Rail Yard Magic~

Sometimes nature and man combine to create all sorts of patterns and abstract art. A chain link fence after an ice storm transforms into a temporary work of art and so on. The snow was still falling when I went for a walk towards the Wabash/CN rail yard at the end of Hiawatha Street in St. Thomas, Ontario about 1973 or so. My Pentax Spotmatic II was my constant companion then, probably with a 55mm lens. This was just down from my apartment in the old blue schoolhouse at 67 Hiawatha St. As usual after a snowfall everything was a bit magical and you can see snow flying around on most of the pics.

Above~ I believe this was looking east as you can see the empty auto carrier cars with the caboose at the back heading west towards the Ford Plant in Talbotville. Going west they would cross the Athletic Park bridge (Wabash Railway Bridge) overlooking Athletic Park. This is the Wabash/CN Line on the north side of town running east-west.

If I have it straight, if you follow the tracks past the caboose you would next come to the Kilarney Tavern at the end of St. Catherine Street. Another street down was one of my favourite watering holes–the Union Jack at the end of Station Street, originally the Station Hotel and then Wabash Hotel back in the day. It would later become the Stanley Arms and finally the Wheat Sheaves. Sometimes I would just walk down the tracts rather than go around and down the streets to get to the hotel.

Slideshow~

Above~ A collection of some images around the rail yard. Pentax Spotmatic II, 55mm lens + fisheye, 35mm b/w film. Originally processed in my little darkroom at the old blue schoolhouse at 67 Hiawatha Street. Negatives scanned on a Konica/Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV. 

At the end of Hiawatha St., right before the tracks, there were coal yards. There was still some coal in them at the time I used to walk around the area. It operated originally as the W.H. Swift & Co. before it was taken over by the Elgin Cooperative Services in 1966 [source-Steve Peters]. On the way from my place to the yards there was this unusual looking house on the corner (above), which I found out later used to be the offices of Swift & Co. 

For historical perspective, here are a couple of pics from the Elgin County Archives. The coal yard seemed to be still operational when I lived in the area. 

This was all part of the world that existed on the north side of Talbot St. with the coal and rail yards, bars and watering holes as you followed the tracks from the Athletic Park bridge all the way to Redan St., past the Northside Rec Centre with the hockey arena and swimming pool, up to Timken and down Edward St.

On the south side of Talbot was the Michigan Central Railway and Canada Southern Railway with the old CASO Station and incredible rail yard which you can see from the old Moore Street Water Tower. Lots of jobs then, no one with a clue things would ever change.  

Sources~

The Railway History of St. Thomas~  good overview from the St. Thomas Library.

St. Thomas Four Major Rail Lines~ good YouTube presentation by the Elgin County Railway Museum.

Heritage Collections (Elgin County Archives)~ good, searchable, and indispensable collection.

You Knew You Grew Up in St. Thomas When…~ FB Page, good information from Steve Peters and others. Searchable within the page.

See also~

Athletic Park Bridge in Infrared~ The iconic Wabash Railroad Bridge in infrared.

The Railway in Infrared~ Looking around the ECRM rail yard in infrared.

View from the St. Thomas Water Tower 1975~ Images from that era including the rail yards, etc.