NOTL railway history comes alive with new Delater Street plaque

The latest in a series of plaques commemorating Niagara-on-the-Lake’s rich railroad history has been installed at the Delater Street entrance to the footpath taking walkers to the dock area. 

The third in a series of plaques in the vicinity follows previous installations honouring the locations of the former turntable and engine house located on Turntable Way near River Beach Drive. 

Like the two that came before them, the cost of the plaque was borne by private citizens, this time by members of the Niagara Chapter of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association (CRHA).

Historian and author Peter Mulcaster (Off to Paradise Grove: A Railway History of Niagara-on-the-Lake 1854-1959) has been a member of the CRHA since he began consulting with Ron Simkus, a dock area resident who funded the two previous plaques. 

Mulcaster calls the new installation an “interpretive board”, as it includes photographs and a QR code that users can scan with their phone to learn more. That makes it markedly different than the other two, which are bronze castings. 

He gives credit to CRHA past president and current treasurer Paul Chapman for managing the project for plaque number three. 

“He stickhandled it through all stages,” says Mulcaster. “He raised the funds, too. The cost of these things is significant. I worked with him on the text and the photographs, but Paul did 90 percent of the work behind it.”

Born in Chatham, Chapman calls himself a railroad enthusiast who was raised in a house that was surrounded on three sides by train tracks. 

“My mother used to say that the rhythm of the trains going by must have gotten in my brain before I was born,” Chapman laughs.

He got his first train set when he was five years old, cementing a lifelong passion for railroad history. Later, the family moved to St. Catharines. Chapman’s work as a land planner took him out of the region for a few years, but in 1979 he moved back to the area and joined the fledgling local chapter of the CRHA.

Part of Chapman’s role with the organization includes coordinating the creation and installation of plaques such as this new one. He’s been involved in similar projects in St. Catharines, Thorold, Fonthill, Port Colborne and Welland. 

Chapman is adamant that the history of the railways in Niagara reveals much about the communities where they ran. In NOTL, it’s says a lot about change and evolution.

“In Niagara-on-the-Lake, this line was established partly in competition to the Welland Canal,” he posits. “The canal kind of changed how important Niagara-on-the-Lake had previously been. So the local people here decided they needed a railway link, and they built one between here and Chippawa. Then it was extended to Fort Erie.”

The new installation commemorates the Fort Erie and Ontario Railroad, which in 1854 became the third operating steam-powered railroad in what was then called Canada West. It eventually was extended into Buffalo and later became part of the New York Central Railroad system until it was abandoned in 1962.

Along with photographs and illustrations from the period, the panel explains the importance of the dock area station as the arrival point for visitors to the region from across Lake Ontario. As well, in later years, it became an important hub for the area’s fruit and fishing industries. 

The sign was made by Fontasy Signs in Uxbridge, Ontario. 

“Parks Canada uses them a lot, too,” says Chapman. “These signs don’t fade quickly. We’ve had some of these up for ten years and they still look like this one that’s brand new.”

Chapman gives credit to CRHA members Ken and Karen Gansel, Andy and Domenica Panko, and Art Ellis for their financial contributions to the project. 

“They all had great interest in this,” he says. “There were a number of other people who wanted to remain anonymous.’ 

The St. Catharines resident adds that he is extremely impressed with the efforts of Simkus and other residents in the dock area who spearheaded the previous two plaques as well as the installation of a section of track and the landscaping of the turntable.

“The community came together to preserve and enhance the local history,” Chapman marvels. “That’s so important to the community. It’s also important that the people who come to visit can get to know about how things have evolved. I salute them for all the work they did.”

The town’s Dock Area Master Plan includes the installation of two more plaques. One is to be placed at the stone culvert remnant at Balls Beach while the other is set to commemorate the Teenie H fishing boat and the commercial fishing industry that once thrived near River Beach Park.

“I would really like to see the town involved in the two other plaques we have planned,” says Mulcaster. “These three have all been funded privately. We’ll hopefully begin discussing that soon”

As of now, there is no timeline or details available for the final installations.