O Canada!

[TT-Pete]

I am in the early stages of planning a trip to Canada for next year, sort of Montreal-Toronto-Ottawa-Quebec City itinerary with VIA Rail for the Montreal-Toronto leg.

 

I am aware of the Canadian Railway Museum in Montreal and the Charlevoix Railway in Quebec, but what other railway sights (both museum and mainline or preserved) and model shops in/around those cities are recommended?

 

 

[Nova Scotian]

Grab a steamwhistle beer from the old roundhouse in Toronto.

[brossard]

Do you mean this?:

 

https://exporail.org/en/home/

 

Well worth a visit I think.  Alas, both Dominion of Canada and Waddon have been relegated to a back shed.

 

John

[BR60103]

The Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa used to be good.  I haven't been there for years.

 

Railway museum at Union Station in Toronto, but part has degenerated into a brewery.

 

Are you limited to public transit? There are a few shops and museums around Toronto but not on transit. George's Trains and Credit Valley Railway.  

 

 

 

[mdvle]

7 hours ago, TT-Pete said:

I am aware of the Canadian Railway Museum in Montreal and the Charlevoix Railway in Quebec, but what other railway sights (both museum and mainline or preserved) and model shops in/around those cities are recommended?

 

There won't be a lot compared to the UK, and what does exist will be inconvenient to get to by transit in most cases if not car only.  Whether driving or taking transit Google Maps will be your friend in planning either routes or transit options.

 

Toronto area stuff.

 

Hobby Shops.

• Credit Valley Railway (Mississauga) https://www.cvrco.ca/
• Georges Trains (Markham) https://www.georgestrains.com/

If you go to Georges Trains then note that Rapido Trains Galactic HQ is across the street from them.

 

Museum.

 

Not a lot of choice.  The Toronto Railway Museum tries but the city doesn't really help - most of the former CP John Street Roundhouse has been leased out to the above mentioned brewery and a restaurant/entertainment venue.  The good news is that they are surrounded by other things that may be of interest depending on family/etc. like the CN Tower.  Skywalk is an enclosed walkway that take your over the west end throat of Union Station and can be useful for some GO Train watching (but not for photography).

 

If you have access to a car the Halton County Radial Railway may be of interest though it has been decades since I have visited. https://hcry.org/

 

Trains

 

Can't help with good places for railfanning.  If you are in Toronto on a weekend and if they still offer it GO Transit have day/weekend passes that are a good deal (requires a smart phone with data access to activate/show the e-ticket) - $10 for the day or $15 for a weekend for unlimited travel between 2 points.  During the summer this can get you to/from Niagara Falls from Toronto for example and there are also bus passes available at Niagara Falls.  If kids are with currently kids 12 and under travel free on GO Transit.

https://www.gotransit.com/en/travelling-with-us/promotions-and-events/weekend-passes-with-go

https://www.gotransit.com/en/travelling-with-us/promotions-and-events/kidsgofree

 

Kids 12 and under also travel for free on the TTC.

 

TTC.

 

Number of surface routes using streetcars.  Subway Line 2 (Bloor/Danforth) uses older trains that have a view out the front of the train (driver cab is half width) so you can watch the track/signals as the train operates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TT-Pete]

Thanks for the many replies.

 

5 hours ago, BR60103 said:

Are you limited to public transit? There are a few shops and museums around Toronto but not on transit. George's Trains and Credit Valley Railway. 

 

I am looking to to do similar as we did on our honeymoon in Alberta/BC a few years back; a combination of rail travel and car hire driving cross-country, only in Ontario/Quebec this time. Car hire would start in Toronto and then drive to Quebec City via Ottawa, so if there are any intersting bits along that corridor...

 

12 hours ago, brossard said:

https://exporail.org/en/home/

 

Well worth a visit I think.  Alas, both Dominion of Canada and Waddon have been relegated to a back shed.

 

Indeed.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Railway_Museum

 

I missed The Gathering when the Streak was over here a while back, so back of a shed it will have to be.

 

5 hours ago, BR60103 said:

Railway museum at Union Station in Toronto, but part has degenerated into a brewery.

 

Trains + Beer? A winning combination! :^)

 

5 hours ago, mdvle said:

The good news is that they are surrounded by other things that may be of interest depending on family/etc. like the CN Tower.  Skywalk is an enclosed walkway that take your over the west end throat of Union Station and can be useful for some GO Train watching (but not for photography).

 

I find that there is a "Golden number" in the ratio of train-related v.s retail shopping opportunities for Madame reqiured in order to maintain marital equilibrium, and so our trips are usually carefully-planned by studying street plans, urban transit maps, museum/shop hours etc. on line - I remember depositing my new bride at a glitzy Mall and then sprinting several blocks to get to the train store in Calgary before it shut. :^)  

 

A lot of detail there to work through, thanks. CN Tower, check.

 

I appreciate distances in Canada, I remember planning the last trip, looking at the map and thinking "Oh look, Medicine Hat is just down the the road from Calgary, right next door to it in fact. We could "pop" by and take a quick look." (checks distance against map scale) "ooooof for a 6 hour round trip!!"

