Click on the image for a closer look!
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The TRHA is proud to announce that Derek Boles, our Historian, has published a new book entitled “Toronto’s Railway Heritage”. As the book’s cover states:
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“On May 16, 1853, the first passenger train steamed out of Toronto from a wooden depot that was located near the site of today’s Union Station. Over the next century, the railways had a profound impact on the geography and economic fortunes of Toronto and helped transform it from a provincial town into the commercial centre of Canada. To the dismay of many, the railways also swallowed up prime real estate on Toronto’s waterfront and isolated its citizens from Lake Ontario, the city’s most scenic asset. The struggle between the promoters of unfettered railway development and crusaders for public access to the waterfront culminated during the 1920’s with the building of the waterfront railway viaduct and Union Station. This magnificent Beaux-Arts railway terminal is the busiest transportation hub in Canada and is undergoing a $1.5 billion revitalization.”
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Toronto’s Railway Heritage retails for $24.99 and contains 225 images, a relative bargain compared to the cost of many rail books being published today. The images cover a period of about 80 years, from the mid-19th century to 1930. Each image is accompanied by a 60-70 word caption. There is also a 2,600-word capsule history of Toronto’s railways during that period.
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The Author:
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Derek Boles is the historian for the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre and has written and lectured extensively on the railway history of southern Ontario. He publishes the daily ToTyHeritage blog on the Internet and advises the City of Toronto on railway heritage matters. Derek coordinates the annual Doors Open event at Union Station and leads popular monthly tours of the station. He is on the board of Heritage Toronto and is the chair of the Union Station Revitalization Public Advisory Group.
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Note: The book is available from local hobby shops as well as Amazon and Chapters/Indigo
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Posting by Russ Milland