Rail
Rail

Rail

Rail

Crossbucks, trains, and stations

Train Spotting

It’s the machinery and infrastructure that revolutionized land transportation with over two centuries of history transporting freight and passengers. Railway routes and operations, both freight and civilian, active and abandoned, main and spur line, are often just as intriguing as the huge variety of rolling stock that operates/has operated on these rails both day and night.

Crossbucks

Trains

Stations

Crossbucks
Trains
Stations

Highlights

Highlights

Repurposing Legacy Rail Networks

GO Transit was established by the Government of Ontario in the late-1960s to provide the Greater Toronto Area (and now the Greater Golden Horseshoe) with regional public transit [1]. Its rail network was created by entering into operational agreements with owners of existing rail lines leading into/out of Union Station: Canadian Pacific (CPR) and Canadian National (CNR). As the years went on however, GO Transit would largely take over certain portions of those rail lines [2].

Lesser-Known Freight Operations

Apart from Canadian Pacific's mainline through Toronto (the Galt, North Toronto, and Belleville Subdivisions), freight rail service within Toronto does still exist but is only a shell of its former self. Two notable examples are Canadian National's usage of portions of Metrolinx's Lakeshore West and East lines (via limited access rights) to access spur lines in Mimico in Etobicoke and Golden Mile in Scarborough, but only late at night.

The Royal Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific's business train, known as the Royal Canadian Pacific, is an executive business train used for corporate travel and special events [3]. The train consists of restored vintage railcars, particularly the retro EMD FP9A locomotives and F9B booster unit. These units were a staple in North American railroading from the late 1930s until the 1960s and are rarely seen outside of museums and niche railroads.

Occasional Journeys to Eastern Canada

While the Royal Canadian Pacific resides and typically operates in Western Canada, it occasionally ventures out east as far as Quebec and in some cases, the Northeastern United States. The lack of an active rail link between Sudbury and Ottawa [4] means the RCP has to make the trek down the MacTier and Parry Sound Subdivisions all the way down to Toronto to then travel east to Montreal and beyond.

From the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean

From the mid-1970s to September 28th, 2012 [5], it was possible to travel by rail via the Ontario Northland Railway (with a transfer in Cochrane), from Toronto all the way up to Moosonee, a short distance from the shores of James Bay, widely considered to be the southernmost part of the Arctic Ocean. Older ONR system maps show a rail connection to cities and towns south of North Bay but passenger rail service was provided by other companies including Canadian Pacific (CPR), Canadian National (CNR), and others [6].

Return of the Northlander

Passenger rail service between Cochrane and Toronto was replaced by bus service from the end of September 2012 onwards [5], however there are plans to bring back the Northlander train sometime in the coming years, re-establishing a local passenger rail link (compared to VIA Rail whose reach is more national) between Northern and Southern Ontario [7].
Sources
  1. “CNW Group: GO TRANSIT: GO Celebrates 40 Years of Success.” CNW Group | GO TRANSIT | GO Celebrates 40 Years of Success, 23 May 2007, https://web.archive.org/web/20080426133558/www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2007/23/c3558.html
  2. “History of GO Transit.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Aug. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_GO_Transit
  3. “FAQs.” Royal Canadian Pacific, 24 June 2021, https://www.royalcanadianpacific.com/faqs/
  4. Cody-Rice, Edith. “Millstone.” The Millstone, 1 Feb. 2022, https://millstonenews.com/ottawa-valley-rail-lines-being-torn-up/
  5. “Northlander.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Aug. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northlander
  6. Boyer, J. Patrick. “Muskoka Rail Service - A Time-Trapped Saga.” Unique Muskoka, 12 Sept. 2018, https://uniquemuskoka.com/blogs/new-unique-content/muskoka-rail-service-a-time-trapped-saga
  7. Juric, Sam. “Ford Announces $75M toward Reinstatement of Passenger Rail Service in Northeastern Ontario | CBC News.” CBC News, CBC/Radio Canada, 11 Apr. 2022, https://cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/sudbury-northlander-investment-announcement-1.6415144
Sources:
  1. “CNW Group: GO TRANSIT: GO Celebrates 40 Years of Success.” CNW Group | GO TRANSIT | GO Celebrates 40 Years of Success, 23 May 2007, https://web.archive.org/web/20080426133558/www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2007/23/c3558.html
  2. “History of GO Transit.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Aug. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_GO_Transit
  3. “FAQs.” Royal Canadian Pacific, 24 June 2021, https://www.royalcanadianpacific.com/faqs/
  4. Cody-Rice, Edith. “Millstone.” The Millstone, 1 Feb. 2022, https://millstonenews.com/ottawa-valley-rail-lines-being-torn-up/
  5. “Northlander.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Aug. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northlander
  6. Boyer, J. Patrick. “Muskoka Rail Service – A Time-Trapped Saga.” Unique Muskoka, 12 Sept. 2018, https://uniquemuskoka.com/blogs/new-unique-content/muskoka-rail-service-a-time-trapped-saga
  7. Juric, Sam. “Ford Announces $75M toward Reinstatement of Passenger Rail Service in Northeastern Ontario | CBC News.” CBC News, CBC/Radio Canada, 11 Apr. 2022, https://cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/sudbury-northlander-investment-announcement-1.6415144

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The Royal Canadian Pacific business train heading west on the North Toronto Subdivision at Bartlett Avenue.

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