Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit

Several years ago, our friend and occasional guest-blogger JetLaggedJaff made a visit to Toronto and the CN Tower , which he was kind enough to share with us.  Recently, we made the trip down to downtown Toronto to visit the Toronto Railway Museum ourselves, which is nestled in the heart of the former Railway Lands , adjacent to the aforementioned CN Tower. For any fan of railway history or urban development, this museum offers a fascinating glimpse into the city’s rich railroading past right in the heart of downtown.  FRRandP photo. Caption from the Toronto Railway Historical Association , "Cape Race was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1929 as the River Liard. The car was one of a series of 15 River cars fabricated at National Steel Car in Hamilton for $66,300 apiece. The opulent interiors were finished at CP’s Angus Shops in Montreal and featured individual ladies’s and gentlemen’s showers, leather-upholstered smoking rooms, ladies’ lounge and observation parlour ...

Wolf Road Prairie is located on the northwest corner of Wolf Road and 31st St in Westchester, IL, and like many of the forest preserves in the Chicago area, there is more to this place than initially meets the eye. It is not very large at just over .1 square miles,  but has an extensive mix of prairie, savanna and wetland and is home to more than 360 native plant species.  (Cook County Forest Preserve) Surrounded by development which is obstructed by fog in this photo, this is a hidden gem of the area. It also has sidewalks that enter the woods. Why would the Cook County Forest Preserve destroy prairie land just to make it easier to walk? The answer is they didn't. The sidewalks hold the clue to what this area was supposed to be; another housing development.  I visited this area in December of 2020, and what was initially a very quiet snow year, that somehow managed to snow during my visit. But that made the pictures I took that much better, I think, as it really expresse...

What a difference two years makes. I say that primarily because about two years ago, we visited the  Model Railroad Garden  at the Chicago Botanic Garden , and I am just now sharing my experience there with you all!  The Model Railroad Garden is an upcharge attraction when visiting the Botanic Garden, which itself used to charge only for parking, but now charges admission per adult, but nonetheless, quite worth it in my opinion, despite its relatively small size in comparison to some of the other exhibits. I first visited the Model Railroad Garden when I was about 10 or so, and it definitely connected my love of trains with the love of the outdoors and picturesque landscapes. The outdoors and manicured gardens offer a sense of realism that many railroad models just can't replicate, but that's not to say I enjoy exhibits like the Museum of Science and Industry's Great Train Story any less interesting. A Santa Fe model in action at the Garden, one of numerous 2 gauge scal...

This weekend, after a long hiatus due to the ongoing pandemic, we finally were able to hit the road and visit the nation's Capital, Washington D.C., as well as many other spots in the Mid-Atlantic Region. On the way back home, we crossed something off my bucket list by going on a railbiking tour. This particular one is located in Frostburg, MD. It's known as Tracks and Yaks , and runs on tracks that are also home to the Western Maryland Scenic Railway for about ten miles east of Frostburg. You ride the rails just east of Frostburg, Maryland on a custom bike.  A portion of the tracks where the GAP Trail crosses the WMSR and railbike right of way. I'm not sure if a better location exists for a rail biking excursion, since the tracks are almost entirely downhill, and exist not only along with the aforementioned WMSR, but are located adjacent to the Great Allegheny Passage Trail, and offer a few opportunities to see bikers and hikers along that trail. Just like the WMSR, it us...