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Caption: On detour due to the Nash Road Wreck which occurred on July 5, 1968, CN 466 traverses the Beach Sub crossing Lakeshore Road in Burlington with CN 4479, 4487, 3239 for power. The train is seen passing the Brant Inn, fondly remembered by many for the famous bands and dances hosted there.
The original Brant Hotel and Country Club, built in 1900 where the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital now stands, served as a hotel and club until 1917, when the hotel was expropriated by the Canadian government for use as a military hospital. The Country Club was renovated into the Brant Inn, continuing as such until a fire on the roof (possibly started by cinders from a passing train) in 1925 burnt the place to the ground. This second Brant Inn was constructed between 1925-1926 and opened as pictured above, and would be managed by John Murray Anderson through it's peak years with many famous headliners. Performers included Bert Niosi & Orchestra, Frankie Laine, Sophie Tucker, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Guy Lombardo, Johnny Mathis, and Liberace. As the 'Big Band Dances' died out with the times, so too did the Brant Inn. With health deteriorating, Anderson sold the inn to International Atlas Development and Exploration Ltd. in 1964. Attempts to keep the place popular continued until 1968, when the company decided to close and demolish the Brant Inn. The final event would be held on New Years Eve, 1968; demolition began early 1969. Today this site is home to Spencer Smith Park, named after the former Burlington Horticultural Society president. The park includes various memorials; to Terry Fox, the Royal Canadian Naval Association Naval Memorial, and a plaque dedicated to the Brant Inn.
Locomotive-wise, both GP9's came out of GMD London in 1956. Leader 4479 would be rebuilt in 1985 to CN 7002 and retired in 2000, finally being sold in 2003 to Pioneer RailCorp retaining it's number. Trailing geep 4487 would be rebuilt in 1992 to 7048 and continued in CN service until retirement in 2007. It would be sold in 2014 to the Carolina Costal Railway in North Carolina as their 7048. MLW C-424 3239, built 1967, would be retired, along with the rest of the fleet, in the mid 1980's.
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I’ve spent a lot of time at Spencer Smith Park with my kids, while we’ve basically grown out of it, I expect we’ll visit at least one more time. Used to go a few times a year.
This is really cool as I can visualize this pretty easily now. Always wondered what the Beach sub looked like downtown.
Wow, great image. A lot of history there, sadly it’s all gone now.
Also note the double track at the time.
I think I just about run over by this train.A friend of mine and myself where walking along the Beach Sub with our bikes when all of sudden here comes a train so we dove into the ditch for cover..