Cornwall Standard Freeholder 28 January 2026 Cornwall Locomotive Number 17 Gets Ticket to Ride Out 12 More Months of Fundraising Cornwall Ontario - Cornwall council has agreed to let the Friends of Engine 17 ride out 12 more months of fundraising efforts related to refurbishing and relocating the well known locomotive artifact within the city. The group provided a letter to the city dated December 2025, sharing that $56,000 has been raised to-date to support the local preservation of the locomotive, which the Ontario Land Tribunal had previously deemed to be an important heritage artifact. "We are encouraged to report that $56,000 has been secured through the generosity of a select group of donors and is currently held by the city," reads the letter. "We continue to seek additional support from corporate partners at the $10,000 level and plan to broaden our outreach to invite smaller donations from other supporters." In late 2024, Cornwall Community Museum and SDG Historical Society senior curator and administrator Brent Whitford made a pitch to council on behalf of the Friends of Engine 17 with a plan for fundraising and related cost estimates to move the artifact to the Benson Centre. Last April, the group of local heritage advocates was given the green light by council to proceed with its efforts. On Monday, Coun. Dean Hollingsworth made the motion to allow the group an extra year of fundraising. "The city, of course, has already committed $44,000 to move the train, which means we'd spend $44,000 and have really nothing to show for it," he said. In 2021, council decided in a 6-5 vote to gift the locomotive to the Eastern Ontario Railway Museum in Smiths Falls, and pay approximately $50,000 to move it there. The money for the relocation would come from $100,000 council added to the 2017 budget to repair Locomotive 17, moneys that should remain in reserves. "The idea of losing $55,000 in fundraising, and an additional $44,000 with nothing to show for it without giving the friends the opportunity to push ahead with this seems a bit premature," said Hollingsworth. "It seems crazy to watch all that money walk without giving the committee full opportunity." Many councillors praised the Friends of Engine 17 for its dedication and hard work. "A few years back, there was not too many people that wanted to wash their hands of this project more than I did," said Coun. Todd Bennett. "My main reason back then was, well, people seemed to complain nothing was happening with this thing, and nobody was stepping up to do anything about it either. In this case, I'm happy to say people have stepped up. And this is a lot of money you've raised. An extra 12 months is the fair thing to do, the right thing to do. Thank you for stepping up." While all councillors voted in favour of granting the extra time to fundraise, some shared words of trepidation. Coun. Sarah Good asked if there was a cost estimate for ongoing maintenance of the artifact. Cornwall's general manager of infrastructure and municipal works Michael Fawthrop explained there are no cost estimates at this time as they would vary dependent on the scope of the project. An operating budget dedicated to the locomotive's ongoing maintenance would be necessary, he assured, in order to prevent its degradation. "I have got great reluctance because that means one more winter in the elements. That train has been rusting away for years," said Coun. Elaine MacDonald, who ultimately supported the extended fundraising timeline. "I don't know at what point for our train the degradation outpaces the community efforts to salvage it in some way." The business plan proposal from the Friends of Engine 17 pegged the project at costing, in its entirety, $153,036. This includes $128,311 related to the locomotive itself, with a 2024 cost estimate for its refurbishment, and 2017 city cost estimates related to a track for the artifact to sit on, and its relocation. It also includes $24,725 related to two interactive display kiosks and two display cabinets. Locomotive 17 was acquired by the Cornwall Street Railway Light and Power Company in 1962, and retired by CN in 1971 when it purchased the Cornwall company's assets (Cornwall Street Railway Light and Power Co. is known as Cornwall Electric owned by Fortis Ontario). It had been used for those nine years to move railway cars around the city and is a testament to the electromotive engine and Cornwall's industrial past.   