Introduction

Continuing our series of articles about Ontario’s lost electric railways, today we’ll be taking a look St. Thomas, the Railway City! This will not be an in-depth history of the London & Port Stanley Railway, but rather a pictorial history of the L&PS and streetcars in St. Thomas.

ST. THOMAS STREET RAILWAY

1879-1926

The city’s first horse-drawn streetcar line opened in 1879, and would eventually be electrified in 1898. The St. Thomas Street Railway Co. was acquired by the City in 1902.

Photograph of St. Thomas streetcar #30 from the Elgin County Archives.

Another shot of St. Thomas streetcar #30.

Talbot St., facing west from Ross St. circa 1900.

“Wilson Ave” streetcar on Wilson Ave. Bridge, photo facing south circa 1901.

St. Thomas Municipal Railway streetcar crosses the L&PS tracks on December 31st, 1915. This photo is from the Library and Archives of Canada.

St. Thomas Municipal Railway streetcar on Ross St. at Wellington St. facing south in 1920.

The streetcar in this photo can be seen turning south from Talbot St. to Ross. This car might be a Loop Line car turning back to the west along Wellington or a Local heading cross-town down Ross to Hemlock. This photo was taken from the YMCA, which used to be on the southeast corner. Thanks Chris Meredith for sharing this photo to the “St. Thomas Railway Heritage” group on Facebook!

Street Railway car barn on Talbot St. at Stanley in 1920.

St. Thomas’s streetcar system was shut down after 47 years on February 12th, 1926, and replaced by buses.

Mural of a St. Thomas streetcar painted on the wall of a building on Talbot St. 2020 photo taken by Museum Volunteer Trevor Parkins-Sciberras.

Another mural of a St. Thomas streetcar painted on the wall of a building on Talbot St. 2020 photo taken by Trevor P.S.

London & Port Stanley (L&PS) Railway

1856-1965

This railway began service with steam trains way back in 1856, and was one of the first railways to be built in Ontario at the time. In 1914 the railway was leased by the City of London, which proceeded to electrify it. The L&PS began electric passenger service on July 1st, 1915.

The first new L&PS electric locomotive to arrive at St. Thomas in June of 1915. This photo was scanned from Frank and Nancy Prothero’s book “Passport to Pleasure: A History of the L&PS Railway.”

The old St. Thomas L&PS station at Kains St. and Station St. in 1916. This was built during the L&PS steam days and replaced in 1920 by Talbot St. Station.

In the summer of 1919, this shelter and ticket kiosk served the L&PS customers in St. Thomas.

New Talbot St. Station under construction shortly before opening in 1920. This photo was scanned from Frank and Nancy Prothero’s book “Passport to Pleasure: A History of the L&PS Railway.”

The new L&PS Talbot St. Station opened in 1920.

Workers clearing snow near St. Thomas circa 1920.

L&PS electric locomotive L3 hauling the R.C.A.F. Troop Train through St. Thomas in March of 1941.

Talbot St. Station circa 1945. This photo is from the collection of Larry Broadbent.

L&PS #16 at St. Thomas Station circa 1950. #16 is now preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum in the USA.

L&PS train approaching Barwick St. in St. Thomas, 1954.

L&PS #8 at New York Central Station in St. Thomas, 1954.

Crossing Ross Street away from NYC Station in St. Thomas. The station still stands to this day as an event and office space. This photo is from the collection of Larry Broadbent.

Ross St. facing east towards the old train station in 2020.

L&PS #2 passing the BX tower as it heads eastbound towards NYC Station. 1954.

Same view in 2020.

Facing south away from Talbot St. Station on Feb. 28th, 1954.

Talbot St. Station, February 28th, 1954.

Talbot St. Station, February 28th, 1954.

L&PS at Talbot St. Station. Photo facing north from Talbot St. in 1955.

L&PS cars #14 and #10 at Tolbot St. Station in September of 1955. L&PS #14 is now preserved at the Elgin County Railway Museum and #10 is at Exporail in Quebec. This photo was taken by R. Cerne and is now in the collection of Larry Broadbent.

Facing north from Talbot St. in 2020.

L&PS L2 heading southbound at Talbot St. Station circa 1955. L2 is now preserved at our museum! This photo is from the collection of Larry Broadbent.

Looking southwest towards Talbot St. Station in 1956.

L&PS train crossing Sunset Drive at the southern end of St. Thomas in 1956. This photo is from the collection of Ryan Belanger.

Facing north across Sunset Drive towards the L&PS Pinafore Yard in 1955.

Facing north across Sunset Drive in 2020.

L&PS Pinafore Yard, located between Elm St. and Sunset Drive in St. Thomas. This photo was taken on August 11th, 1956, and is now in the collection of Larry Broadbent.

L&PS diesel locomotive L4 in 1956.

L&PS #12 crossing the CN Diamond. 1956 photo from the collection of Ryan Belanger.

Fan trip in 1957. Lorne Hymers Collection.

The last day of passenger service on the L&PS was on February 18th, 1957. The electric railway continued with freight operations until that too was ended in the 1960s.

Facing north along the former-L&PS tracks to Kains St. and the old L&PS Station, which was in use as a freight shed at the time.

Both L&PS stations in St. Thomas would eventually be demolished, but the Talbot St. Station was rebuilt as a 2/3 scale replica in 2010 by the Elgin and St. Thomas Homebuilders’ Association. It was relocated to the site of the original station in 2013.

The 2/3 scale replica of L&PS Talbot St. Station, photographed by Trevor P.S. in 2020.

Northern end of the old L&PS tracks just north of Talbot St. Station, facing south in 2020.

We have L&PS electric locomotive L2 and cars #8 and #4 in our museum’s collection.

L&PS #8 at our museum in 2020.

L&PS #4 at our museum in 2020.

Learn more about what is in our museum’s collection here.

Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram where we frequently post new and archival photographs!

The Elgin County Railway Museum

is located in St. Thomas and has L#PS car #14 and locomotive #L1 in their collection. Learn more about the ECRM here!

L&PS interurban #14 undergoing restoration at the Elgin County Railway Museum.

L&PS electric locomotive L1 on display inside Elgin County Railway Museum in 2020.

Scale model of L&PS L1 on a street in St. Thomas. This is a part of a large model railway inside the Elgin County Railway Museum.

You can learn more about the history of the London & Port Stanley Railway here: https://www.pstr.on.ca/history.htm

We also have a Youtube channel featuring colour film footage of the L&PS Railway in the 1950s: https://youtu.be/BYUfHHjlk3w