Where Trains Once Rumbled

 WHERE TRAINS ONCE RUMBLED  

December 2009/January 2010 issue

 Last year I picked up an episode of The Cisco Kid and a package of Blackjack gum at Ormsby. The source was a curio shop, located in this small community west of Highway 62 near the village of Coe Hill and south of Bancroft. The entire shop was filled to the brim with memories of the past and it wasn’t long before I required the assistance of my debit card before we decided that we had purchased enough that day.
 
While having lunch later that day at a small restaurant in Coe Hill, I mentioned our shopping frenzy to some friends we bumped into, and while all knew of the popular store, few seemed to know much about Ormsby Junction, when I asked. It was scary to think that I must have been older than any of them there at our table! However, they did know about the Coe Hill train station since it is now a concession stand and museum at the Coe Hill fairgrounds. The rail line ran behind much of the village, and I have enjoyed a walk on several occasions along part of its length through the village. The Ormsby Junction tracks were removed in the early 1970s and many of those earlier lines where trains used to puff their way along have become popular snowmobile trails.
 
Last month, my wife and I explored a couple other abandoned rail lines, both of which have become popular shared use trails. The Catartaqui Trail runs from Strathcona to Smith Falls, a distance of 104 kilometres. We have walked all the area from Strathcona to beyond Yarker, and have great aspirations of completing the entire trail, all the way to Smith’s Falls. The trail was opened in 2000, and has 48 access points along its entire route. Train services were discontinued in 1986 and I well remember a train passing through in the late 1970s when I worked for the now defunct Quinte Scanner newspaper out of Deseronto, when I had been assigned to do a feature story on the village of Yarker. The train added a somewhat romantic touch to my story as it made its way through the village, part of the route taking it high over two of the streets of the village.  Today, that same overpass is part of the Cataraqui Trail and was refurbished by the Lennox and Addington Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club who maintain the western portion of the trail up as far as Harrowsmith.
 
Snowmobile clubs have become invaluable partners in these trails and their contribution is evident on many of the trails we walk, including another we explored last month in Tweed. The Trans Canada Trail is a bit longer than the Cataraqui Trail, and according to their website, will be an incredible 18,000 kilometres when completed, winding through every province and territory, linking over 800 communities along its route. It will be the longest trail of its kind in the world. The trail enters Hastings County near Campbellford and heads in an easterly direction via Tweed towards Kaladar. I have been on sections of the trail in the Jack Pine Barrens where it approaches Kaladar. The trail is a year round multi-use route that open in 1995. At Tweed, the trail meanders through some gorgeous countryside including rolling hillsides dotted with erratics, and a delightful mixture of wetlands and both deciduous and coniferous woodlands.
 
There are so many similar trails, some of which we have explored to some degree, but many others that still await us.  The Trail of Two Lakes at Madoc is an interesting section that runs from Madoc south to Moira Lake, and beyond. It passes by several interesting habitats, and at Moira Lake, the trail follows an attractive ridge, high above the rooftops of shoreline homes below, but well below a towering escarpment on the trail’s opposite side. 
 
Do multi-use trails work when so many user groups are involved? While not every hiker or person out for a casual stroll is in favour of the multi-use trail concept, fearful that the silence may be broken any moment by an approaching ATV or snowmobile, many of these trails would not be possible were it not for the generous assistance of local snowmobile and ATV groups. Only very rarely have I ever encountered an ATVer or snowmobiler on these trails who wasn’t thoughtful and courteous. Most have reduced their speed, waved, and in many cases, have indicated how many to expect in their party. This is the way it should be, certainly not a constant war between user groups. There will always be rogue, disrespectful ATVers and snowmobilers. However, as an avid birder and naturalist, I could also write volumes on some of those who walk among us.
 
            While it is sad to see the gradual disappearance of the train as a means of transportation, their disappearances have left in their wake, a boundless opportunity for recreationists. Whether you are an ATVer, a hiker, a snowmobiler or a biker, the important message is to get out there where these abandoned railway lines exist and take advantage of them. Whatever our specific interest, it is clearly evident that collectively we are all outdoor enthusiasts and have limited patience with those who prefer a more sedentary lifestyle. With winter and its special attributes now upon us, these trails offer even greater opportunities for nature photographers, cross country skiers and snowshoe enthusiasts.