 

A few snaps from last time:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Johann Marsbar]

1 hour ago, TT-Pete said:

Trains + Beer? A winning combination! :^)

 

 

I just hope they have increased their range of beers since I last went in the place, as they had the grand total of one beer style available - a Pilsner Lager - that wasn't particularly exciting either!

 

Having just looked at their website, that still seems to be all they produce.....   https://steamwhistle.ca/our-beer

[mdvle]

9 hours ago, TT-Pete said:

I find that there is a "Golden number" in the ratio of train-related v.s retail shopping opportunities for Madame reqiured in order to maintain marital equilibrium, and so our trips are usually carefully-planned by studying street plans, urban transit maps, museum/shop hours etc. on line - I remember depositing my new bride at a glitzy Mall and then sprinting several blocks to get to the train store in Calgary before it shut. :^)  

 

There is a nice shopping multi-level shopping mall in downtown Toronto - The Eaton Centre - located on the west side of Yonge Street between Queen and Dundas.  Added bonus is a large Hudson Bay store across Queen Street from the Eaton Centre.  This is all a short subway ride (2 stops) or 20 minute walk from Union Station if one wants to split up.  (also nearby - 5 minute walk from the Eaton Centre - is Toronto City Hall/Nathan Phillips Square with the popular "Toronto" sign people like to take pictures/selfies of.

 

 

 

[dibber25]

Good train watching from the end of the Skywalk (adjacent to CN Tower) - see picture below - but its all passenger trains. There's a footpath close to the line side all the way to the GO Transit sidings. Credit Valley model shop is well worth a visit but its a bus ride and then a 20-minute walk from where the bus stops. I last did it in 2018 but I think I'm too old (at 75) to attempt it now. There's usually several vehicles and locos to be seen parked around the John Street roundhouse and the preserved railway out at Uxbridge is worth a visit (a bus ride out from the city) but pick a day when trains are running. (CJL)

[BR60103]

What does SWMBO like to do?

 

Operating museums within an hour of Toronto (depending on traffic):

South Simcoe Railway has steam and old diesels. Tottenham aka New Tecumseth.

Halton County Radial Railway is Streetcars and electric.  Rockwood.

Both Northwest of Toronto. 

York-Durham Heritage Railway in Uxbridge Northeast of Toronto.

 

Museum in Smiths Falls near Ottawa -- not been there.

 

Sixty years ago Canadian National built a bypass line around Toronto.  That left a 2 to 4 track line along the lake with negligible freight traffic. The government looked at it and said "we can buy a bunch of passenger cars and run a suburban service much cheaper than adding four lanes to the expressway."  This became GO Transit (Government of Ontario).

 

[mdvle]

15 hours ago, dibber25 said:

Credit Valley model shop is well worth a visit but its a bus ride and then a 20-minute walk from where the bus stops. I last did it in 2018 but I think I'm too old (at 75) to attempt it now.

 

True Mon-Fri for transit but on Saturdays there is a bus that stops right in front of their location (the 38A, as Miway doesn't serve the industrial area north of the 401 on weekends).

 

But also worth mentioning to check the opening hours of any of these things before heading out - Credit Valley currently is only open 10am to 3pm Tuesday to Saturday.

 

 

[brossard]

I'm not so sure about the benefits of visiting B&M hobby shops anymore.  The last mainstream hobby shop (Hobby Junction) in Montreal closed down in March.  The guys in the club said they thought that there might be another located in someone's basement, not ideal.

 

These days, if there is something you want, I think it better to mail order from the likes of Otter Valley, Georges Trains and Sunward Hobbies.  There's also Hobby Wholesale out west.  I have used all these and they are quite efficient.  However, if you want the adventure of finding hobby shops, go for it. 

 

When I visited the UK in the 90's for work (very often), I tried to find the time to explore the regions hobby shops.  Back then there were a fair few although I frequently got "sorry, we're out of stock, can you come back next week?"  I suspect a lot have gone by now.

 

Happy hunting.

 

John

Edited September 5, 2022 by brossard

[davknigh]

If you are looking for railway supplies or new and second hand goods check to see if there is a train show on in the area. Shows have replaced shops these days. A lineup can be found on this page near the bottom.

 

https://www.cvrco.ca/shows

 

Cheers,

 

David

 

 

[mdvle]

7 hours ago, brossard said:

I'm not so sure about the benefits of visiting B&M hobby shops anymore.

 

I think it depends on who is running the model train shop and thus how they run it.

 

My local store is Credit Valley Railway and it is a large store located in an industrial area (hence cheaper rent) and stocks a large variety of items to browse on the shelves and display cases (there about us page(*) on their website indicates 5,000+ square feet of space and 35,000 items).

 

A store like that is often worth visiting and will be a very different experience then a smaller store without the space or capital to stock a variety of items.

 

* - https://www.cvrco.ca/whopage

 

[Nova Scotian]

On distances - I had a panicked message from a family member last night, but Saskatchewan is 2500 miles away...

 

Great Hobbies has stores in Oshawa and Ottawa. I was disappointed by their train selection when I went into their PEI one. However, if you have an interest in remote controlled, or plastic kits etc it might be interesting.