Five reasons to be grateful in 2024

As the year winds down to its precious last few weeks, I find myself somewhat glad to be rid of 2024, although not for the reasons you might think. Yes, as many of you know, my family went through a terrible ordeal, having to move from our home due to the very serious threat posed by a former neighbour. Happily, that is behind us and we are safe. But I don't want to be rid of 2024 to be rid of this experience. In essence, a new year is simply a new number. I am happy to be heading into 2025 because I want to use my experiences from this year as a way of moving forward as a better, more grateful person.

I hope this is reflected in the tone of the posts I include on this blog. Just yesterday, someone sent me an email with an inspirational quote/graphic. I usually discard these emails out of hand, as they are a throwback to the days when people used the internet to perpetuate tired old jokes. But I read this message for some reason and I'm glad I did. It basically said, I have a roof over my head, my home is heated, and I have food on the table. I am grateful. Something like that. 

And I am. Grateful, that is. For all the discontent in the world and all the endless bickering, political grandstanding, political manipulation, tribalism, shaming, irrational hatred, old world grudges and general lack of courtesy, we are lucky. There is no other place I'd rather live than Ottawa, Canada. I have gone out of my way since we've moved into our new house to thank people more often, praise people for doing good work and letting people know they matter. I cannot believe what a difference it makes when you actively show gratitude and share it. I have been like this increasingly in the last few years of my life, but I have made sure to more actively show gratitude with others lately.

With that in mind, here are some reasons for me to be thankful.

1. I am grateful that I was able to share my writing with the Western Ontario Division of the National Model Railroaders Association's online magazine, Model Railroad Inspirations. For the sake of their intellectual property, I'm merely offering a screenshot of part of my article.

If you wanted to read about the Point Edward Spur, you can read my original post here. My thanks to Paul Hurly, editor of Model Railroad Inspirations, for reaching out. This is good lesson for bloggers out there. It pays to check out the comments on old posts. You never know.

2. I am grateful to be inspired by other writers. They should know that their writing matters and sometimes, their writings move people to action. 

Recently, I read this post on the Prince Street Terminal blog. I have to admit, when I read it, it felt like Chris, the blog's author, was reading my mind. He explored the beauty of an imperfect image and went on to muse on the people who operate trains, how they are masters of a very rare skill. They know how to balance the immense power of their diesel engine and the sometimes intimidating crush of the weight behind the engines. This dance between push and pull, slack, resistance, strain and raw physics is indeed an incredible skill. We should be thankful for these people, who help bring us the goods that make our lives more comfortable.

Chris is one of a number of great writers in the train blogosphere that inspire me to think harder, research more, write more clearly, and remember what my strengths are. 

I must admit, I have often thought about writing a blog post about the human element of each train. When Chris shared his thoughts in the blog post I linked to above, he managed to express some of the thoughts that have been rattling ahead in my head for years. He read my mind. And he managed to express those thoughts in a way I never could.

His post reminded me of this photo below, which is another reason I am grateful.

3. I am grateful for surprises. As someone who often relies on road trips to get the train photos that feed this blog, it's the surprises in my travels that make this blog sing.

This photo above was taken in late November as I was driving on the Rokeby Line back to my brother's house after visiting with my sister's family. This was a CN local picking up cars and doing its switching duties on the St. Clair River Industrial Spur, a long stretch of track that serves a number of industrial customers south of Sarnia's Chemical Valley.

And just like Chris mused in the Prince Street Terminal blog post above about imperfect shots, I'd like to take a moment to share how much I love this shot above, even thought it's far from perfect. I had to scramble to get anything as I was in my car and there was almost no light, save for the light of the engine's headlight. The signals, as well, did me no favours, as the red lights often washed through the images I was taking.

But this shot, which was the last one I took, worked out pretty well. It reminded me of that human aspect of railroading that we often forget, when we get caught up in talking about heritage paint schemes, locomotive numbers, axle counts and other technical aspects.

