THE LAST TRAIN

 

Exactly 70 years ago this week, the train from Port Perry to Whitby made its last official run. The reason for the trip was to take local school children from Port Perry to the CNE grounds to see the King and Queen during their visit to Canada in May and June 1939.

Zula Hall, of Port Perry, was then seven year old Zula Jackson and she remembers the day with remarkable clarity.

“We were given a flag, a Union Jack, to wave and we had to take a lunch,” she says. “For us it was incredibly exciting. We had seen pictures of the King and Queen in books but this was an opportunity to see them in person. It is difficult for anyone to imagine the excitement, “ she emphasizes.

“It was the first ride in the train for many of us, myself included. I remember that the seats had wooden slats and were quite uncomfortable. It was a cool day,” she recalls, “and we wore spring jackets, but it wasn’t raining so we didn’t need our boots or raincoats.”

“Many parents came along as chaperones, including my dad.”
“Once we arrived at the CNE we sat at the side of the road to wait for the royal couple. I am a short person and we short kids got to sit at the front.”

“We had to stand as the car drove by. I was so excited as the King and Queen were only a few feet away. After they had passed, I realized that I had forgotten to wave my flag.”

“After the motorcade had passed we sat down and had our lunch. We were late in leaving because Maurice Jeffery had left the group and gone to visit a relative in Toronto without telling the teacher and we thought that he was lost. He did return and we made our way back to the station.
Later we were all presented with a medal as a souvenir. I still have mine,” Zula says proudly.

Bill Brock recalls as a six year old, the excitement that had been building. “The Toronto Star Weekly newspaper had been running articles and photos of the Royal family and the plans for the visit for three or four weeks,” Bill recalls. “We were all very much attuned to the Royals at that time,” he adds.

“As a result of Maurice Jeffrey being late I don’t think that we got back to Port Perry until about four in the morning ,” he adds.

Beryl (Cook) Bond was a classmate of Zula’s. She remembers the excitement in the weeks before their journey. “It was really the most exciting day of our lives,” Beryl claims,“ and for me, it was the first and only train ride I have ever had. I have only been back to the CNE once since that time and that was by bus,” she says.

The Griffen family lumber yard was right beside the railway track at the Port Perry waterfront. Ted Griffen was the envy of many boys as he got to sit in the cab of the locomotives as they brought lumber and coal to his father’s lumberyard. But the ride to Toronto was his first real train journey.

“For an eleven year old, the fun was more in the ride than the destination,” he says. “Still, I remember us getting all excited about the King and Queen coming and that we were going to see them.

My mother came along too but for some reason, my brother Jack was unable to go, so later, my father drove him to Zephyr to see the King and Queen as they made a whistle stop and appeared on the back of their railroad car. Great memories of my childhood,” he adds.

Miriam (Peel) Price has a particularly fond memory of the Royal visit. In addition to her memories of the journey to Toronto, she treasures a newspaper article with a faded photograph which cites... “a select shipment of capons for use on the royal train... the dressed capons were provided for the tour by Peel Brothers of Port Perry.”

“That’s my dad,” she says proudly.

The Port Perry to Whitby Junction run is 20 miles. At Whitby the train joined the main line to Toronto. However, on this day the special train travelled non-stop all the way to the CNE station and took over two hours.

The colourful history of the railway dates back to initial proposals in the 1850s but work did not get underway until 1868. The first train ran in 1871. The line was extended through Cresswell to Lindsay in 1876.

The Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway Company was mired in controversy and scandal during the construction period. The railway was poorly built and constantly needed repair. Because of inadequate foundation and ballast, the train’s locomotive frequently sank into the mud on the stretch between High Point and Manchester.

The train became affectionately known as the Nip ‘n Tuck, as it was “nip and tuck” as to whether or not it would make it up the steep grade at the Ridges.

Although reasonably profitable in its early years it was never able to pay the cost of its construction and remained in debt during its entire existence.

In April 1936, the train stopped running from Port Perry to Lindsay but continued a daily freight run from Port Perry to Whitby.

This run carrying Port Perry’s children to Toronto was the railway line’s last. In 1941 the track was torn up so that the iron rails could be used in the war effort.

The last remnant of the railway era is still available to be seen in Port Perry. The station in Palmer Park where the school children gathered on that cool day in May 1939, was lifted from its site, turned 90 degrees and moved back to the west side of Water Street. The original old railway station still exists and can be seen today as the rear section of the building behind Ives Florist.

Paul Arculus
Focus on Scugog