From Randy K.
Mileage 99
I grew up in Marathon, attended University in southern Ontario from 79 to 84. Most of the time we students from many Lake Superior communities took the VIA passenger train south and north to get to or from school. There were some good parties on the train, I remember having drinks in the baggage car with a one-armed man who looked after the baggage car. Sometimes the Conductor would put all of the partying students( Nipigon, Red Rock, Schreiber, Terrace Bay, White River) in one coach car and lock the doors. At Christmas time there would usually be 20 or 25 students on the train.
As you may or may not be aware, a westbound Montreal train and a westbound Toronto train would be put together in Sudbury. This usually left enough time for a couple or three beers to be consumed at the Lido, which was across the street from the train station. During one trip from Toronto to Marathon I overheard the following conversation in the bar car north of Sudbury:
The story was from a retired Conductor( had a free rail pass), from Montreal who was westbound. He recounted a story of being a Conductor during WWII on a westbound trip. During the trip west of Foleyet the Conductor struck up a conversation with two travelling soldiers. One expressed an interest of riding in a caboose, something that he'd always wished for as a boy. At that time, a caboose used to be attached to the rear of passenger trains. The Conductor said that at the next stop( White River), he'd let the two soldiers ride in the caboose. At White River the Conductor and the two soldiers boarded the caboose along with the brakeman. The four men took seats in the upper part of the caboose( not sure of the proper name), with the Conductor and brakeman facing the engine, and the two soldiers facing the rear. As they reached Mileage 99( Jackfish), the brakeman noticed a chain hanging down over the passenger cars( chain was for the water spout or coal I think), he yelled, jumped up and he and the Conductor grabbed the two soldiers and threw them down. The chain tore the top off of the caboose.
Jackfish was a spot that had a wharf on Lake Superior for offloading coal for locomotives. I'm not sure when Jackfish was shutdown. I knew exactly where Mileage 99 was since I had visited there with my Dad when I was young, we'd go looking through the old fallen-down houses, some people found old photo negatives from the '30's. When I went to Jackfish in the 70's, the water tower( concrete structure) was still standing. Some people turned these homes into summer camps( or cottages, depending upon where you're from in Northern Ontario).
Randy
Mileage 99
I grew up in Marathon, attended University in southern Ontario from 79 to 84. Most of the time we students from many Lake Superior communities took the VIA passenger train south and north to get to or from school. There were some good parties on the train, I remember having drinks in the baggage car with a one-armed man who looked after the baggage car. Sometimes the Conductor would put all of the partying students( Nipigon, Red Rock, Schreiber, Terrace Bay, White River) in one coach car and lock the doors. At Christmas time there would usually be 20 or 25 students on the train.
As you may or may not be aware, a westbound Montreal train and a westbound Toronto train would be put together in Sudbury. This usually left enough time for a couple or three beers to be consumed at the Lido, which was across the street from the train station. During one trip from Toronto to Marathon I overheard the following conversation in the bar car north of Sudbury:
The story was from a retired Conductor( had a free rail pass), from Montreal who was westbound. He recounted a story of being a Conductor during WWII on a westbound trip. During the trip west of Foleyet the Conductor struck up a conversation with two travelling soldiers. One expressed an interest of riding in a caboose, something that he'd always wished for as a boy. At that time, a caboose used to be attached to the rear of passenger trains. The Conductor said that at the next stop( White River), he'd let the two soldiers ride in the caboose. At White River the Conductor and the two soldiers boarded the caboose along with the brakeman. The four men took seats in the upper part of the caboose( not sure of the proper name), with the Conductor and brakeman facing the engine, and the two soldiers facing the rear. As they reached Mileage 99( Jackfish), the brakeman noticed a chain hanging down over the passenger cars( chain was for the water spout or coal I think), he yelled, jumped up and he and the Conductor grabbed the two soldiers and threw them down. The chain tore the top off of the caboose.
Jackfish was a spot that had a wharf on Lake Superior for offloading coal for locomotives. I'm not sure when Jackfish was shutdown. I knew exactly where Mileage 99 was since I had visited there with my Dad when I was young, we'd go looking through the old fallen-down houses, some people found old photo negatives from the '30's. When I went to Jackfish in the 70's, the water tower( concrete structure) was still standing. Some people turned these homes into summer camps( or cottages, depending upon where you're from in Northern Ontario).
Randy