To me, there is a human story to be told here. Who was working this train late on a Sunday night, when he/she would rather be home with their family? What was the train picking up or dropping off? Why was it important that it be done at that time? How many other people relied on that engineer and conductor in the cab of that GP38 so their company could continue operations? Do the people who need these trains to operate even realize the work railway employees put in around the clock to keep their companies operating? These people are our unsung heroes in these blogs. They keep the wheels in motion (literally and figuratively) so that we can enjoy the lives we live.

Catching that train late on a cold November evening after spending time with family was a wonderful surprise.

4. I am grateful for the chance to learn from others. Since I relaunched my blog in 2022, I have been fortunate enough to pick up some new readers and reconnect with people who have been reading this blog since I launched it in 2013. To everyone who stops by the read my ramblings, I thank you. I have never considered myself anywhere near the calibre of other bloggers and I don't try to pretend I know more about railways than I do. That is why you will often find me making educated guesses and opening myself up to being corrected. It's the only way to go, if you want to survive online and learn.

But I am thankful for some of the new people I have met along the way since I relaunched, because it has allowed me to explore new territory. For example, I have been trading messages with a reader from Windsor, who has fed me all sorts of railway information from the city. I am slowly working on a few blog posts about Windsor, with his help. Thanks, Kevin!

Here's a shot from my brief time in Windsor in November, when I was lucky enough to catch a Venture set about to depart the city's Via terminal in the Walkerville part of the city. More on Windsor to come.

5. I am grateful to be published. I saved the best one for last. I don't want to go into great detail, as the details are yet to be finalized, but I can share with you that one of my photos will likely be published in a forthcoming book from a writer who is a well-known name in Trains and Classic Trains Magazine. 

A tip of the hat to Steve Boyko of Traingeek.ca for putting me in touch with this well-known writer. Not surprisingly, this writer reached out to Steve, who was able to relay the message to me. As I said higher up in this post, I don't consider myself anything other than what I am. I am an okay photographer and I know a bit about railways. But I am no expert. Everything I know I learned by reading or listening to people, especially those in my family who worked on the railways. I don't want to share the photo that will be published in the book on this particular post, but I can assure you that you can find it on one of the 400 plus posts I have already published on this blog. 

Instead, I will share this shot from 2015 of CN 589 making its ways to Arnprior, led by a GP38 in the CN North America scheme. The shot was taken along the Trans-Canada Trail crossing near Corkstown Road. No, the author was not looking for photographs of the Arnprior Turn. He was interested in another shot I have of a CN diesel in the short-lived North America scheme.

I hope to share more details about this new book of his soon. 

To conclude...

Would I do it again if I could redo my family's troubled time between September 2023 and 2024? I might have done a few small things differently at the outset, but even when things were at their worst earlier this year, I took time each day to remind myself to be grateful, even for the smallest things. Being a person of faith, I constantly remind myself that there is no guarantee in any sacred scripture from any faith that says a Higher Power promises us an easy life. Even if you're not a believer, I think we can all agree on the old adage, what doesn't kill us...

Let me expand on that for a moment. Whatever doesn't kill me will make me more thoughtful, more grateful, more sympathetic, more alert, more understanding, more aware of my mental health and more patient. All those things make me stronger.

So I wouldn't trade in the last year at all. Because if I did, I wouldn't be a better version of myself today. Even in hardship, I am grateful. 

This will likely be my last post before Christmas. Merry Christmas to everyone who has dropped by this year. I will see you all after Christmas.

Michael

hammond.michael77 AT gmail dot com

It these silent walls could talk: Montreal's Windsor Station

This summer, my daughter and I visited Montreal to go on a tour of the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens. My daughter has developed a love of hockey and chose to support Dad's team, so we went on a small train trip to the city. While there, I kept an eye out for anything railway related, as Montreal has some interesting railway relics and infrastructure in its downtown. 

One of the jewels is the former downtown passenger station that housed the Canadian Pacific Railway, Windsor Station.

Getting a photograph of this beautiful old station is a challenge, as the city has encroached on many of the sightlines surrounding the old stone building. To get this shot, I had to climb the stairs leading up to an office building across the street. Even on the top step, almost with my back against the glass of the office tower, I could barely squeeze all of Windsor Station into my frame. 

