Author Archive for Chris Paxton

Last Night’s Meeting

By Chris Paxton on October 31, 2024
Last night was our October meeting which was well attended. It was great to see some new faces as well as some we haven’t seen in a while. We had some fabulous shows by Steve Armstrong and Andy Panko. We saw Steve’s slideshow featuring stunning photos of steam excursions from past decades. Andy shared a show of Reg Button’s historic photos of diesels and steam from a bygone era. Andy also reprised his Thorold hill show which was worth seeing again. In addition we had some great draw prizes including some from Scotty’s Tiny Railroads hobby shop. Gerald ran a book auction as well. We raised $120 from the draw and $45 from the book auction.
Looking forward to seeing many out for the historic rail sights rail tour hosted by Andy on November 14th and many more out for the next meeting November 27th.
Categories : Meetings

October Meeting

By Chris Paxton on October 17, 2024

October 30th @7pm, at the Lock 3 Museum in St. Catharines is the next CRHA Niagara monthly meeting. If you have not already done so, please consider paying your 2025 membership dues at the meeting. You may take advantage of the early payment bonus and receive a 2025 CRHA Niagara calendar with your membership for a package price of $50. This offer expires on October 31st.

Benefits of CRHA Niagara membership

  • Monthly meeting with fellow railfans featuring excellent presentations by members and prominent speakers
  • Notifications of group outings with fellow members
  • Group walking tours with fellow members to historic railway sites
  • Advice from fellow members on photography and rail history
  • Frequent email contact, from fellow members, often with photos or video, featuring sites visited, experiences, and rail history .
  • Opportunity to participate in the outstanding historic plaque programme conducted by CRHA Niagara.
  • Direct contact with CRHA/Exporail through CRHA Board member Andy Panko.
  • Camaraderie and friendships created by contact with fellow CRHA Niagara members.

Membership fee for 2025         $30.00 (Unchanged)

Early payment bonus – for membership paid no later than October 31, 2024
Membership                              $30.00
2025 CRHA Niagara Calendar $20.00 (regular price $25.00)
Total                                           $50.00


The 2025 CRHA Niagara calendar is really an album of rare historic rail photos and their stories.

Methods of Payment

  1. Cash to Paul Chapman or Chris Paxton at the next monthly meeting
  2. Interac etransfer to crhaniagara@gmail.com
  3. cheque payable to CRHA Niagara address: 72 Hillcrest Avenue, St. Catharines, ON, L2R 4Y1

Membership must be paid no later than January 31st, 2025 to continue all the benefits.

We look forward to seeing you as we start the next exciting year at CRHA Niagara. Meetings are at 7:00 PM, the last Wednesday of each month, from September to May, except December, at the Lock 3 Museum in St. Catharines. Meetings are “hybrid”, that is by Zoom link, and face-to-face, unless it is clear there is an impending winter storm.

Categories : Announcements

The 2025 Calendar Is Now available

By Chris Paxton on October 16, 2024

The 14th annual edition of CRHA Niagara Division’s excellent calendars are available. Check them out on our calendar page.

Categories : Calendars

September Meeting

By Chris Paxton on September 12, 2024

September 25th marks the start on the next year of CRHA Niagara monthly meetings. It is also time to renew your membership, or join if you are not yet a member.

Benefits of CRHA Niagara membership

  • Monthly meeting with fellow railfans featuring excellent presentations by members and prominent speakers
  • Notifications of group outings with fellow members
  • Group walking tours with fellow members to historic railway sites
  • Advice from fellow members on photography and rail history
  • Frequent email contact, from fellow members, often with photos or video, featuring sites visited, experiences, and rail history .
  • Opportunity to participate in the outstanding historic plaque programme conducted by CRHA Niagara.
  • Direct contact with CRHA/Exporail through CRHA Board member Andy Panko.
  • Camaraderie and friendships created by contact with fellow CRHA Niagara members.

Membership fee for 2025         $30.00 (Unchanged)

Early payment bonus – for membership paid no later than October 31, 2024
Membership                              $30.00
2025 CRHA Niagara Calendar $20.00 (regular price $25.00)
Total                                           $50.00


The 2025 CRHA Niagara calendar is really an album of rare historic rail photos and their stories.

