Orangeville Ontario - Did you know the last steam locomotive carrying passengers in Canada made its final stop in Orangeville on 1 May 1960?
 
This week's Throwback Thursday feature recalls that day when Orangeville's train station played a noteworthy role in the end of Canada's steam railroading era nearly 60 years ago.
 
"It was an unheard-of happening consisting of 14 cars, the largest train ever," said R.L. Kennedy, author of the website, Old Time Trains, recalling the passenger train carrying more than 1,100 passengers from Toronto being hauled by three stream locomotives.
 
People had been riding behind steam locomotives out of Toronto for more than 100 years.
 
This was the first and last triple-headed steam excursion in the Dominion.
 
"What was the reason for this event happening? It was marking the end of the steam era of railroading in Canada," said Kennedy, who planned, promoted, and organized the event as a young railroader wanting to mark the occasion.
 
"On board were 1,100 passengers of all ages from near and far. Hundreds more were turned away. Thousands turned out to watch it pass and for its arrival," he added.
 
"After more than a century, the end was near."
 
It was time for the steam locomotive to move aside for a newer, more efficient, diesel-engine machine.
 
As Kennedy writes, it was a "sentimental journey" ending in Orangeville, a time to hear "All Aboard" one last time in the presence of a steam locomotive.
 
Chris Halliday.