The station, located at the corner of avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal and rue Peel, has proudly stood as a mammoth Romanesque Revival stone chateau-style monument since it was completed in 1889 and expanded in the ensuing years. It took its name from the fact that it was built on Windsor Street, which is now Peel Street. Among the major downtown railway stations built in North America during the railway boom years, Windsor Station is the oldest that is still largely intact.

Of course, Windsor Station belongs to another time, when railways were much more prominent in the day-to-day affairs of Montreal. This station's prominence cannot be understated. Think about how important railways were to Montreal, as one of Canada's most important eastern ports on the St. Lawrence, not to mention its position as Canada's once largest city and financial hub. 

The Canadian Pacific built three stations in Montreal in the late 1800s. The first was the Dalhousie Station, completed in 1884, which was the railway's original eastern terminus in Old Montreal. The site was originally a Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway concern, but the station was built by CP when it took over the QMO&O in 1882. Windsor Station was completed in 1889. The Viger Hotel and Station were completed in 1898, as a replacement for Dalhousie Station. The Viger Station and Hotel were where CP passenger trains from the north and east came into the city. Windsor Station was where trains from the south and west came into the city.

There's an interesting history of these two stations. Windsor Station, near the old Windsor Hotel, was seen as the English station. The Viger, located closer to the French Canadian part of the city, was seen as the French station. But look at any historic railway photo from Montreal, and it's a good bet that it was taken at Windsor Station. It has figured into many historic images of the city. And, I must admit, its name has always confused me, as a railway fan from southern Ontario, who spent a lot of time in Windsor, Ont.

Photo of a CP passenger train awaiting departure from the train sheds at the old Windsor Station. Photo from the Library and Archives Canada online database

A railway with multiple stations in a city is not as uncommon as you would think. In Ottawa, CP operated out of the Union Station on Rideau Street as well as at the Ottawa West station, on the edge of the Lebreton Flats, for overlapping years. At one point, it even had a station in Westboro and small platform station in Bells Corners.

Today, much of the old Windsor Hotel is but a memory, replaced by an office tower, built in the 1950s. A piece of the old hotel remains, as an office building for Desjardins. Parts of the old hotel's interior were retained, as a way to preserve its heritage.

As for Windsor Station, it operated as a passenger station well into the 1980s, as Via Rail briefly kept its former CP passenger routes operating from the building until it integrated its operations at the nearby CN Central Station, located beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. Still, a few RDC routes between Montreal and Quebec continued to use Windsor Station, as they used the CP trackage north of the St. Lawrence. Amtrak also used Windsor Station until 1986. 

After Via Rail and Amtrak focused their operations at Central Station, Windsor Station still hosted suburban commuter trains into the 1990s. It should be noted that the Canadian Pacific housed its headquarters in this station until 1996, when it relocated its administration to Calgary and sold off its trackage east of Montreal in order to focus on its western operations. Some of that trackage is back in CP's fold, as it purchased the Central Maine and Quebec Railway in 2020, to reestablish a route into Maine and New Brunswick, ensuring it had an Atlantic port. 

With the construction of the Bell Centre next to the old station in the early 1990s, the tracks were removed. Today, Windsor Station still connects through some tunnels to the Montreal Metro commuter services, although those operations are better connected to the Bell Centre (Lucien-Allier Metro Station).

The old station today is an office building, but its main concourse, which is richly lit by natural light on white floors, is open to the public. When my daughter and I briefly stepped into the building on our adventures, I was amazed by how quiet it was in the old station. It made me think of all the people who once used to walk through the main concourse every day. It's a nationally recognized historic structure, thankfully preserved after once being threatened with demolition. It nearly ended up like New York City's Penn Station, which was replaced by a soulless office tower. That was the plan for this Montreal station at one point.

Library and Archives Canada photograph of travellers about to head to their awaiting train.

