“The Old Canada Southern Railway Station”
- St. Thomas
Circa late 1980’s early 1990’s
This is the back view of the historic Canada Southern Railway Station, looking
northwest. This station and rail yard was once the hub of a multi-rail
business in St. Thomas. The following text is quoted from the North American
Railway website . . . .
“The former Canada Southern Railway station in St. Thomas, Ontario ... was
built by American railway promoters between 1871 and 1873 to serve both as
the local station and as the headquarters of the company. As such, this large
and impressive Italianate-style structure served as the symbol of the railway.
After 1878 this regional rail line was controlled by the New York Central
Railroad and, from 1883 until 1930, under the aegis of one of its
subsidiaries, the Michigan Central Railway. Subsequently, the lease was
transferred back to the New York Central until 1968 at which time the line
was amalgamated into the Penn Central which went bankrupt in 1976. The
company was reorganized as Conrail, which owned it until 1983 when it was
purchased jointly by the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National
Railways. The St. Thomas station functioned throughout most of this period
as the company's administrative headquarters and the location of its main
shops and yards..."
Almost every family in St. Thomas and surrounding area had a relative or two
who worked for the railroad. A century ago the railroad was king. Who would
have, fifty years or more ago, believed that the rails would be abandoned,
ripped up and sold for salvage? For further information on this historic
landmark visit www.narhf.org
This s/n Ltd. Ed. – 1-300 prints was reproduced from an original acrylic
painting
by Jenny Phillips, Dutton. © 2011