George's Trains, Toronto

[dibber25]

I have a stopover on a Monday/Tuesday in Toronto. I'll be staying close to Union Station. George's Trains is closed on Mondays, as is the stage performance of the Railway Children, so I'll be forced to do tourist stuff and go to Niagara Falls. Might get to George's Trains on the Tuesday but will I need a taxi or is it too far? Is there any public transport out to that area from the Union Station area? Never been to Toronto before so don't want to waste time by going on a wild goose chase.

CHRIS LEIGH

[gordon s]

I took a taxi out to George's Trains Chris, but it was a few years back. The other shop worth going to is in Mississauga and thats the Credit Valley Railway Company. Of the two shops, I preferred the Credit Valley, but that may have been because our offices were in Mississauga and it was easier to get to.

 

Either way, your wallet will be considerably lighter after your trip....

 

http://www.cvrco.com/

[Theakerr]

Google Maps is showing it to be about 27km (to the new location). It is a bit of a hike from Union Station and I suspect it will be a significant taxi fare. FYI, they no longer sell UK outline stuff, but there NA line-up is very well covered. I agree that the Credit Valley Line is a good shop although I suspect that is a good run from Union Station.

[Supaned]

Chris, I visited George's Trains a couple of years ago. I used to GO transit bus to Markham GO station and then walked from there , from what I recall it was about a 20 minute walk from there.

 

Google Maps will confirm that my memory hasn't failed me

[PhilH]

When I went to Toronto I was 'persuaded' to go to Mississauga retail outlet mall (you know how it goes...) - we caught a double decker train from Toronto to Mississauga. I remember it was being propelled by a massive locomotive which screamed out of the station at a great rate of knots - very exciting!

 

 

Which is more than can be said for the outlet mall....

[pcc4199]

Depending on the date you will be here, I can offer you a lift from Oakville GO station to/from Credit Valley.

 

Please PM me.

 

Cheers.

 

Andy,

Burlington, Ont.

[GreenDiesel]

I know George's Trains very well. I live in the east end of Toronto (East York) and used to work near their new store in Markham. I could go there on my lunch hours! It's worth going to -- it's also right next to a Canadian National line so you might see some freight trains go by. It's probably one of the best model railway shops in Ontario if not all of Canada. FYI, they only (or mainly) sell Canadian and American model trains.

 

However, going there by taxi could be expensive. You could take public transit but you'd have to find out the route and allow lots of time! It can take only 30 minutes by car but probably well over an hour by public transit.

 

Tonight, my family & I are off to see the Railway Children!

 

Maybe PM me if you have any other questions?

 

Rob

[GreenDiesel]

I also know of two other hobby shops in the east end -- Hornet Hobbies and John's Hobbies.

 

Hornet sells North American and British models and John's sells European and North American.

 

I really like Hornet Hobbies b/c they sell British stuff, lots of used items, have a really good repair service and good supply of paints.

 

Rob

[BR60103]

Chris:

Credit Valley's new location is walking distance from the (new) Lisgar GO station. Day time service is bus only -- first one at 11:20 am and evry 30 min.

http://www.gotransit...tBoard/LGGO.pdf

 

 

George's is now out of Toronto. I would say it is beyond reasonable public transit and you should not consider a taxi unless the company will pay for it.

edit: GO Bus:

http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/en/PDF/Quicktables/UNION/CurrentBoard/MKGO.pdf

 

 

 

Monday the 23rd is Queen Victoria's birthday (celebrated) and most shops should be closed and transit will run on holiday schedules. Fireworks in the evening.

[dibber25]

Thanks for all the help, guys. I've had a very kind offer to take me out to Credit Valley and I'll get to ride a GO train, too! Couldn't be better!

CHRIS LEIGH

[Tom D]

Hi Chris,

 

I hope somebody has made you aware that Monday 24th is a National Holiday in Canada, I would suggest checking ahead of time which stores (if any) would be open on that day. This weekend is the traditional start to summer in Canada and is known Nationaly as the May 24 weekend not because of the date, but because a typical case of beer has 24 bottles/cans!!! (We do like to celebrate summer!!!).

