Greg’s Picks
IN PRAISE OF OLDER RAIL LINES
by Greg Vincent
Growing up in Toronto without a family car and my father overseas in the RCAF, my mother
and I got around Ontario on the train. What a great way to travel to Allandale beside Barrie with
its large yards full of steam engines to visit my grandmother, and to Alton to visit my uncle
Percy who was the CPR station master. The Pinnacle was a winter favourite for tobogganing.
When I left my mother's home, it was on the train headed to London Ontario, then west to
Winnipeg to the Navigation School and westward to Cold Lake Alberta to the jet school. I was
hooked. Every opportunity I can find, I am on the train - into the Agawa Canyon or to Paris from
London England on the Eurostar under the English Channel.
Many of the trains have disappeared, however, we can still enjoy their legacy. As a long time
walker/hiker who enjoys the wilderness hiking trails, I find the addition of a good dose of rail
trails much to my liking. They usually have a good surface that allows you to walk at good clip
and in most cases there is parking along the way. Most of the rail trails are available twelve
months a year when hiking trails may prove challenging. Let’s look at three of my local
favourites.
Lynn Valley Trail: The Lake Huron and Port Dover rail line was established in 1873 and the
CNR ran it until1988. What a classy way to get to Port Dover for a holiday excursion! You
would arrive at a working port with a variety of boats to take you on excursions and a terrific
beach to swim from. I usually park at Simcoe and walk or ride my bike the eleven km to Port
Dover. Absolutely everything is interesting; the river, the flowers, and trees such as the Osage
Orange are Carolinian. Don’t miss the excellent small museum in Port Dover and you must have
a Perch lunch/dinner there overlooking Lake Erie. Search out the “Alligator” in Simcoe. The
LVT is good for cycling as well.
Kissing Bridge Trailway: The CPR established a rail line from
Guelph to Goderich, and after Uncle Percy left Alton, he was the
station master in Walton. It sounds like a glamorous title,
however, he and my cousins lived above the station and he did
everything, including all communications with a Morse code key.
The Township was dry so Uncle Percy had the train crews bring
in what the local farmers needed. Today the foot path of that rail line does not stretch as far as
Walton; let’s hope it will one day. There is parking outside of Guelph and the trail makes its way
to Elmira with a detour through the Kissing Bridge at West Montrose. From Elmira, the trail
passes Wallenstein, detours past the Conestoga River and up a farm road to get back on the trail.
Check the homes along that road, few have electricity. On to Millbank where you can check out
the local cemetery and see who first came to this area. Stop at Anna Mae's for great food.
Cambridge to Paris Trail: This is the line of the Lake Erie and Northern Railway, great
anytime of the year. Springtime comes a little earlier here in Carolinian Canada; the spring
flowers, flowering shrubs and even the snapping turtles like it to lay their eggs. There is an old
mill to explore along the way and if you look carefully you will see how the
water was diverted to power that mill. If you are quiet along the way, there
is good birding. If you are quick after a fresh snowfall, you can crosscountry ski it. The fresh snow does not last long. If it is icy, Icers will keep
you on the “up and up”. Check out the trees: Shag Bark Hickory,
Hackberry, Sycamore – all Carolinian. The Grand River is good for water
bird-watching or just sit on one of the benches that overlook the Canadian
Heritage River. There is good parking south of Cambridge, at Glen Morris
and north of Paris. Enjoy all of these trails. If you write to me of your
experiences and favourites, I will include them into a future newsletter.
A Sycamore
Greg Vincent [email protected].
Greg Vincent's NEW Hiking Site: http://www.execulink.com/~gvincent/