Canadian Railway Museum

Have you ever discovered a tourist attraction near where you've lived for years that gave you a surprising insight into the area you lived?  Well, that about sums up my thoughts on the Halton County Railway Museum we visited near the end of my stay in Ontario. 

It was great to see how the electric railway system progressed in southern Ontario and hear some behind-the-scene stories of its development.  As advertised, the museum has a collection of railcars, work equipment and buses from the late nineteenth century to the mid-1990s, as well as an historic railway station.

Besides riding one of the original open street cars used in early Toronto, we got to hear how the Halton County Radial Railway has been used for a number of films, TV shows, music videos and commercials over the years as either the main focus or a backdrop.  An older gentleman who acts as conductor for the operating streetcar, filled us in on how the museum was used in the taping of Anne of Green Gables, among other productions.

The conductor went on to tell how the Rockwood station, built in 1912 by the Grand Trunk Railway, was moved in 1971 from its original location along the tracks to where it now serves as a museum piece.  I found this especially interesting because it was set up with antique equipment to serve as a reminder of the typical suburban station of its time.

Victoria Park

Victoria Park was the first reserved green area to be established in Kitchener in 1896.  It was designed as a public space for residents and has certainly served us all well over the years!  In fact, my family has a history at Victoria Park in Kitchener -- from Mom going there with family on Sunday afternoons in the 1930s to me playing frisbee-golf with friends as a teenager in the 70s. 

 

By the way: the lion still sits at the foot of the Queen Victoria statue.  I can't walk by without thinking how Mom and her siblings were distrusting of it as kids.

How convenient that John and Ad's Bed and Breakfast was within walking distance to the park, which prompted the three of us to enjoy it one Sunday afternoon.  Needless to say, this park holds a special place for me and it was wonderful to revisit it 50 years later with memories in tow.

Revisiting Kitchener

During my summer in Canada, there was a week that I stopped being a resident of Guelph to become a resident of Kitchener.  It was a wonderful opportunity to not only get to know my good friends John and Ad who put me up in their home for the week, but to revisit the cities of Kitchener-Waterloo (KW) where I spent my childhood.  I wasn't really expecting to go on a KW Reacquaintance Tour 2024, but am sure glad my friends made it happen!

ION Light Rail System 

KW's new 19 km light-rail system is called the ION and is part of Waterloo Region’s rapid transit network. It opened on Friday June 21 2019, and has proven to be a success especially among university students looking for a quick way to get to other parts of the twin cities.

From the north end, the LRT starts at a terminal at Conestoga Mall in Waterloo and ends at Fairview Mall in south Kitchener with 17 stops between.

During excavation efforts in 2015 when constructing the ION, it was reported they found wooden rail ties from the streetcar line in a section under King Street in Kitchener. This trolley system was eventually abandoned in the 1950s to make room for a bus-trolley system that didn't need rails. Then in 2016, they found 200 year old logs laid in Uptown Waterloo, the original roadway laid down to help the region’s first European settlers to cross the marshy land.

Here are a couple reminders of the rail-trolley system that was still in operation in the 1950s and then bus-trolley system that started in the early 1960s...

I must admit that I was enthralled to see areas of KW that I hadn't seen before. I am familiar with most every part of KW, but was limited to what I saw while driving its roads. With the ION, passengers can now see what lurks between these roads, such as the backyard of buildings and forested areas that exist between the streets.

Farmers Markets

Part of the tour included a visit to the Saturday morning Farmer's Market.  For all of the decades I've been familiar with the KW region, I can't remember a time when these markets were not in operation on a Saturday morning.  So it was like second-nature to head there this time... but I wasn't expecting exactly how much these markets have grown over the years!

As depicted in the photo of the Kitchener Market in the late 1800s, farmers brought their produce via horse drawn wagon while visitors arrived to pour over their goods.  Today, trucks line up to deliver goods and the rows of produce are seemingly endless with crowds that rival most sporting events!  

Our first stop was at Herrle's Market in the country.  They offer a couple locations, including one in downtown Waterloo for those who don't have the means to get to the country farms where the produce is actually grown.  While Herrle's is a privately operated market, it has been around since the early 1960s and is very much a part of my past.

Of course, we couldn't let a Saturday go by without heading to a city market.  So the Waterloo Market was next on our list, and it's here that I had to catch my breath as I observed the size of the operation today.  Even with its rapid growth, it still has a small-town feel as vendors and visitors gather to stop and talk.