This dramatic scene was captured by St. Catharines Standard photographers in February 1940 after a CNER freight train slipped from its tracks just moments after leaving the yard further east on Welland Avenue. A faulty switcher was blamed for the accident. The accident involved a parked car and snapped the hydro pole which then hung suspended from the wires carrying electricity and the fire department alarm system.
This dramatic scene was captured by St. Catharines Standard photographers in February 1940 after a CNER freight train slipped from its tracks just moments after leaving the yard further east on Welland Avenue. A faulty switcher was blamed for the accident. The accident involved a parked car and snapped the hydro pole which then hung suspended from the wires carrying electricity and the fire department alarm system.
The GTR (Grand Trunk Railway) Station and Yard
The presence of freight rail at Welland Avenue dates to the 1860s when the Welland Railway, a companion of the Welland Canal, opened a station and moved goods between Port Dalhousie, through St. Catharines, to Merritton, Welland, and Port Colborne.
The hub of rail activity in the downtown, rail lines emanated from the Welland Avenue yard like spiders legs, serving several nearby industries and connecting canal-side towns to the main Great Western (later Canadian National) line. The Welland Avenue yard was very busy in the age of coal heating and was a major distribution point for coal, wood, and fuel oil until the 1950s.
Very little evidence of the rail yard remains. It was mostly converted to commercial and residential areas, with Welland Avenue much wider than it used to be. The new Niagara Regional Police building sits on part of the old yard, and the plaza housing Giant Tiger down the street replaced the CNER service garage in the mid-1960s.
Very little of the former Welland Railway remains in the downtown. The last remaining line was last operated in late 2023 when GIO Railway, operating the line owned by Canadian National, announced it would no longer service the line north of its yard in Welland, Ontario. The remaining trackage through the Queenston Neighbourhood is slowly being removed as new housing is built.
CNER Station
The CNER opened its interurban passenger terminal in 1924 at the yard, formalizing and modernizing passenger service around St. Catharines and Niagara. The station was built to house the offices of the Niagara, St. Catharines, and Toronto Railway (NS&T) which was later bought by the Canadian National Electric Railway. Six roofed platforms accommodated passengers and access to all tracks was controlled by the Niagara Street Tower to the east of the station in the middle of the Welland Avenue rail yard.
The previous station on St. Paul Street at Garden Park (then Mary Street) was too small to accommodate interurban services. Unfortunately, with no efficient transfer service, passengers had to pay twice to reach city destinations from their interurban trip. This problem was never solved and the station never reached its potential.
There’s More to the Story
Check out the entire History InSite installation across Merritton, downtown St. Catharines and in Port Dalhousie.
About History InSite
A permanent, site specific installation, History InSite juxtaposes historical photographs with modern streetscapes by presenting the photo in, or close to, the place which it was taken.
St. Catharines has a rich photographic history and when compared to the changing streetscapes around the City, that history becomes much more meaningful, poignant, and relevant to our modern eyes.
The Downtown series was installed in July 2021. The Port Dalhousie series was installed in May 2022. The Merritton series was installed in May 2023.
History InSite is presented by the St. Catharines Museum & Welland Canals Centre.
Graffiti Report
If you spot any graffiti on our purple History InSite signs, please send us a message.