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TRAINS AND RAILWAYS

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY AND THE GRAND TRUNK SYSTEM

In Niagara, one of the greatest factors influencing change was the introduction of new modes of transportation. In 1845 the Great Western Railway added St. Catharines, Beamsville and Grimsby to its schedule.

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Portion of the 1928 Fire Insurance Maps showing the Train Station Located Beside the Rail Lines
April 1928
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Risk Management Services
Grimsby Museum Collection

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Grimsby's first train station was built in 1855. In the early 1880's all of the fruit sent from the district was loaded onto regular passenger trains, in the morning and evening. Most of the express rail fruit shipments were handled by the American Express Company and Henry E. Nelles was the local agent for that company. He employed Edward Lawrence to handle the express shipments and bill the farmers for fruit brought for shipping. In August of 1881 the American Express Company decided to put a fruit freight car on regular trains.

In 1882 the Great West Railway was acquired by the Grand Trunk Railway and later by the Canadian National Railways. In the 1890's a train was designated specifically for fruit and eventually a second train was added for convenience to the growers. The second station, built around 1900, was larger than the original and a second rail line was added to accommodate the increase in shipping. The first station was moved back from the tracks and was used by fruit shippers as a warehouse and office.

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Grimsby's First Train Station
19th Century, Circa 1895
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Grimsby Museum Collection

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Grimsby's Second Train Station
20th Century, Circa 1970
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Grimsby Museum Collection

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Grimsby's Fruit Shipping Shed
1914 - 1915
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Grimsby Museum Collection

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Baskets Piled Up at the Grand Trunk Railway Station
20th Century, Circa 1905
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Post, Fred

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Anne Bridgman Describes the Fruit Train
4 October 2008
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Bridgman, Anne
Grimsby Museum Collection

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Lew Puddicombe Discusses the Fruit Train and Shipping Fruit
2 October 2008
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Puddicombe, Lew
Grimsby Museum Collection

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Jean Peterson (nee Nelles) Describes the Rush to Get the Fruit from Nelles Farm to the Fruit Train
7 October 2008
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Peterson, Jean
Grimsby Museum Collection

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When Nature Smiles - The Fruit Platform and the H. G. & B. Railway
20th Century, Circa 1918
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Produced By the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau, Circa 1918. Copyright: National Film Board of Canada

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In 1914, a spur line was added to service the cold storage facility on Livingston Avenue. The fruit was cooled inside the plant and the spur line allowed the fruit to be moved from the cold rooms directly onto the refrigerated train cars. The railway provided the quickest way for farmers to ship the fruit to customers. The second Grimsby train station closed officially in 1964 and it was destroyed by fire in 1994.

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E. D. SMITH INVENTS THE BLOWER CAR

In 1881, Senator E. D. Smith invented and built the first blower car for shipping fruit by train. Previously train cars were packed with ice and had drainage in the floor to allow the water from melting ice to escape. In his modified railway car, E. D Smith continued to use ice, cut from his pond in winter. The blower car was equipped with a fan that blew across the ice, cooling the air and working like a refrigerator. This new train car allowed fruits to be shipped for longer periods of time and over greater distances without spoilage. Farmers' profits increased because of a decrease in spoiled fruit.

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Llewellyn Smith Describes the Blower Car Invented By E. D. Smith
10 February 2009
Train Station, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Smith, Llewellyn
Grimsby Museum Collection