Barrie in Simcoe County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Train Town Kids
| | Barrie Waterfront Heritage Trail | |
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 5, 2024
1. Train Town Kids Marker
Train Watching
A simple but exciting pastime was to go down to the station and watch the trains huffing and blowing off steam as they came into the station. These trains to and from the West were long with day coaches, sleepers, dining and baggage cars. In winter the engines would be covered with ice and snow and the brakeman would go around the engine knocking off any ice. There was a lot of whistle blowing and tooting, particularly at night.
Allandale Dock
A strip of landfill was built out into the bay, wide enough for a car to drive down. At the end was a good-sized wooden dock. The manager of the YMCA was instrumental in having a diving tower erected, a ten-foot and a twenty-foot height. The Red Cross taught swimming at the Allandale Dock and it was a favourite place to swim and dive.
Winter Fun
There was an outdoor skating rink back of the bowling green, all property owned by the CNR. There were outdoor lights so one could skate in the evenings. In the summer the skating rink became our tennis court.
There was a hut we entered, back of the YMCA where we paid a small fee (five or ten cents). A stove heated the place, boys
this page online
Rail Ice House
CNR used the bay to cut blocks of ice for use on the trains or in the station restaurant. Horse drawn sleighs took the ice to the large two storey ice house and packed them in sawdust. In the summer, walking by this building, which was beside and back of our skating rink, was always lovely and cool.
Source: Growing Up in Allandale 1921-1939 written by Bette Pugh Northover for the Barrie Historical Society Twenties and Thirties Reminiscences Project, 1998.
[top banner photo caption] Douglas and Mildred Galbraith, outside Allandale Train Station in 1930.
Erected by Barrie Waterfront Heritage Trail.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1926.
Location. 44° 22.45′ N, 79° 41.111′ W. Marker is in Barrie, Ontario, in Simcoe County. It is on Lakeshore Drive 0.3 kilometers east of Tiffin Street, on the left when traveling east. The marker is on the Barrie Waterfront Heritage Trail at Station #4 (Allandale Village),
Barrie Historical Archive
2. Marker detail: Carman Calbraith with Douglas and Mildred
On the Allandale Wharf (Tiffin Dock) with Allandale Train Station in the background in 1926.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Ontario Cottage Country and specifically in Georgian Bay Country. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, on the Great Lakes, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Ruperts Land.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Living in a Company Town (here, next to this marker); An Independent Village (here, next to this marker); Housing Shortages (here, next to this marker); Early Businesses (here, next to this marker); Allandale Railroad YMCA (here, next to this marker); Allandale Railway Station (within shouting distance of this marker); Steamboating on Lake Simcoe / La navigation ΰ vapeur sur le lac Simcoe (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Steamboat J.C. Morrison (approx. 0.3 kilometers away).
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 5, 2024
3. Train Town Kids Marker
Looking south across Lakeshore Drive. It is the center one of three panels in this photo, and one of six related interpretive panels at this location.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Barrie Waterfront Heritage Trail Station #4 Allandale Village
Credits. This page was last revised on May 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 24, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 83 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 27, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
