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economist suntribune in our community thursday aug 8 2002 31 locust hills historic train station preserved at museum railway lines and the sta tions that served them once the arteries that fed our province have been disap pearing for over a century now in a time of exorbitant rates charged by track own ers cn and cp for the pas sage of trains over their tracks it is no wonder that most passenger and freight lines have long ago been deemed uneconomical for some reason railway history has not been widely embraced by canadians despite the prominent role they played in the fortunes of communities across the nation few municipalities seem interested in preserving the legacy of the railways that were instrumental in many cases in bringing them prosperity and which indeli bly shaped their character the township of markham is one notable exception as luck would have it the oqr ran through locust hill and a station was therefore erected to serve the community while the outstanding restoration of the unionville and markham stations are the best known railway preservation projects in the community there is one that predated them by many years and gave the move ment a head of steam so to speak sitting contently on the andrew hind grounds of the markham museum complemented by several vintage train cars is the historic locust hill station residing a few kilometres east of markham along highway 7 locust hill is a tiny hamlet that was never much more than a sleepy farming village yet for near ly a century it boasted a cp rail station the story begins in 1881 cprs stated principle was to develop a comprehensive rail network that spanned the continent and so it seemed prudent to establish branch lines in areas of high traffic potential foremost among those identified as suitable mar kets was southern ontario even then the industrial heartland of the nation and clearly the most populated region in canada in march of that year the ontario and quebec railway oqr was estab lished by cp to build a rail way to extend from the ottawa valley to toronto and hence to the michigan border construction began immediately and by 1884 the line was officially open for business as luck would have it the oqr ran through locust hill and a station was there fore erected to serve the ms lives here multiple sclerosis never hits just one person it affects the entire family 4 multiple sclerosis society of canada 18002687582 wwwmssocietyca this message brought to you as a community service of the economisttribune locust hills original train station built in the late 1800s burned to the ground in 1936 it was replaced by this structure which was saved from demolition after passenger service to the tiny markham hamlet was dis continued in the 1970s this picture shows the station before it was restored and moved to the markham museum historic village on hwy 48 north of 16th avenue photo courtesy markham museum historic village community this original building burnt to the ground in 1936 and was replaced by the structure that currently rests in the museum this marks the station as one of the last rural stations ever built in the classic canadian railway style soon the sterile and uni form structures of moderni ty would begin replacing the more aesthetically pleasing stations of yesteryear after passenger service to locust hill ended in the 1970s the station was no longer needed by the rail road and was therefore slat ed for demolition john lunau then curator of the markham museum spearheaded a drive to save the building and have it moved to the museum grounds by 1983 it was fully restored and the centrepiece of the railway exhibit a suit able end for the attractive structure with three great heritage railway sites the town of markham is one of the rich est cities in ontario this is to the consider able credit of its citizens who embraced the preservation projects and made them possible if only more communi ties had the same passion and foresight history buff andrew hind welcomes your comments at maelstromsympaticoca uxbridge lions smssffissl i8 si over 85 artists s 3 original creations igi t icildrens art project s rt silent auction i entertainers food refreshments elgin park satsim aug 17 18 2002 1000 am 500pm adults 500 children under 16 years free 3v utfville vjjg care cent e ages 18 months to 12 years located at 6601 main street minutes from the go train and directly across from summitview public school government licensed subsidy available school age programme full or part time care to meet your needs prekindergarten and kindergarten curriculum hot nutritious homemade lunch csa approved playgrounds to help your child develop their athletic skills kju open year round 7 am to 6 pm v 5308 hwy 7 fast vipho library 9054710044 v 5970 16th avenue 9052941211