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Train stations were once the hubs of our small communities

Penetang, Port McNicoll, Victoria Harbour and even Wyebridge had railway stations linking all the villages and larger centres with everything and everybody

Midland Railway Station, located roughly where the David Onley Park is presently, served as the centre of town, with King Street and Midland Avenue running south to the business and residential districts.

The hotels were clustered near the water as everything moved on the Bay. Carting wasn’t easy as the roadways were in terrible condition as water flowed down King to the shore when it rained.

Penetang, Port McNicoll, Victoria Harbour and even Wyebridge had railway stations linking all the villages and larger centres with everything and everybody bundled in for the ride. Timetables posted at every station and generally, except for snowstorms or other difficulties, the railway ran on time.

The Railway Clock was a fixture at all these stations. It was a different time and world, perhaps not as rushed, perhaps with much greater struggles than today, but in some ways still to be desired. 

Who hasn’t sunk comfortably into a plush seat on a train or a bus and anticipated reading, talking quietly, or sleeping away the miles while someone else 
drives?

Stations weren’t like airports, where one feels it is just a jumping off point, but rather, more like a place of respite where you could arrive, collect yourself and, in perfect tranquility, decide your next destination. 

The whistle blows, the engine pulls out the station and the dreaming begins.