Memories of Ottawa to Sarnia in the late 1990s (Part III)

Note: Although my time right now is dominated by a move, I have found some time to blog. This is the final entry in my reminiscences of taking the train between Sarnia and Ottawa in the late 1990s. The route between these cities on opposite ends of Ontario is filled with memories and items of interest for me. - Michael

In the second post of this series, I focused on a few points of interest between Union Station and Kitchener. Once you pass Kitchener on a westbound train, you get into the smaller, more pastoral stops that speak to railroading from another era. 

St. Marys

One of these stops is found in the beautiful community of St. Marys. The town is located in Perth County, has a population of 7,200 and boasts a few historic curiosities. It is the resting place of Canada's ninth prime minister, Arthur Meighen. It is also home to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, which I have visited. Finally, it is home to an historic stone railway station. The station is situated on a hill just beyond a large trestle crossing.

The station itself has been well maintained and still hosts daily Via Rail service. That additional platform you see is the Metrolinx platform that was used when GO Trains were run between Toronto and London in a pilot project. That service has since ended. Just beyond the station sits an impressive trestle that crosses a creek that wends its way over Rotary Park. This bridge shows you the impressive geography that had to be forded to operate railways through this terrain.

The last time I was in St. Marys, I made sure to walk beneath the bridge just to get some perspective as to how high it is over the valley. This view below gives you an idea of the size and height of this railway structure. This town is known for its limestone deposits, which explains the stone piers holding up the metal girders. Now you also know the origin of the St. Marys Cement company name. It's this town.

When I took the train between Sarnia and Ottawa in the late 1990s, I always made a mental note to look out my window when crossing this bridge. It was cool to see people from my perspective atop the bridge. It always filled me with a sense of comfort to see people going about their business in this small town when the train passed through. As a small town guy at heart, I have a soft spot for this town. Also, there's an ice cream store near the station that has a dairy free option, which makes me happy. 

Stratford

I won't dwell on Stratford too long, as I have blogged about this town many times. I now have family living here, so I have made many trips to this station, which is one of the nicest in Southwestern Ontario. It really does suit the town, which has one of the richest cultural scenes of any community in Canada. The impact of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival cannot be underestimated.

London

London is the big city in Southwestern Ontario. If you are from Sarnia, it's the easiest big city to get to, as it is only an hour east. My first-ever train trip was between Sarnia and London when my Dad had an appointment in London. I remember travelling on a classic blue coach to London when I was quite young. I could not have been much older than 4 or 5, but I remember the excitement I felt as a train obsessed little kid. When I travelled between Sarnia and Ottawa, London was either the last major stop before I came home or it was the first major stop as I settled in for a long day en route back to Carleton University. 

Via's station here has been well maintained. It was not always this way, before the station was renovated in the early 2000s. This is not the station I remember from my travels in the 1990s. You can just make out an HEP silver streamliner to the right of the picture. As London is at the junction between rail lines going to Sarnia and Windsor, this station continues to host both Toronto-Windsor and Toronto-Sarnia trains in both directions. 

London's station has a small yard, which at times has hosted some oddities over the years. Here's an undated shot shared with me of the old GM Diesel switcher at the old London station. The last I saw, this old unit resided at the Lambton Diesel shop in Sarnia yard.

Wyoming

Between London and Sarnia, Via makes two stops, although in the 1990s, it made three. Heading west, the Via corridor trains stop in Strathroy and Wyoming. Just east of Wyoming in the 1990s, Via also made a brief stop in Watford, but that service has since been discontinued.

The Wyoming stop is a throwback to earlier days in railroading, when railways served small towns. Wyoming's former CN train station is long gone, as are the rails of the old rail yard, but there is still a tiny station just off Broadway Avenue, Wyoming's main street.

When I took the train in the 1990s, there always seemed to be someone who either got off in Wyoming in the evening or boarded the train in the early morning. It's somewhat of an anomaly that this town has Via service still, but given the population growth in this part of the province, the station might see more activity in the coming years. In my time on the train in the 1990s, Wyoming again was one of those stops where I was either itching to get off the train after a long day or it was where I was settling in for a long trip east. I have visited this spot a number of times to train watch. It's a great spot to watch mainline freights roar by.

Here's one of my meets with a passing freight in 2022.

Okay, here's a shot of the power. A shot of an autorack seems like a bit of a rip-off, I'm sure.

