Rails To Goderich is the title of a new book that features the historic Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) line through Guelph, and the Canadian National (CNR) line from Stratford, that ran to Goderich on Lake Huron.
Of particular interest to Wellington Advertiser readers is that among the authors is noted Elora historian and writer Steve Thorning.
The book project was more than 20 years in the making, and Thorning had the instrumental role of researching and writing the early history of these lines, from the 1850s through to the Second World War period.
Thorning scoured countless Newspapers and archives, and with fantastic photos from sources like the Wellington County Museum and Archives, documented the construction of the Canadian Pacific line.
Especi-ally interesting is a section from Guelph to Elmira, including the major accident that occurred when building the bridge across the Grand River at West Montrose.
Goderich area railway historian Dave Hooton then completed the story from post-Second World War, through the late 1980s abandonment of the CPR, and the CNR line’s sale and continued operation today as the Goderich-Exeter Railway.
Thorning helped research and write the early railway history of the new Rails to Goderich book.
Publisher John Mull and Ralph Beaumont brought the book to completion in its final form – a large format hard cover book of 328 pages, with more than 390 historic black and white and colour photos.
The book is available locally at the Wellington County Museum gift shop in Aboyne and at Roxanne’s Reflections bookstore in Fergus, as well as the Bookshelf and Guelph Museum in Guelph.
Rails To Goderich will be a welcome addition to any historian or rail-fan’s library, officials state in a press release.
