Old Time Trains

Old Time Trains

OSSAWIPPI EXPRESS DINING CARS

210 Mississaga Street East, Orillia, ON

First owned by Jim Allison of Orillia and opened c.1972 located next to CPR Port McNicoll Subdivision. Once the Georgian Bay and Seaboard between Port McNicoll and Bethany Junction (Draneol) connecting to the Ontario and Quebec the original main line from Montreal to Toronto. Both the GB&S and O&Q were early on leased to the CPR. The line broken when 39 miles were abandoned September 7, 1937 between Lindsay and Orillia. The former CPR station remained in use by the Legion situated just east of Ossawippi Express with tracks ending a little farther east. CNR paralleled CPR tracks through here. CPR abandoned the branch from Mile 0.0 Orillia to mile 7.3 Uhthoff effective December 6, 1985. A proposed diesel tourist train Orillia Rail Ride for this seven mile stretch was still-born. Opposite was the 17.5 acre Couchiching Beach Park where a genuine Cagney live-steam park train operated for many years by the Rotary Club of Orillia. Eventually, its boiler became unusable and repairs were decided aginst due to its advanced age. The train was acquired by a private individual who had it restored and it is currently on loan to the Allan Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum in North Tonawanda, New York.
A replacement train of wider gauge was built for the new line of track in the park and is still operated by the Rotary. Other attractions here included boat cruises on Lake Couchiching and a large marina.

Tibor Takas was chef for Allison and later took over ownership following its expansion with three cars from the defunct Leaside Village Station which closed May 29, 1983.

L&PS 4 radial car. Jewett Car Co. 1915
Note: Business car Nova Scotia hidden behind used as main entrance.

1431 ex CP 41 Safety Instruction car. CC&F/CPR 1923

Hungerford (acq. 1986 Leaside) ex CP 65 Vision Test Car nee 12 section 1 drawing room sleeper Hungerford.
Barney & Smith, 1913

Tibor and Margot Takacs

Front cover of folder size 3 3/4 x 8 1/2"

Collection of R. L. Kennedy

Original layout of cars.

Paper placemat. Original size; 9 1/2" x 14" ENLARGE

ENLARGE (Don't strain your eyesight!)

Final layout at its expanded size. Note "Dave Beckett" is ex CP 37 from Leaside ex Cape Mudge.

All material Collection of R. L. Kennedy

New ownership came along following the untimely tragic death of Tibor Takacs in November of 1991.
It was bought in 1992 by Terry McNaughton and a partner who later sold out to McNaughton.
The TV's Food Network program Restaurant Makeover took on a refit of one dining car which
reopened January 1, 2006. (Viewers were not aware of the shared 50/50 cost of $40,000!)
McNaughton carried on for a while however it went bankrupt April 1, 2010. There were no buyers.
Cars laid there for years until finally the City took action to clear out the site for expanded parking.

Two cars (65 and 1431) went to Port McNicoll sitting next to the S S. Keewatin a CPR Great Lakes steamship that had returned June 23, 2012 repatriated from the USA where it had been since it left Port on June 23, 1967! For those 45 years it was a private museum at dock saved from the scrapper by Roland J. Peterson of Douglas, MI. Bought by Skyline Investments developer of a dockside
residential property once owned by the CPR. Development soon stalled and the dining cars
were left to rot finally being scrapped in 2017. The rest of the equipment from Leaside was
likewise scrapped as were the Ossawippi cars except for L&PS 4 which went to OERHA's
Halton County Radial Ry. and DAR business car Nova Scotia to Toronto Railway Museum.

Brochure 4" x 9"

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