View source for South Simcoe Railway

{{Short description|Heritage railway in Ontario, Canada}}
{{Infobox Heritage Railway
| name       = South Simcoe Railway 
| marks      = 
| other_name =
| logo       = South Simcoe Railway Logo 113 156.png
| logo_width = 100
| image      =
| caption    =
| locale     = [[Ontario]]
| map        =  
| mapsize    =
| terminus   = [[Tottenham, Ontario|Tottenham]]<br>[[Beeton]]
| linename   =
| builtby    =
| originalgauge  = {{RailGauge|56.5 in}}
| originalrack   =
| originalelec   =
| preservedgauge = {{RailGauge|56.5 in}}
| preservedrack  =
| preservedelec  = 
| era        =
| owned      =
| operator   = 
| stations   = 1
| length     = {{convert|4.7|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| originalopen =
| closed     = 
| stageyears = 
| stage      =
| years      =
| events     =
| years1     = 
| headquarters = [[Tottenham, Ontario|Tottenham]], Ontario 
| website      = [http://www.southsimcoerailway.ca/ southsimcoerailway.ca]
}}
The '''South Simcoe Railway''' is a steam [[heritage railway]] in [[Tottenham, Ontario]], Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southsimcoerailway.ca/|title=South Simcoe Railway|website=www.southsimcoerailway.ca}}</ref> Founded in 1992, the railway operates scenic rail excursions in the Beeton Creek valley of southern Ontario. It is the oldest operating steam heritage railway in Ontario and has the second-oldest operating steam locomotive in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://users.eastlink.ca/~othen/steamimp/steamimp.html|title=Operating Canadian Steam Trains by Pat & David Othen |website=users.eastlink.ca}}</ref>

==Operations and rolling stock==
{{citations needed|section|date=August 2024}}
Excursions last about 50 minutes over {{convert|4|mi|km}} of track from Tottenham through the scenic Beeton Creek valley to Beeton and back. Although the trains stop in Beeton, passengers cannot disembark, as there is no station there. The railway has plans to add a Beeton station, but as is common with many heritage railways, this sort of project is highly dependent on fundraising.

The railway has two ex-[[Canadian Pacific Railway|Canadian Pacific]] [[steam locomotive]]s, the best known being an 1883 [[Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works]] [[4-4-0]] A2m #136, which was used in the 1970s [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] television series ''[[The National Dream (TV miniseries)|The National Dream]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trha.ca/trha/pierre-berton-and-the-national-dream-part-5-of-10/|title=Pierre Berton and the National Dream – Part 5 of 10 :: Toronto Railway Historical Association|publisher=}}</ref> #136 helped build the [[transcontinental railroad]], the Canadian Pacific, across Canada in the 1880s. The railway also owns a 1912 [[Montreal Locomotive Works]] [[4-6-0]] D10h, ex-CPR #1057, and two road-capable [[diesel locomotive]]s, (ex-Canadian Pacific [[Canadian Locomotive Company]] D-T-C #22 and ex-[[Norfolk Southern]] GE 70-ton [[Diesel-electric transmission|diesel-electric]] #703). Rounding out the collection is a diesel-electric [[Classification yard|yard]] [[switcher locomotive]], [[Ruston-Hornsby]] 165DE #10.

The excursion train is made up of restored 1920s era coaches, previously owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, [[Canadian National Railway]], [[Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway]] and the [[Louisville & Nashville]] Railroad. The railway's equipment collection also includes [[rolling stock]] not used on the excursions, including a former [[Ontario Northland Railway]] business car #200, a combination [[Passenger rail car|passenger]]/[[Baggage car|baggage coach]] used as a museum, two wooden [[caboose]]s, one steel wide-vision ex-CPR caboose, a [[Hopper car|ballast car]], various [[boxcar]]s, [[flat car]]s, and [[steam generator car]]s.

Regular excursions operate from the May long weekend through to the weekend after Thanksgiving. Excursions feature the conductor's commentary on the scenery, the history of the line, and the place of the railways in Canadian history. Special events during the year include the Easter Express, Halloween Adventure and the Santa Claus Express at Christmas, which have a holiday focus. The [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] series ''[[Shining Time Station]]'' was shot here and at [[Union Station (Toronto)|Union Station]] in Toronto.

==Organization volunteers==
{{citations needed|section|date=August 2024}}
The driving force behind the South Simcoe Railway was the Late Eric "Smitty" Smith, who was the organization's president, Operations Manager and Chief Mechanical Officer. He began his dedicated service to the South Simcoe Railway in 1991, before its public debut. For several decades, he oversaw all aspects of the operation of the railway and its volunteer members. Mr. Smith passed away in December of 2024.

The excursion trains are operated by volunteers who have taken their training regarding all aspects of railway operation, and qualified as flagmen, trainmen, conductors, firemen or locomotive engineers.   All volunteers with operational qualifications haven written their Canadian Rail Operating Rules examination and GOI examination, and are required to regularly re-qualify.

Maintenance and restoration activities are also carried out by volunteers. This includes track, right-of-way, site and property maintenance, locomotive maintenance and repair, and coach maintenance, cleaning and repair.

Operational and restoration activities are managed and supervised by volunteer foremen, department managers and the board of directors; in all cases, these managers and directors are also active volunteers who take on roles in the day-to-day operation of the Railway.

==Restoration==
Engine #136 was returned to service in August 2011 after extensive restoration work by the organization's volunteers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.simcoe.com/news-story/2036614-historic-steam-engine-back-on-the-rails/|title=Historic steam engine back on the rails|date=19 August 2011|website=Simcoe.com}}</ref>  As of 2024, the South Simcoe Railway operates excursion trains behind diesel locomotive #703, with steam locomotive #136 currently undergoing planned maintenance. Engine #1057, which had hauled excursion trains since the 2001 season, has been out of service since 2007 awaiting maintenance.

==See also==
{{Portal|Trains|Ontario}}

* [[List of heritage railways in Canada]]
* [[List of museums in Canada]]
* [[List of Ontario railways]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|South Simcoe Railway}}

{{coord|44.02286|N|79.80806|W|format=dms|region:CA-ON_type:railwaystation|display=title}}
{{Canada heritage railways}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Simcoe  Railway}}
[[Category:Rail transport in Simcoe County]]
[[Category:Heritage railways in Ontario]]
[[Category:Standard-gauge railways in Canada]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in Ontario]]