|
Caption: Low November sun brightens the day as train 3806 runs through the heart of Guelph. Waterloo Avenue can be seen below at left.
One of the oldest roads in Guelph, this Waterloo Avenue was once level with the GTR line, and grade crossings (Wilson and Norfolk Streets) existed here. Grade separation came in 1911, coinciding with the construction of Guelph's new station, and coming after lengthy disagreements between the City of Guelph and the railway, including a lawsuit of public nuisance (Guelph Mercury, November 11, 1908) for lack of a new station, and three grade crossings in the downtown core (the third being Wyndham - then Huskisson - Street). A later grade separation in 1965 would create the underpass pictured above for Norfolk Street to continue through.
As seen in the linked image above, rails once ran down the centre of Waterloo Avenue, then called Market Street for a portion. This was one of the first lines of the Guelph Railway Company, later Guelph Radial Railway, founded by brewmaster George Sleeman of the Silvercreek Brewery. This line would also host the railway's car barns at 371 Waterloo Ave. which still stand as apartments today.
A complete Inventory of Shop Tools & Car Equipment of Guelph Radial Railway, December 1920 was recently added to the online archives of the Guelph Civic Museum, providing great technical detail for the roster.
|
Jacob, another great picture by drone. Not only does this aerial shot show an interesting angle of GO 626 , but also good picture of the grand old green residence on Kent St and the one behind it. Most informative comments about this scene, and much appreciate the link to the old picture showing the Guelph Radial Railway right of way along Waterloo Ave. Your picture nicely shows today’s location of Waterloo Ave, Norfolk St underpass and Kent St. And in 1917, I guess the Toronto Suburban Railway interurban cars started running from behind the 1911 GTR station to the west end of Toronto. Did they go underneath the CN/GTR on Norfolk St ? Many thanks for taking this and posting it. John
Thanks John, no drone for this, not a fan of them. A parking garage went up recently and the top level gives a nice angle, though a challenge for good light. Norfolk Street never had any radial service. After the 1911 grade separation Norfolk Street ended here at Kent, which looped around the site of the parking garage to merge onto Wilson Street behind me. See this link for a 1948 aerial view facing the other direction with some CNR action: https://s3.amazonaws.com/pastperfectonline/images/museum_51/156/201484586.jpg
The radial cars ran on Wilson Street, and I’ve linked some TSR shots below:
On Carden Street in front of Old City Hall, with GTR station in background, 1918: https://dynamicmedia.zuza.com/zz/m/original_/9/3/9321821e-7363-4ae2-8a5f-12903a1d5dd3/B88807107Z.1_20190802145153_000_G2MM0KT3.4-0_Super_Portrait.jpg
TSR car with trailer (weekend run) on Carden at Wyndham (Huskisson) Street, GTR station behind photographer, 1923: https://s3.amazonaws.com/pastperfectonline/images/museum_51/113/2009323390.jpg
Radial tracks were still in place beneath Wilson Street as recently as 2016: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/guelph-construction-wilson-streetcar-rail-line-1.3804725
My apologies Jacob, haven’t been to Guelph for some time and didn’t know about the new parking garage. Very nice exposure catching the early morning sun light on GO 626 and bi-level car roofs . Thank you very much for the explanation and the picture of GTR/CNR Wilson St underpass. Also, much appreciate the links to TSR pictures. In Oct 2019, I led a walking/driving tour of Bruce Railway Group members/friends following the TSR right of way the from Halton County Radial Railway museum into Guelph to the GTR Station. Your explanation is very helpful. Thank you and keep up the good work. John OERHA Member #23