27 June 2009
All Aboard
Stittsville Ontario - All aboard, the railroad's
back in Stittsville.
Or at least the next best thing - photographs of the way it was as well as a collection of railway artifacts and memorabilia.
It is all at the Stittsville branch of the Ottawa Public Library thanks to two staff members from the Goulbourn Museum, Tracey
Donaldson and Brianne Kerik, who prepared the exhibit and display which is now occupying the ArtSpace wall and accompanying display
cabinet at the library branch.
Everyone interested in the railway history of Stittsville as well as Ashton and Richmond is urged to drop in and view the exhibit and
display to get a feel for the important role that the railway played in the history of these Goulbourn communities. This exhibit and
display on the history of the railway in Goulbourn will be on view at the Stittsville library branch until Wednesday,
5 Aug 2009.
Visual highlights of the exhibit are a number of historic photographs with accompanying information which are hanging in individual,
specially made wooden frames arranged around one of the old Stittville train station signs that used to be at the Stittsville train
station located where Village Square now is. No, that is not a mistake - the name on the sign is "Stittville" as this is
what the railroad called Stittsville, both on its station identification as well as on its timetable schedules.
One of the framed old photographs features a picture of a Canadian National Railway locomotive, taken about 1915. It is used in
conjunction with an explanation about the first steam train which passed through Stittsville on 16 Sep 1870 on the new
Canada Central Railway line running from Brockville to Ottawa. This railway line was later taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Union jacks and red, white, and blue bunting adorned this first steam train on its inaugural run through Stittsville. The narrative
explains that the coming of the railway to Stittsville changed the shape of the community, with the railway becoming the focal point
of the village.
Another of the photographs shows pictures of the three railway stations that once served Goulbourn, namely the stations in
Stittsville, Richmond, and Ashton. Another shows photographs from a railway accident which happened on 18 Mar 1950 at the
Ashton station when two freight trains collided in a snowstorm. A fireman and engineer died while two others were injured.
Another photograph and narrative tell about how the railway linked the area to the city of Ottawa so that those from Goulbourn who
worked in Ottawa during the week could take the train home on the weekend. Youth could also take the train into the city to go to high
school. The train was even used for area residents to go to the Ottawa Exhibition, with as many as 20 to 25 coaches being put on the
train to accommodate the travelers.
The exhibit also features historic pictures of Abbott Street in Stittsville in 1905, pictures of railway workers in 1895 and 1900, the
interior of a passenger car about 1920 and the Stittsville station and water tower in 1919. Another photograph in the exhibit shows a
picture of the last train to pass through Stittsville on 14 Jan 1990, after which the track was taken up with the roadbed
eventually becoming part of the Trans-Canada Trail.
Railway-related items on exhibit in the display case include a master key for a Canadian National Railway tool house; a
hoop used at the Richmond station for passing messages to an engineer on a passing train; a railway lantern; a railway spike used to
secure the rail to the ties; and Canadian Pacific Railway timetables for 1910, 1912, and 1913.
Related to this exhibit about the railway in Goulbourn at the library is a display of books about the railway. Among the books are one
about railroads across North America, one about the Canadian Pacific Railway, and one about Canadian railways.
John Curry.
|
|
