Fast Track to Fun

The Halton County Radial Railway (HCRR) is Ontario’s first and largest electric railway museum.

Its collection features historic electric railcars including streetcars, locomotives, freight trains, passenger trains and more. Admission includes unlimited historic streetcar rides on two kilometers of scenic track with a stop at the museum’s famous ice cream shop, as well as access to the grounds, display barns and the historic Rockwood Station. There’s also an on-site gift shop stocked with unique railway-inspired finds and tasty treats.

Train fans will get a true sense of the power of steam at this National Historic Site. Housed in a historic waterworks, Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology has lovingly preserved two 70-ton steam engines that are believed to be the oldest surviving Canadian-built engines. While the guided tours, exhibits and various special events are interesting, the museum’s Golden Horseshoe Live Steamer Days held from May through October are a definite can’t-miss for train lovers of all stripes. These special days feature miniature steam engines that visitors can actually catch a ride behind and free guided tours of the museum.

Head to the Hamilton Waterfront for a fun and educational trolley ride that will take you along 12 kilometres of scenic shoreline past active marine and rail operations, marinas, and historic bridges. Forty-seven Discovery Drive is a great starting and ending point for the ride, which lasts just under an hour. When you’re done, stop by Williams Fresh Café or Waterfront Scoops Ice Cream Parlour for a treat.

For a more rural ride, stop in at Puddicombe Farm in Winona, where you can hop on board and enjoy a train ride through fruit fields. Leave time to pick your own fresh in-season fruit, including sweet and sour cherries, blueberries, apples, pears and pumpkins. Thrill your tried-and-true train lovers with an overnight stay in the farm’s very own caboose! The air-conditioned Country Caboose sleeps three and has a fully equipped kitchen and three-piece bathroom.

For a train ride that will make you think you’re in the African Savannah, don’t miss African Lion Safari‘s Nature Boy Scenic Railway. The historic train is pulled throughout the 16-hectare reserve by a miniature replica of an 1863 C.P. Huntington Steam engine, past exotic species from around the world, wild animals and birds native to southern Ontario. The 15-minute ride is included with park admission.

Treat train lovers to some time travel with a visit to Westfield Heritage Village in Rockton. Step inside the historic Jerseyville Railway Station, which was built in 1896 when ten trains a day ran between Hamilton and Brantford. It’s also the same station that was featured in the Anne of Green Gables movie and the Road to Avonlea television series. Be sure to get some pictures with the TH&B 103 Locomotive that’s also on display in the Village. This steam locomotive was originally built in Montreal for the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway and is one of only two that has been preserved.

If you’d like to retrace the route that the old locomotive from Westfield Heritage Village used to cover on the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway, load up your bikes and spend a few hours riding the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail. The former rail line is now a scenic 32-km trail surfaced with stone dust.