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.
Built and owned by the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, the Reading Viaduct and City Branch Tunnel were built in order to remove street level crossings. Both rails carried passenger trains while the tunnel carried freight. Together, the 3.5 mile-long rails traverse 55 city blocks. It has been proposed that the now abandoned right-of-ways be […]
In 1847, New York City authorized street level rails to be installed and used to ship freight in Manhattan’s lower west side. With the number of accidents between trains and other traffic rising with the population, and in 1929, the city decided to elevate the tracks, which eliminated 105 street level crossings. The 1.45 mile […]
Selwyn Dewdney (1909-1979) was a London-based artist responsible for a number of murals. Dewdney was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and later attended the University of Toronto and the Ontario College of Education, where he received a High School Assistant’s Certificate and Art Specialists Certificate. Before moving to London, he also studied at the Ontario […]
During the Canada Southern Railway’s early years, switches were placed along the rail line and operated manually from small huts. This method soon proved dangerous for the growing railway industry in St. Thomas. On July 15, 1887, the worst railway accident in the history of St. Thomas occurred. A northbound London & Port Stanley Railway […]
The Komoka Railway Museum was incorporated in 1980 to provide displays, restoration and storage of artifacts as they relate to the history and development of the area around Komoka, with particular emphasis on the influence of the railroads. To accomplish this, the museum acquired the former Canadian National rail station at Komoka in 1978 and […]
Over the course of his career, John Becker worked with both the Michigan Central Railroad and the New York Central Railroad. Raised in a railroad family, Becker worked to rise within the corporations and relocated to several communities throughout his life. Like many of his generation, his railway service was interrupted by his recruitment in World War […]
The Michigan Central Roundhouse, built in 1887 as part of the Michigan Central repair facilities, has been brought back to life as the headquarters for two digital companies, Ellipsis Digital and Engine SevenFour. The roundhouse was part of a complex of three railroad buildings, and was designed by architect Samuel Peters. It was in use […]
Arthur Honegger was born on March 10, 1892, in Le Havre, France, and died on November 27, 1955, in Paris. He composed Pacific 231 between March and December 1923. It was premiered May 8, 1924, at the Paris Opéra, with Serge Koussevitzky conducting. Honegger was a rail enthusiast, who, in 1923, wrote a one movement […]
The Polar Express, a film produced in 2004 and directed by Robert Zemeckis, popularized an understanding of the role and romance of passenger trains in transportation history amongst a new audience of children across North America and beyond. It was based on a book of the same name written by Chris Van Allsburg. This animated […]
Day Out With Thomas® is a fun-filled event that offers little engineers and their families the opportunity to take a ride with a life-size Thomas the Tank Engine, star of the popular Thomas & Friends® series. The event also features the opportunity for visitors to meet Sir Topham Hatt®, Controller of the Railway and enjoy a day full of Thomas-themed […]