Caption: After nearly a month of procrastination, I decided to drive to Hagersville to get some shots of the CASO station before it came down. Aware CN would be resuming operations in the area after nearly 21 years the next day, I felt unease that the station had not been removed yet. It felt in the back of my mind that CN was going to mark their first day back with some teeth, so I went. Since it was a last second decision, there was barely any sun left by the time I got there.

CN's new operations base was laid down here a couple weeks prior, directly on the former CASO right-of-way. The Hagersville CASO station had spent over a century standing in this position, seeing the rise of the automobile, transition from steam to diesel, the collapse of one of America's most famed railroads (New York Central), the demise of passenger rail and eventually the CASO Subdivision itself. Arson attempts and other overall neglect led to the station being considered unusable for operations by CN on the Hagersville Sub, and so its fate became sealed as well.

My guess was as good as anyone's on when the station would come down, though it's a good thing my anxiety spiked when it did. This would end up being the station's final sunset. In less than 24 hours, the walls would be chewed apart by construction equipment, and the station leveled completely the day afterwards. It's a bit of a surreal feeling, knowing you're capturing the last chapter, but then realizing afterwards that it was actually the last page. This was not the last photo taken of the station nonetheless, as another railfan stayed a few minutes after I left, and I'd have to imagine some photos were taken in the morning before demolition began. Or maybe not. Time will tell.