Comments on: Under brooding autumn skies — that, in retrospect, may have been foreshadowing what was to come — a pair of Ontario Northland EMD SD40-2s hustle Timmins to Englehart train no. 308 past the line-side sentinels at Swastika, Ontario. Unbeknownst to the photographer, less than 6 months after this photo was taken, the unique 1967-constructed station and surrounding signals would be reduced to a heap of rubble. With the demolition of the town’s station, Swastika not only lost a piece of its railroading heritage but a sense of character. All too often, the railroad landscape of today seems to become more and more sterile as the aesthetic of place is drowned out by ubiquity. An unexpected demolition such as this illustrates the point and serves as a reminder that in railroading, the only constant is change.

By: awmooney

awmooney — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 18:44:12 +0000

Wow!! What a blast of colour!!! You must have been on that proverbial “cloud nine” after pulling off a shot like this.

By: railwayguy

railwayguy — Thu, 19 May 2022 13:36:28 +0000

Ryan, great picture, love the way the yellow on the nose of 1734 compliments the yellow fall colours – truly only in northern Ontario. Sad news about the Swastika train station being torn down, it certainly added character to the town. Question, if (and it’s a big if) the long winded frequent political promises of restoring the Northland passenger train eventually become reality, will a new modest train station be built (like the one in Bracebridge), or will it be simply a platform with passengers braving the elements ? Have you heard of any plans ? Thanks for posting this historic and colourful picture, John

By: Matthew Whiteley

Matthew Whiteley — Thu, 19 May 2022 12:55:08 +0000

Steel coil loads?

By: Aitch

Aitch — Thu, 19 May 2022 12:17:45 +0000

Excellent image and caption.

By: Klaucker

Klaucker — Thu, 19 May 2022 10:25:12 +0000

Wow….what an awesome photo