4 March 2010

It May be Long Gone But it is Not Forgotten

A CPR Pacific steam locomotive arrives at Sharbot Lake.

Sharbot Lake Ontario - The Kingston Pembroke Railway.
 
A strip of steel that pulled a region together.
 
Ann Walsh, Railway Heritage Committee: "There are few of us left that remember that history but we would like our children and future generations to know that history and new comers to the area as well".
 
There are plenty of reminders of that by-gon era.
 
The old train station in Kingston which now serves as the tourism information office.
 
The wollen mill on the shores of the Cataraqui River salutes the past with its mural prominently displaying an enggine from the K&P line.
 
Heading out to Highway 38, the route the train travelled, there is even more to see to jog the memory.
 
Verona was a vilage that sprang up because of the railway, and their kiosk, has a very railroady feel to it.
 
And there is the mural near Godfrey depicting a scene from the Iron Ore Junction, and yes, there was an actual iron horse.
 
But maybe the place that has really embraced its' railway history is Sharbot Lake.
 
"The junction between Canadian Pacific and the Kingston & Pembroke was here so we were getting the north-south and east-west traffic. The freight was then able to be taken from here, delivered to here, and it became a centre. The logging benefited from that, as well as other industries, so the railway really provided the opportunity for growth", said Walsh.
 
The Central Frontenac Railway Heritage Committee has put history back on the rail.
 
In fact the group has just acquired a caboose for its collection.
 
"We were originally going to have the building, in the form of the former Sharbot Lake station but it's just not viable so we thought this will be an ideal location for our collection if we got a caboose", said Walsh.
 
Sally Angle of the Railway Hertiage Committee said, "The other thing that seems to be going quite well is the idea of re-building the station as a multi-cultural center for this area. It is at the point now where there is a Steering Committee that is formed from a number of different areas in the region and they're going to be meeting to decide how to go forward with that idea. The idea being that it will be built as a replica of the old station.
 
Mike Postovit.