Shawna O'Neill. Kingston Whig Standard 13 March 2026 Two Station Buildings Along Montreal Street to be Demolished Kingston Ontario - It's the end of an era for two out of three railway station buildings in Kingston's downtown. According to a news release from the city, two of the buildings, located at 810 Montreal Street, will be torn down. CN owns the buildings and said that the structural integrity of the baggage building and the breezeway attached to the baggage building have deteriorated so much that any entry poses extreme safety risks. CN has informed the city that "demolition is the only viable course of action and that it will demolish these structures," read the release. CN has shared that it is taking this action under the federal legislation in effect on the historic railway station. For the public's safety, CN has installed fencing around the site to prevent access during and after demolition. While the two railway station buildings will be removed, CN has determined that the "stone railway station building" on the property does not need to be demolished and that restoration efforts will be explored moving forward. "The railway station buildings are designated as heritage buildings under both federal and provincial legislation. When the city designated the buildings in 1987 (under provincial legislation), CN was a Crown corporation. The intent of the designation, and its consideration within the North Kingstown Secondary Plan, was to protect the heritage character of the buildings if and when CN sold them and to ensure that any future adaptive reuse or development proposals considered the heritage character of the buildings," the release read. Kingston Whig Standard Mar 25, 2026 Train baggage for Kingston was not to be checked English architect Francis Thompson designed eastern Ontario's first Grand Trunk Railway station at Kingston, built in 1855-1866. The once-beautiful limestone heritage building is now a memory, preserved in photographs. (Circa 1990s/Canadian National Railways) jpg, KI, apsmc Grand Trunk Station was designed by architect Francis Thompson, born in 1808 to a construction family in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Following in the footsteps of family, he learned construction skills and architectural designing that became the foundations of his career. Thompson’s father was a builder and surveyor, two of his uncles were architects and his grandfather was also a builder. In 1830, the young architect married Anna Maria Watson, “and the newlyweds then emigrated to Montreal in British North America (Canada),” said Wingfield Station 1947. Joy mixed with grief when the next year, the Thompsons became parents to baby boy Francis Jacob. A year later, 23-year-old Anna contracted the dreaded bacterial cholera and did not recover. Thompson carried on, establishing his architecture career with house designs, churches, court buildings and commercial construction. Partnering with fellow English immigrant architect John Wells, Thompson co-designed Montreal’s first indoor market in 1832, named St. Anne’s Market. Planned in Neoclassical style, the building was a vast 100 metres in length. “Even more remarkable,” the architects “erected the building squarely on top of Little Saint-Pierre River … (made) possible through the construction of a gigantic stone vaulted canal,” wrote Louise Pothier and Hendrik Van Gijseghem in “The Parliament of United Canada in Montreal 1843-1849” (Canadian Parliamentary Review 2017). The expansive building was the temporary home of pre-Confederation parliamentary sessions. Returning to England in 1837 for his son’s formal education, Thompson was engaged as the North Midland Railway architect. Constructing railway stations and warehouses, Thompson was also commissioned to design several bridges for the new Derby to Leeds line. The architect’s projects met with acclaim and appreciation, and he went on to design a roundhouse, and a complex of housing and buildings related to several railways in the region. In the era of new rail lines, the station designs were left to Thompson's skill and innovation. He devised three architectural plans for the North Midland stations: Classical; Elizabethan; and Grecian. He also altered each station design "to be in harmony with local surroundings," according to Wingfield Station 1947. "Thompson's other considerations for the design of the stations were the need to impress the new passengers and help instill a sense of confidence in the new railway age." In the meantime, Thompson married his second wife, Elizabeth, in 1840. Also contracting cholera, Elizabeth died in 1852. (Life was risky and difficult for women in the 1800s.) A year later, Thompson married his third wife, Mary Ann Groves, from the market town of Wareham in South Dorset. Taking his bride to Canada in 1853, the experienced rail professional was appointed architect by the new St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad, and Grand Trunk Railway (GTR). Among projects, Thompson was to