Last stop: Sarnia

I've disembarked on the Sarnia platform many times, always late at night when my train pulled in at the end of its run. My clearest memory of this station was when I returned home in October 1996. It was the first time I had visited my family after moving away to attend journalism school at Carleton University in Ottawa. I was homesick, as my first year hadn't gone all that swimmingly to start. My roommate and I didn't mesh. He was a good guy but I couldn't live with him. When the train pulled into the station, I had a window seat overlooking the station platform. I had already gathered my bags and was beginning to stand up to stretch my legs, as I was eager to get home. I recall my brother on the platform, jumping up to see where I was in the train, as he was excited to see me. I have never forgotten that moment.

As brothers, we don't often need to say anything to each other. We know we are each other's best friend. My older brother has been a great influence on me all my life. I have always looked up to him. When I saw how excited he was to see me, it reminded me of what family is all about. When people ask me why I am so sentimental about trains, that moment in 1996 is one of the reasons. Trains have brought people together for generations. That is what keeps me fascinated.

Thank you to everyone who has sent along their best wishes as my family tries to navigate through the last portion of a very difficult year. We're close to being free of this situation. I can't guarantee when the next post will appear, but I'm hoping it will be soon. All positivity welcomed.

Something a little different

As I mentioned in recent posts, I was lucky enough to spend some time in Stratford recently, which gave me the opportunity to take some shots of the Goderich Exeter Railway staging yard in the city, although it was quite empty for the most part.

You can read Part I of my series from Stratford here or Part II here. 

For the final portion of my Stratford pictures, I thought I would showcase one last shot I have attempted over the years, with varying degrees of success. I'm not sure what to call it, but it's kind of like a railway family photo where different railways get together in the same frame. But it's not quite a meet photo, as most have captured from time to time. This type of shot is a little different. The shot I have attempted a few times is a much more focused shot of the lead engines.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, I'd like to show off another few shots of a westbound Via corridor train bound for Sarnia. This train does one run to Toronto and back to Sarnia each day, so catching it is pretty simple. I was certainly not out to capture more Via Rail shots, but with no freight trains imminent, I figured I should capture what I could. 

Here's the first shot of the same consist I caught the previous day (see Part II link above). This time around, it was F40 6413 leading the way. Hard to believe these old warhorses will soon be gone when Via takes delivery of its new Siemens Chargers. I will miss the F40s. I've always liked them. 

The cut of hoppers in the GEXR yard was still there, possibly awaiting delivery the following day, which was a Monday. I hope the old Southern Ontario Railway geep tied up in the yard started okay. Two young railfans pointed out that someone had left the engine's trailing lights on. I had to strain to see the lights, but they were indeed left on. Oops.

 I figured I should also catch trailing P42 906 in the Via wrap design while I still can. It's not easy catching these engines in a single frame from the side, especially on a station platform. They are long units. I will say this. Via's wraps really do improve the look of these beasts, in my opinion. I know a lot of railfans don't like this scheme, but I like it. It's something different and it really does make the Via logo and the passenger train stand out. Both good things.

So with that business out of the way, this is the latest attempt at a family shot. I attempted to capture it as my one last frame before I packed it in for the evening. I have tried this type of shot before. This time around, I was reasonably pleased with the outcome. Unfortunately, my shot was a little off balance so I had to adjust the photo a bit, which trimmed a tiny bit off the top of the F40. Still, I love seeing two railways represented in the same shot. Both of these units are getting on in years and I'm sure one day this will be a shot I will appreciate more.

I will group together a few similar family shots in a future post, simply for the sake of exploring the idea of a different type of railfan photo. I hope this shot also explains that I am not anti-wedge or dramatic close-up, as some might have guessed, based on what I have written in this blog in the last little while.

As the light was fading fast, I didn't push my luck and headed back to the hotel where I was staying. It was a fun weekend in Stratford, which also included a quick trip to St. Marys to see the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and snag a few shots of the town's beautiful Via Rail station. Sadly, there were no trains coming through on the day I was there. Also, the pouring rain made it very difficult to get any shot at all, but here's a quick shot from the platform. You can see the town's water tower in the mist behind the station. You can also see the raindrops in the shot. Unavoidable, sadly.

That was the extent of my railfanning in Southern Ontario this summer. Now that my children are back at school, I do intend to try and catch up with the Wednesday Arnprior Turn here in Ottawa. Anyone who knows when it passes by in the morning these days, feel free to leave a message. I get the impression it has run later in recent weeks (around 10 a.m. or so). Any info is welcome.