Railways & Main Streets Tour, Part One

Leaving TO after lunch on Monday we blast out of town on the 401 on our quest for lost railways and interesting main streets. We call in at Georgetown's Grand Trunk station which can best be described as a hybrid -- a mix of station styles. It's an active station with VIA rail and GO train service.
We then track north through Fergus and have a coffee at Tim Horton's in Arthur.

At Palmerston we were treated to a personal tour of the magnificent historic railway station museum by retired high-school principal Bob McEachern. From the 1870s to the 1950s Palmerston was an important railway hub with six converging lines and daily trains to Owen Sound, Stratford, Goderich, Guelph, Hamilton and Toronto. The yard was so busy that a 700 foot iron pedestrian bridge was constructed in 1911. Passenger service ended here in 1970 and there have been no trains for many years. The town will host the annual Canadian Handcar Racing Championships from June 16 to 18, 2006.