design train stations between Montreal and Toronto. "Designing the masonry for the Victoria Bridge in Montreal," Thompson drew plans for "the terminus at Portland, Maine," said Bob Webb in "Francis Thompson (1808-1895) Railway Architect" at Alde Valley Suffolk Family History Group (AVSFHG), January 20, 2020. The Portland station "was lauded as the largest station in America at that time." Commencing design projects with the GTR, Thompson began with the limestone station at Kingston, constructed in 1855-1856 on the Montreal-Toronto line. Kingston's Outer Station "was the first GTR station built in Ontario," according to "Federal Directory of Heritage Designations" at Parks Canada. (FDHD) Among several of Thompson's designs along the local rail line, Kingston's is the architect's only "oneand-a-half-storey design for small stations." Thompson's eight other stations on the line were constructed as single-storey structures, such those at Ernestown GTR station near Millhaven (1856); the smaller stone station at Napanee (1856); and the Belleville station (1856) that was originally one-storey then renovated to have two storeys in the late 1800s. In June 1994, Kingston's GTR station at 810 Montreal St. was designated under the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act (R.S.C., 1985, C. 52 (4th Supp.)), and by the City of Kingston through the Ontario Heritage Act in 1987. The register described the building as Italianate style with "Second-Empirestyle roof." The rectangular building featured "seven bays on each of the track and street facades," with "round-arched window and door openings along the ground floor," and "arched and keyed second-storey windows on the end facades." The exquisite stonework featured several textures in ashlar walls and the smooth, cut-stone quoins and voussoirs defining the large arched openings and building corners," noted FDHD. Deep inset eaves were "integrated into the quoining on the ends of the building," with five arched dormers at the front and back of the mansard roof. Thompson included four capped chimneys of stone, two at each end. Officially opening on Oct. 27, 1856, the railway ran into an almost immediate snag. An irate business traveller wrote a letter to the editor of the Weekly British Whig, published Nov. 3 of that year on page 2. The passenger wished to have his baggage checked at the Montreal station for his Kingston destination, but was refused by staff. Noting that baggage was checked for Toronto and other destinations, the customer asked for a reason. "He was informed by the Baggage-master that the Grand Trunk authorities had issued orders that luggage was to be checked for all places on the road except Kingston, and that Kingston luggage was not to be checked at all." Furious, the writer added "shall we tamely suffer ourselves to be kicked and spurned by these Railway puppets and jack-in-office?" He then urged Kingston passengers to complain, stating that "the longer they suffer injustice without complaint the more injury and disgrace will be heaped upon their heads." Transporting people, freight, and business opportunities to Kingston, the GTR station added a brick building in 1895-1898, linked by a wood shelter built in 1939. The shelter was enclosed 50 years later. The busy train station became property of Canadian National Railway (CNR) in January 1923, and closed in 1974 with the opening of the new modern facility at 1800 John Counter Boulevard. Perhaps the countdown clock began ticking then, but we didn't hear it. In 1996, the oldest building of the Outer Station caught fire, heavily damaging the interior and roof. Each year following, the building suffered more damaged from the seasons, weather and vandalism. Efforts over the decades to save the building failed. It will not be preserved as an engaging museum. Heavy equipment has moved in and history of the city, and of a place that celebrated the birth of Canada, will be hauled away as heaps of rubble. His work completed, Thompson and his wife sailed home to Hastings, England in April 1859. On retirement in 1866, Thompson spent several years "producing 'template' designs for intermediate stations," said Webb. The architect's work was "included in a number in the East of England." Francis Thompson died in Bredfield, England on April 23, 1895, at age 86. His wife Mary died less than a year later. Thompson's remaining railway stations along eastern Ontario's GTR/CN line remain as historical gems. We regret that Kingston's Outer Station is not among them. Susanna McLeod is a writer living in Kingston, Ontario. She is both sad and angered that the pre- Confederation station was allowed to crumble and demolished, a loss that could have instead been proud local history.