home at 0730, with an in- tended arrival for our rendezvous in Binghamton, N.Y., at 1300. Soon after passing Cobleskill, I called Steve and he let me know he was a running bit late. So I decided I’d stop somewhere along the Delaware & Hudson and kill some time, perhaps getting a train. I got off the interstate and headed for the well known “pond shot” near Schene- vus. A few minutes after I arrived, I de- cided to move the car into the shade as it was getting quite warm. I backed down the boat ramp (and to save a bunch of typing let’s just say) I got
stuck. Thanks to AAA and three towing companies later, I was back on the road, but now quite late. When I got off the highway at Binghamton, Steve was in the car right behind me! We quickly transferred my gear to the rental, added me to the rental contract and headed west. After relating my own misadventure, Steve replied rather sheepishly that after he had left home and gone a ways, he had forgotten something quite important, and had to return home for it. It was his camera. Thankfully the rest of the journey
was uneventful, and by 2100 we were tied up at the Microtel in Woodstock, Ontario, which was to be our residence
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68