The station's main concourse can be rented by the public for special events. That concourse also opens onto a courtyard near the Bell Centre, making for a pretty memorable site for weddings or other gala receptions. The next time you find yourself in downtown Montreal, take a stroll through this wonderful old building and let yourself imagine the history that once unfolded within its walls.

Strathroy, finally...

I've written a lot about railways in southern Ontario over the years, mainly because that is where I grew up. One place that I've had precious little to share anything about is Strathroy, a small town at the southwestern edge of Middlesex County. The town lends its name to the Canadian National Strathroy Subdivison. Strathroy is amalgamated into the surrounding Caradoc Township. Located about 35 kilometres west of London, it boasts some small scale manufacturing operations, not to mention agricultural and food processing businesses, largely centered around turkey breeding and chickens. 

I've been asked in the past if I had anything to share from Strathroy and I've always said no, sadly. Until now. First, a bit of railway context.

Not far east from Strathroy in Komoka, you will find the junction between the CN Strathroy Subdivision and the Chatham Subdivision, a rail line that is now largely used by Via Rail for its Toronto-Windsor service. Also, you will find a junction nearby with the CP Windsor Subdivision. The point is, Caradoc Township, and Strathroy in particular, owe much of their development to the railways. 

Strathroy still maintains daily flag stop Via Rail service, as Via's Sarnia-Toronto trains call on the town's station in each direction once a day, upon request. The station is an unheated shelter now, which is common in small communities on this line. But the town once boasted a large train station, reminiscent of the station in Sarnia at the western end of the subdivision.

In my time on Via Rail trains, mostly in university in the late 1990s, I don't recall the train stopping in Strathroy very much, if ever. I suppose it would be hard to remember a tiny shelter on the side of tracks.

Earlier this month, I paid a visit to family on the Remembrance Day weekend, since I had family business to attend to in Windsor (more on that in a later post). 

Whenever I travel home, I leave Highway 402 at the Centre Street exit in Strathroy. I follow Centre Street until I reach Napperton Road, a county road that becomes the Confederation Line in Lambton County, which parallels the Strathroy Sub between Strathroy and Sarnia. 

On my way west on Nov. 8, I took a quick glance over at the tracks and saw a CN eastbound freight making its way toward Strathroy. I was able to turn my car around and head back east toward Strathroy, where I turned onto Pike Road, as the western edge of the town, to try and capture some images.

Given the very tight time I had and the restricted visibility at the crossing, I had to make do with less-than-ideal sight lines. I did, however, have time to get to the sunny side of the train before the crossing guards were activated.

I had a choice, as I was the first car waiting at the crossing, to get close and get a very tightly angled shot, or stay back a bit and get a shot with a more forgiving angle, but less of the train in view. I chose to stay back. The eastbound was led by CN ES44DC 2256.

CN C44-9W 2578 was next in line. Given I was in my car, I had to include my rear view mirror in the shot. It couldn't be avoided. I had no time and no place to set up a shot on the side of the road. Safety first.

Given the harsh late afternoon sun I was contending with, the going away shot was a little more forgiving, although that hydro pole couldn't be avoided. This was not an ideal spot to set up! But you have to take what you can get sometimes. 

This was the payoff for doubling back to Pike Road. This train was quite short and overpowered, as it only had about 20-30 cars. But at the end of the train, there were about five flat cars carrying these massive metal rings. Are they used for city water mains or pipes? Possibly they are used as braces when boring a tunnel or pipe? I'm not sure.

Whatever these rings were used for, I was happy to get a shot of some pretty rare cargo, not to mention a shot of a train in a new location. It was a cool moment for me on my way home to see family.

The last car in the consist was a heavily graffitied steel coil car, which made for another interesting image. As railfans today, many of the trains we see offer very little in the way of variety. This small train had a bit of everything. 

I managed to snag a lot of varied rail photography on my trip to southern Ontario, including a few shots in Windsor, some nighttime shots on the CN St. Clair River Industrial Spur and a rare shot of a CSX interchange train deep in CN's Sarnia yard. It was a great weekend filled with good times with family and a few really great bonus moments trackside. 

A nice break from this year's steady stream of Via Rail content.