No More Railway Worlds In Canada To Conquer, Published 5 July 1948 Thousand Islands Railway By Austin Cross Evening Citizen Staff Writer When I travelled on the Thousand Islands Railway on Dominion Day, I rode the last remaining railway in Canada I had not ridden before. It was also the 127th railway on this continent for me. What's more, it is one railway that sells you a ticket to the cemetery! For years now, I have been planning to do the T.I.R. with a special flourish, but something always intervened. I was hoping it would be my 100th, but then I bumped into the Wheeling and Lake Erie at Toledo, Ohio on July 1, 1945, and that settled that. I had hoped the T.I.R. might be my 125th but that honor befell the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie. Well, no more of reminiscence, let's get down to the actual trip. Where, you may well ask, is the Thousand Islands Railway? It Is a separately incorporated railway less than five miles long, that runs between Gananoque, the town. and Gananoque, the Junction. It is owned by the C.N.R. The main line of the Canadian National to Toronto runs through Gananoque Junction, and four trains a day stop there. I was to go out and meet two sections of Train No. 14. What put all this on a sound basis was a conversation with George Webb. MP. for Leeds, plenipotentiary for Gananoque at Ottawa, and first member of parliament that, town ever sent to Ottawa. (Brockville always grabbed the nomination before.) "When you come to Gananoque" George Webb told me, "I'llsee that you ride the Thousand Islands Railway, and I'll see you do it right." Great Dominion Day So this particular Dominion Day took on an exalted significance to me. Since I was to ride the last railway in Canada I had not yet ridden. First of all, I tried to talk E. C. Howard, general agent of the T.I.R. into selling me a ticket to The Umbrella." The Umbrella, I would have you know, is the downtown suburban station of the railway, since the main station is a quarter of a mile or so down the tracks at the waterfront. It turns out I could not buy a ticket to The Umbrella, because it is not a listed station, but they will let you ride to "King Street" which is the proper designation of The Umbrella. The Umbrella, right on the main street, and handily located, thus is reminiscent of Terrace Station in Buffalo. The T.I.R. once erected a wooden shelter there, which came to be dubbed The Umbrella. Strange Destinations Most people when they go to the cemetery find it is strictly a One-Way Proposition. But in Gan, as it is locally known, you can buy a ticket to the cemetery and back. What's more, they will stop just where you want to stop. That reminds me of the place in Norway called Hell, and the Norwegian Railway's making a good thing out of selling tickets to Hell and back. Not to be outdone, Dave Gill has a good racket too. Get on a St.. Patrick street car which is marked Bay loop, and which turns on the front lawn of the old Perley home. For seven cents, Dave will take you through the Perley Gates and backl Well, I did business to the extent of 45 cents on tickets, for I also bought a ticket to the Junction from the Cemetery, and return. I jumped inside the Diesel, and we rode the recently out-shopped 500 pulling combination coach 7206 out toward the Junction. We made a flag stop at the cheese factory, appropriately enough called Cheeseboro. Then we ran out to meet two sections of C.N. 14, |