The Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway (WSJR) was a heritage railway west of Toronto that ran between Waterloo and St. Jacobs, Ontario from 1997 to 1999.
The Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway (WSJR) was a heritage railway west of Toronto that ran between Waterloo and St. Jacobs, Ontario from 1997 to 1999.
The railway used two diesel locomotives built in the 1950s, originally owned by Canadian National Railways, and repainted them in their original paint scheme. The locomotives were named Spirit of St. Jacobs and Pride of Waterloo. It also had several passenger cars painted in the same paint scheme.
Excursions had three stops, and visitors could board on a later train. The Railway allowed visitors to see farms of the Old Order Mennonites and visit the village of St. Jacobs.
The railway ceased operation in 2000 due to maintenance costs. In late 2006, the two diesels and three passenger cars were purchased by the West Coast Railway Association. However, as of 2008 [update] the diesels and one passenger car remain in Via Rail's Mimico maintenance yard.
In May 2007, the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society received approval from the City of Waterloo to launch a new Waterloo-St. Jacobs tourist train service. The new railway became the Waterloo Central Railway. [1]
Waterloo Central Railway began operations in June 2007. It operates a seasonal schedule, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between Waterloo, the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market and the community of St. Jacobs. In 2015, as a result of Ion rapid transit project, the Waterloo Central Railway no longer departs from the station located at 10 Father David Bauer Drive but now departs from a station at the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market.. [2]
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
St. Jacobs is an unincorporated suburban community in the township of Woolwich in Waterloo Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the city of Waterloo. It is a popular location for tourism, due to its quaint appearance, retail focus, and Mennonite heritage. Waterloo Region is still home to the largest population of Old Order Mennonites in Canada, particularly in the areas around St Jacobs and Elmira. They are often seen on the local roads using their traditional horse and buggy transportation; many also use horses to pull the implements in their farm fields.
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding company, the Grand Trunk Corporation. Grand Trunk Western's routes are part of CN's Michigan Division. Its primary mainline between Chicago and Port Huron, Michigan serves as a connection between railroad interchanges in Chicago and rail lines in eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. The railroad's extensive trackage in Detroit and across southern Michigan has made it an essential link for the automotive industry as a hauler of parts and automobiles from manufacturing plants.
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The Prairie Dog Central Railway is a heritage railway just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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Essex Terminal Railway is a Canadian shortline terminal railroad, running from the City of Windsor, Ontario through LaSalle, to Amherstburg, Ontario, for a distance of approximately 21 miles (34 km). ETR has direct connections to Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian National Railway and CSX. ETR is owned by Essex Morterm Holdings. Founded in 1902, it is one of the oldest existing railways in Canada.
The B class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Victorian Railways in 1952–1953. Ordered and operated by the Victorian Railways, they initiated the dieselisation of the system and saw use on both passenger and freight services, with many remaining in service today, both in preserved and revenue service. Some were rebuilt as the V/Line A class, while others have been scrapped.
The Waterloo Central Railway (WCR) is a non-profit heritage railway owned and operated by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society (SOLRS). In May 2007, SOLRS received joint approval from the Region of Waterloo and the City of Waterloo to run trains from Waterloo to St. Jacobs and potentially as far north as Elmira. On a typical operating day, the train runs three times a day on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. In 2015, the railway lost regular running rights south of Northfield Drive to make way for the Ion light rail project. All Market Train service now runs between St. Jacobs Farmers' Market, the Village of St. Jacobs, and Elmira, Ontario.
The Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway is a Class III common carrier shortline railroad that operates in the cities of Marion and Herrin in the Southern Illinois region. It is most historically recognized by the FRA for being the last U.S. railroad of any kind to use steam locomotives exclusively in regular revenue freight service up until March 1986.
GO Transit, the interregional public transit system in Southern Ontario, has a number of various road and rail vehicles. This includes 91 locomotives, 979 train coaches, and 752 buses.
St. Jacobs Farmers' Market is a farmers' market and flea market in Woolwich, Ontario, Canada. It is located to the south of King Street North, to the east of Weber Street North, and to the west of the railway tracks. It is the largest year-round farmer's market in Canada, and is a popular destination for residents of the town and nearby communities, as well as tourists from Canada, the United States, and Europe. It draws about 1 million visitors annually.
The Tempos are a fleet of 25 lightweight streamlined railway coaches built by Hawker Siddeley Canada for the Canadian National Railway in 1968. The cars were the centrepiece of a new set of intercity passenger trains in Southwestern Ontario. The fleet passed to Via Rail in 1978 and later saw use with the Ski Train, QIT-Fer et Titane, and the Algoma Central Railway.
The Southern California Railway Museum, formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is a railroad museum in Perris, California, United States. It was founded in 1956 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles before moving to the former Pinacate Station as the "Orange Empire Trolley Museum" in 1958. It was renamed "Orange Empire Railway Museum" in 1975 after merging with a museum then known as the California Southern Railroad Museum, and adopted its current name in 2019. The museum also operates a heritage railroad on the museum grounds.
Essex Terminal Railway No. 9 is a preserved 0-6-0 steam locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1923. Originally purchased by the Essex Terminal Railway, the locomotive was in active service until 1960. It is currently owned by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society, and it is operated as a tourist attraction, as part of the Waterloo Central Railway, in St. Jacobs, Ontario.
The Waterloo Junction Railway (WJR) is a short line railway in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It runs northward from the former Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) North Main Line in downtown Kitchener, through Waterloo and St. Jacobs before terminating in Elmira. It is currently owned by the City of Waterloo and operated by CN as the Waterloo Spur. The Waterloo Central Railway runs tourist trains on the line, and the Ion rapid transit runs on the route for a short distance.
Canadian Pacific 1238 is a preserved G5c class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1946. It was purchased by George Hart, who used it for excursion service in the 1960s. It was later sold to Jack Showalter, who operated it on his Allegany Central Railroad from the 1970s to the mid-1990s. In late December 2023, No. 1238 was purchased by the Waterloo Central Railway, and they have plans to restore the locomotive to operating condition.
