I lived in St. Catharines when I was a teenager, and soon learned that the eastern end of the Niagara Peninsula had once been served by an extensive electric railway system. The Niagara St. Cathrines & Toronto Railway was a CNR subsidiary that operated until 1960: almost 20 years before we moved to the Garden City from Toronto.
Growing up, my first exposure to railways took the form of Toronto’s streetcars (and subways) and I was thrilled to discover the NS&T once provided an ideal blend of transit and traditional freight railroading.
I’ve entertained the idea of modelling the NS&T off an on ever since. Now – decades later – I’m exploring the idea more seriously. I’ve built some equipment and started work on a small layout depicting the railway’s shop complex – which could become the heart of a basement empire under wire.
I’ve shared a number of posts about my NS&T projects, and you can find all of them – from the most recent back to the very first – via the Niagara St. Catharines & Toronto Railway category on this site.
I hope you’ll follow along…
Those wishing to learn more about the Niagara St. Catharines & Toronto Railway can draw on a number of resources. While there are website and groups online, I find myself returning time and again to the following traditional media, presented in order of publication…
The Niagara St. Catharines & Toronto Railway by John M. Mills
The first book I know of on the NS&T, this 118-page softcover volume was jointly published by the Upper Canada Railway Society and the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association. I’m not sure of the publication date, although my copy has a handwritten note on the title page that says simply “December 4, 1971”. There’s no ISBN. It covers the history of the NS&T, its predecessors, and its various components – including the interurban operation, city car lines, navigation company, and bus services.
NS&T by Andrew Panko and Peter Bowen
This 48-page softcover book of photos and captions was published by NiagaRail Publications in 1983 for the Niagara Division of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association. 1,000 copies were printed. There’s no ISBN. It contains a number of full-page pictures, and several not published elsewhere.
Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto Electric Railway in Pictures by Andrew Panko and Peter Bowen
A follow-up to their earlier collaboration, this 144-page hardcover was published by NiagaRail Publications in 1984 (ISBN 0-920184-02-6.) The book features a painting by Anton Akkerman on the cover, and 2,000 were printed. It continues the Panko-Bowen exploration of the NS&T via well-captioned photos – and like their first volume, it includes many large photos of subjects not found elsewhere.
Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto Railway: A Canadian National Electric Railways Subsidiary by John M. Mills
This is a revised and expanded edition of the author’s earlier book – and well worth adding to one’s library. It was published in hardcover and softcover by Railfare / DC Books in 2008 (ISBN: 978-1-897190-28-9 for hardcover and 978-1-897190-27-2 for the paperback.) At the time of this writing, it’s the only book in this list that’s still in print.
As with the first Mills book, this one covers the history of the NS&T, its predecessors, and its various components – including the interurban operation, city car lines, navigation company, and bus services. But at 256 pages, it includes much more – including some 300 photos (50 in colour), maps, histories, rosters, drawings of select pieces of equipment, and so on. If you’re only casually interested in the NS&T or Ontario railway history, this is the one for you. (If you’re a student of the line, you’ll want all four of course!)
Niagara St. Catharines and Toronto Railway: The Little System That Could – GPS Video
This 60-minute movie – published in 2010 – is narrated by Ray Neilson. It includes interviews with author John Mills, as well as a number of rail fans who experienced the NS&T first-hand and captured it on film. It also includes interesting footage of the boats from Toronto, Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie, and other goodies courtesy of the St. Catharines Museum. This is still in publication, and available for order from the publisher. The publisher has also uploaded the entire film to YouTube – a quick search should turn it up.
The Model Railway Show 