The North America Railway Hall of Fame is the main part of the cultural space at the Canada Southern Station. Built in 1871–1873, the Station has been a prominent landmark of the city of St. Thomas for over a century.
Among his many accomplishments during his tenure as President, most significant was Mr. Allison’s initiation and responsibility for the construction of the Mount Macdonald tunnel project. Mr. Allison put forth the business case for the tunnel to CP’s Board of Directors, outlining the overwhelming financial and operational benefits of the tunnel. Famously, after the completion […]
Keith Hunt rose from a 31-cents-an-hour apprentice to vice-president and helped to take Canadian National from the steam era to diesels, with a mistaken dalliance with the jet age along the way. Keith Hunt started his working life as an apprentice electrician in the CN rail yards in London, Ontario. He ended his working life as […]
These three brothers were born at Yarmouth Centre, Elgin County, and were the sons of Emery Gloin (1849-1924) and Annie Harris (1858-1951). Emery had joined the Canada Southern Railway about 1883 and had worked on the New Sarum section gang for about ten years. Frank Gloin (March 4, 1888 – February 6, 1969) began his […]
Ken Verrell started working for the Pere Marquette Railroad in September of 1941 as an apprentice machinist. He became a licensed machinist four years later. He continued to work in the roundhouse on Wilson Ave. in St. Thomas but was laid off in November of 1959. The following month he began working for the Canadian […]
Numerous films have been made about the building of Canada, and our country’s railways have always been of particular interest. Few films, whether educational about Canada or more specific to railroading, has ever been made in such fine detail while utilizing the most unique of large-format movie techniques – IMAX. Rocky Mountain Express tells in […]
Pennsylvania Railroad 4800, which was nicknamed “Old Rivets” was built by General Electric in 1934. It was kept in service by successor railroads, Penn Central and Conrail, until 1979, a service of 45 years. In 1933, Pennsylvania Railroad asked both General Electric and Westinghouse to design an electric locomotive that was capable of speeds of […]
In 1884 industry in North America was booming. Railroads were the key in this development as they brought heavy shipments to factories and industrial centers. The Canada Southern Station at this point was only in operation for little over a decade. St. Thomas had become the twenty-first city in Canada and the population was expanding […]
In 1892, industrialist John Pierce convinced several independent manufacturers to join his business, the Pierce Steam Heating Company, to form the American Radiator Company. Eager to prove its worth, the newly formed company worked hard to attract the attention of large and expanding corporations requiring new heating systems for their buildings. With its annual publication, […]
Musician Fred Eaglesmith, the sixth of nine children growing up on a 200-acre farm near Brantford Ontario, hopped his first train at the age of 15, leaving behind chores and his strict religious rearing to pursue his dream of performing, and has been riding the rails or running the road ever since. For the past […]
The John Street Roundhouse in Toronto, built between 1929 and 1931 by Canadian Pacific, for over 30 years serviced steam locomotives. It was designed by CP’s Chief Engineer J.M.R. Fairbairn and built by Anglin-Norcross Ltd. of Montreal. Following the retirement of steam locomotives in 1960, the roundhouse continued to service CP and Via Rail diesel-electric […]