 

There are 2 specific British retailers within 1 hour of Toronto, the 1st is British Trains in Burlington and the 2nd is Model railway Imports in St Catherines. the owner of British Trains operates out of the basement in his house, he has a large inventory of British products, but he also has a large layout which he is only too happy to have people help opeate, while they are deciding what to purchase.

 

I hope the weather when you arrive will be better than it has been for the last 2 months, its done nothing but rain!

 

Best regards,

 

Tom D

[BR60103]

Reading his original post, Chris doesn't say it's this Monday he's coming.

PM me if you need any suggestions about Niagara Falls. ("The second great disappointment of most marriages." O.Wilde) One of my great-great-uncles went over it, I'm told.

[dibber25]

Hi Chris,

 

I hope somebody has made you aware that Monday 24th is a National Holiday in Canada,

There are 2 specific British retailers within 1 hour of Toronto, the 1st is British Trains in Burlington and the 2nd is Model railway Imports in St Catherines. the owner of British Trains operates out of the basement in his house, he has a large inventory of British products, but he also has a large layout which he is only too happy to have people help opeate, while they are deciding what to purchase.

I hope the weather when you arrive will be better than it has been for the last 2 months, its done nothing but rain!

Tom D

 

Thanks. I'm not there till after 24th May but for obvious reasons I don't want to say exactly when I'm going to be away from home.

My interest is in visiting North American model shops for North American models. I can get British stuff easily enough but there's next to no Canadian models available in the UK.

I understand that the weather hasn't been great - my sister tells me of fires in the north and potential floods in Manitoba. We have summer a month early here in glorious Eastern England, we've had no rain for many weeks and there are serious concerns about the crops of veg and cereal which are the main product of this area.

CHRIS LEIGH

[BR60103]

Chris: it's been a bad spring. Last year it came 3 weeks early; this year it's been 2 weeks late.

Cross-country land travel has been affected: the Red River going north is flooding; the Assiniboine coming into it from the west is also flooding. The Mississippi in the US is flooding southward. It's taking most of the month for the Mississippi flood to work it's way from Illinois down to New Orleans.

The bad fires are in northern Alberta.

[trisonic]

I've been living in the 'States since 1989 and this has to have been the nastiest Winter and the wettest Spring out of all of them! We've had torrential rain in the Gotham City area every day for the past 8 days (or so), it's starting to look better for this weekend.

Still the Falls should look good - when I went I thought it was like having Niagara in the middle of Basildon - and that was the Canadian side, I didn't realize that the US side was worse!

 

Btw I think I have sent you all invites to the now re-named USA & Canadian Railroad Group but if not please join, the more the merrier......

 

Best, Pete.

[BR60103]

Toronto - Niagara Falls is one of a very few routes served by 3 railroads. VIA operates an intercity service; one trip each way is operated with Amtrack equipment and goes to New York City. GO Transit also offers a number of trips.

The station is at the river but a long walk from the Falls. There is a "people mover" service that travels along the most interesting part of the river -- from the falls to the whirlpool. It's an on-and-off service for one ticket (I think).

At the falls you have a choice of tortures. You can walk behind the falls (see movie Niagara with M. Monroe) or go down to the river and take a boat for an up close view. Or stand at the side in the mist and watch the water. Just above the falls is an old grounded scow (barge). It lost its tow and was heading over when they finally managed to scuttle it. Some of my family were involved in rescuing the crew.

Most of the falls are on the American side but the best view is from Canada.

Going downstream the river is in a deep canyon. The far side has a few powerplants and ex-powerplants.

Then the whirlpool. The river makes a right angle turn at this point and the water is forced into a tight spin and crosses under itself. There is a device called the Spanish Aerocar that is a cage suspended from cables and crosses over the whirlpool. Both ends are in Canada. My aunt says that when they were kids they were given free rides to convince the cautious that it wasn't that terrifying. (I've never been on it.)

Beyond this are the greenhouses of the Parks Commission and the butterfly conservancy.

The commercial downtown is depressed. The area around the falls is full of opportunities to spend money -- wax museums, casinos.

You probably won't get to see the Hydro canal or tour the power plant it supplies. Past the whirlpool is more open countryside -- our best fruit-growing area and at the end is quaint Niagara-on-the-Lake (Shaw festival and fudge shops). Upstream is also open. You probably won't see it unless you go by car.

Oh, the river flows north.