Lights on the Sarnia Bridge reflected in the Thames River
The blog marks another milestone with this post. Welcome to OHA+M, edition 80!
A summer edition to be sure, so today let’s take a break from the meaty cultural heritage landscapes discussion of the last few posts. And have a relaxed look (with an emphasis on the visual) at one kind or type of landscape — the railway line.
Here where I live in St. Marys we have a wealth of railway heritage: two old stations, two railway viaducts, an active railway line (still with passenger service!), and two abandoned ones converted to walking/cycling trails.
St. Marys Junction Station (yes, that is a wrecking yard across the tracks)
Approaching town from the east, on the so-called North Main Line connecting Toronto and London, the first thing you’ll see is the 1858 Junction Station.
This national historic site is the original station built by the Grand Trunk Railway as it pushed through its main line west to Sarnia with a branch line to London. The structure has an association with Thomas Edison who, as a very young man, worked here for a short while as a controller (and, according to one story, fell asleep in the night resulting in a near-accident, which might explain the brevity of his stay).[1]
The building has been secured and stabilized and is basically mothballed, awaiting a new use. It was built on the outer fringes of town and its location (and the active line it sits beside) has made repurposing a challenge.
Two lines once forked off from the “junction” — one southwest to London, still in operation, and one west to Sarnia, now closed.
Both lines had to cross fairly broad and deep river valleys, which necessitated construction of trestle bridges. Described at the time as “the greatest ornament in engineering to any town in Canada West”, these surviving stone viaducts from 1858-59 — aptly named the London Bridge and the Sarnia Bridge — are major landmarks in St. Marys.
A section of the London Bridge, still part of an active CN line
A span of the London Bridge from below
Probably the more spectacular of the two is the Sarnia Bridge.
The Sarnia Bridge crossing the Thames on seven (or is it eight?) limestone piers
Looking straight down from the Sarnia Bridge boardwalk at the projecting base of one of the piers (note shadow of the bridge on the water and limestone bedrock of the riverbed)
The same pier from kayak level
In 1989 after 130 years of service, this rail line, running all the way from St. Marys to Sarnia, was closed and the corridor sold off to neighbouring landowners. The fate of the Sarnia Bridge was in doubt.
Fortunately, the Town stepped in, acquiring the railway right-of-way within the town limits including the Sarnia Bridge. As impressively, local citizens rose to the challenge, creating a group to fundraise and work with the municipality to transform the right-of-way into a public trail and adapt the bridge for pedestrian use with a boardwalk deck.[2]
The glory of the Sarnia Bridge is the panoramic view of St. Marys to the south and largely unspoiled countryside to the north.
Sarnia Bridge, town view
Sarnia Bridge, countryside view
In summer the trail in places has become a leafy tunnel.
Paved section of Grand Trunk Trail approaching the Sarnia Bridge
Graveled section of trail between the Sarnia Bridge and Junction Station
Near the London Bridge, just off the main street and much more conveniently located than the Junction Station, sits the current station, also owned by the Town. These days the 1907 shingle-style building serves three functions: Via ticket office and waiting room, gallery, and clock repair shop
St. Marys Station, east facade
St. Marys Station, details of west facade
About the time the current station was built a second railway appeared in town — a CPR branch line from Embro came in from the south along the Thames River.[3] Opening in 1908, the line terminated in St. Marys. The trackage from the St. Marys Cement plant to the centre of town, which followed the river, was abandoned in 1998. Foreshadowing the intervention that led to the Grand Trunk Trail some years later, the Town acquired this section of the line and the Riverview Walkway opened in 1992.
Riverview Walkway with the Thames on the right
And finally — a lesser known vestige of St. Marys’ railway past is this underpass in the industrial south end of town where the old CPR line once crossed under the current CN line to London.
Cement tunnel under current CN line
End of tour, folks!
And yes, many worthy cultural heritage landscapes here. As with the Cheese Factory Road example in Henry Cary’s post last time, railway/trailway corridors and other linear routes and passages raise interesting questions when looked at through a CHL lens. Like fixing their boundaries… fuzzy edges indeed!
Still in the area, railway buffs will like the 30 minute documentary GRAND TRUNK — A City Built on Steam, about Stratford’s railway history. The film, which premiered on TVO a few weeks ago, was made with the financial support of the Stratford/Perth County branch of ACO. View it on-line here.
Notes
Note 1: See the listing for the station in the Canadian Register of Historic Places here.
Note 2: In 2012 the Town of St. Marys was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame for the saving of the abandoned corridor and repurposing of the Sarnia Bridge.
Note 3: Technically this railway line began as a project of the St. Marys & Western Ontario Railway in 1905. But by 1908, with the SM&WOR on the verge of bankruptcy the CPR took control and the next year leased the line for 99 years (later extended to 999 years).