A Ride on the South Simcoe Railway

A few weeks ago was my father's 84th birthday and to celebrate we took him for a ride on the South Simcoe steam train and then out for dinner. It was a very fitting expedition as my Dad is quite the train buff. My father's father worked for both the Canadian National and the Canadian Pacific Railways as a locomotive foreman and was in charge of the engine repairs. The railway was always part of their lives.

This wasn't just any old train ride though. No sir, this was a ride in a vintage coach pulled by a 130-year old steam locomotive. Not only is the engine historic, but it is also famous having appeared in several TV shows and movies including (after adding a different smoke stack and numbers) The National Dream back in 1973.  Anyone else remember watching The National Dream TV series that was narrated by Pierre Berton and dramatized the building of the railway that joined Canada from sea to sea (or am I just showing my age that I remember sitting down as a family to watch it)? 

Heritage Canada

The South Simcoe Steam Railway is about an hour north of Toronto in Tottenham.  It is well worth the drive as the train is such a lovely way to travel through the countryside. The entire trip lasts about 50 minutes and is narrated by an interesting and informative conductor.  

One of the things that really caught my eye were how many apple trees were growing along the train embankment. They were loaded with huge apples and had me dying to go back and pick a bag or two of them.  

And of course there was cake and of course it was decorated with something train related. Everyone needs a caboose pencil sharpener, right?  Happy birthday Dad!

Summer is winding down (sniff, sniff).  I still have one more trip to the cottage planned for next week and then it is home to help the middle and youngest pack for university and take them to the airport (double sniff, sniff).  I still have a few summer posts planned so I'm going to write them even if school has started, the leaves are starting to turn, and the temperatures are dropping.  Okay? Okay.