After several tourist rail trips this year in the span of a few months, I could probably be described as a bit of a rail fan. First it was the train ride from Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania through the Lehigh Gorge on May 31, then it was the Flamsbana Railway a few weeks later through the mountains of Norway. I’ve also taken the historic Kuranda Scenic Railway through the rainforests of Australia, and the Hershey Electric Train in Cuba, among others.
I’ll take regular passenger trains, too, wherever I can, but it’s not the same as taking an historic train that isn’t used for transportation. For one thing, historic trains go to a point and turn around, which means whatever photo opportunities you missed the first time get a second chance.
I had no idea the South Simcoe Railway existed until yesterday, when it was posted in a forum as a Sunday expedition, but I couldn’t go tomorrow so I decided to go today. I sent messages around to some fellow Flickr photogs, but no-one I knew was able to make it. At 8pm I posted a notice in Craigslist for photographers to come along, and the messages started to pour in…
Which is how this morning I arranged to pick up three others — random Craigslisters — and drove north to Tottenham to catch a train rolling through the Ontario countryside at a relaxing pace of 12 miles an hour. But, enough talk, let’s see some pictures!
