Elevated park in St. Thomas a sight to behold
Former railway trestle turned park will be the first of its kind in Canada
More than 600 residents of this town gathered on the first day of legal marijuana sales to get high together.
But it wasn’t the drug that brought them together. They gathered to view the beautiful fall colours in the surrounding countryside to be viewed from high up on Canada’s first elevated park.
It’s now a partially completed public park, but it was built in 1929 as an 855-foot-long railway trestle to carry the Central Michigan Railway110 feet above the Kettle Creek Valley on the west side of Canada’s Railway Town. The last train rolled across the double-tracked bridge in 1996 and it then sat idle for 17 years while demolition firms sent proposals to its owner — a local land developer — to have it dismantled.
But the developer wanted it to survive and offered it free to the City of St. Thomas. St. Thomas said “no thanks”, thinking about future maintenance costs. However, an organization of local volunteers called On Track stepped forward in 2013 and purchased the unique bridge for $116,000 and started a campaign to convert the trestle to Canada’s first elevated park — similar to the Highland Linear Park in New York City.
Security fences now envelope about half of the bridge and that has allowed the public to picnic in the park, walk their dogs, stroll hand in hand or sit and listen to local bands. Eventually the entire park will be classified as safe by their insurance company, says Serge Lavoie, president of the On Track volunteer group.
St. Thomas’ railway heritage. The shortest distance for trains running between Chicago and New York is through southwestern Ontario and St. Thomas is the halfway point.
Several American railway firms, plus principal Canadian lines made St. Thomas a major depot and maintenance centre when railway was king.
The largest sculpture saluting the railway heritage is a 900tonne iron horse — a 1920 iron train crafted by artist-blacksmith Scott McKay of nearby Lawrence Station. His large iron locomotive pulling three railway cars is not in the elevated park, but sits in a roundabout on Sunset Drive, which goes under the park on its way to Port Stanley on Lake Erie.
Two notorious railway incidents in St. Thomas are still talked about today. Jumbo, the world’s largest elephant in captivity, died on the Grand Trunk when he accidentally stepped in front of a passing freight train on Sept. 15, 1885.
Jumbo was in town with the Barnum & Bailey Circus. A fullscale statue of the famous elephant stands today about a block from the elevated park.
Less than two years later a passenger train of the London & Port Stanley Railway Company returning from the popular beaches at Port Stanley collided with a Central Michigan freight train where the lines of the two railway companies crossed at an intersection. The freight train included several cars of crude oil, plus barrels of kerosene.
The resulting explosion and fire killed 15 people, included the American Consul who operated the American Consulate in St. Thomas. He was hit by a horse-drawn fire wagon racing to the scene.
The Central Michigan rail line that ran from Detroit to Buffalo and crossed the bridge is now part of the Trans Canada Trail.
People are being encouraged to sponsor benches, picnic tables, sculptures and flower gardens up on the elevated park. When finished, the linear park will have a wooden floor and of course a spectacular view.