Methods of Payment

  1. Cash to Paul Chapman or Chris Paxton at the next monthly meeting
  2. Interac etransfer to crhaniagara@gmail.com
  3. cheque payable to CRHA Niagara address: 72 Hillcrest Avenue, St. Catharines, ON, L2R 4Y1

Membership must be paid no later than January 31st, 2025 to continue all the benefits.

We look forward to seeing you as we start the next exciting year at CRHA Niagara. Meetings are at 7:00 PM, the last Wednesday of each month, from September to May, except December, at the Lock 3 Museum in St. Catharines. Meetings are “hybrid”, that is by Zoom link, and face-to-face, unless it is clear there is an impending winter storm.

Categories : Announcements

Railroad Night

By Chris Paxton on September 8, 2024

Are you interested in local railway history, or a model railroader?

Canadian Railroad Historical Association (Niagara Division) and Tiny Railroads present

Railroad Night

Wednesday, September 25, at 7 pm

Lock 3 Museum, Welland Canals Parkway @ Lock 3, St. Catharines

Feature Presentation by model railroader/historian Terry Hughes on
‘How Model Railroading Can Advance
Our Local Railway Heritage’
(a ‘must see’ -the connection between model railroading and Niagara railway history)

PowerPoint presentations also include:

  • Historic NS&T scenes – Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls – 1950s
  • Steam and diesel helpers on the Thorold Hill (1950s to 1970s)
  • ‘Never Shown Before’ – Reg Button’s 1960’s local Ontario photos (CN, CP, TH&B, Wabash)
  • Recent local train happenings – making FUTURE history (July to September 2024)
  • 2025 Niagara railway calendar will be available, still only $25

Luckydraws FREE ADMISSION FREE PARKING Railway Book Auction

CRHA (since 1932), CRHA Niagara Division (since 1978)

Categories : Events, Meetings

Longest Day 2024

By Chris Paxton on July 3, 2024

June 21st, 2024 was the annual Longest Day of train watching attended by several members, including a member from UK. Several photos can be found on this page: June 2024 – Longest Day

Categories : Events

May 2024 Meeting

By Chris Paxton on May 30, 2024

Last night was our May hybrid (in-person and online) meeting and was attend by about twenty plus folks. Many of us started off with a large group at Ricky-Jo’s sharing a meal a great stories. We whisked through the business portion of the meeting and got straight to the presentations. We had four digital shows and one slide show.

We were treated to an excellent show by Andy Panko highlighting the history of the of NS&T main line through Merritton including maps, diagrams and photos. He also covered the history of the Michigan Central line through St. David’s including the story of a cement plant built on the side of the escarpment, again with many photos. He also outlined an upcoming hike planned for mid-October featuring many historic rail sites in the Niagara Falls and St. David’s area.

We then had a wonderful presentation by Glenn Cherry of his recent trip into the US to see and photograph CPKC’s Hudson steam engine 2816 on its tour through western Canada and down into the US. This was followed up by Tammy’s super presentation which overlapped Glenn’s also covering 2816 with additional photos of American short lines. Then Ricahrd Guitar, one of our ZOOM attendees, shared some of his digitized slides of railway scenes from the 1970s.

Finally we had a slide show by Steve Armstrong which featured some very artistic shots of steam excursions from the 1970s. All in all they were all excellent presentations.

The Longest Day is coming up on Friday June 21st where, those that wish to, will gather on the Laking Garden bridge for breakfast and the morning rush of trains. Our BBQ is also planned for July and a GO trip is planned for August so it should be an enjoyable summer. Our next hybrid meeting is scheduled for Wednesday September 25th at the Lock 3 Museum and over ZOOM.

Categories : Meetings

2024 Calendars Almost Gone

By Chris Paxton on April 28, 2024

There are still a few copies left of our excellent 2024 calendar. Email chrisjpaxton@icloud.com to get yours. See the calendar page here for more details.

Categories : Announcements

April Meeting

By Chris Paxton on April 28, 2024

The monthly hybrid meeting was last night at The St. Catharines Museum at Lock 3 with good attendance in person and on line. Plans were discussed for The Longest Day which falls on the Summer Solstice; the CHRA Niagara annual BBQ which is set for July; a GO train trip planned for August and a fall hike set for October. There were great presentations by Glenn Cherry, Dean Brown and Andy Panko. All in all another successful meeting, looking forward to the next one on May 29th. See you then!

Categories : Meetings