This cache will take you to the former location of the Waterford train station for the Lake Erie and Northern Railway (LE&N).
The LE&N was a small interurban electric railway that linked the communities of Galt, Paris, Brantford, Waterford, Simcoe and Port Dover. Construction began in May of 1913 and the 51-mile railway was completed by early 1916.
The LE&N was electrified on the newer 1500 volts DC system, which only needed 3 substations for power (located in Preston, Brantford and Simcoe) over the 51 miles of track. The electricity itself was provided to the electric cars by means of an over head wire. The trolleys had a top speed of 50 mph as they ran between Waterloo and Port Dover from 1915 and 1955 and continued on when all other traffic was mired in mud or buried in snow. The only thing that would stop them was ice on the power cables.
The original station located here was destroyed by fire in April of 1922, but was rebuilt by December of 1923. Traffic severely declined after WW2 and passenger service on the LE&N was discontinued by 1955. Freight transportation on the electric line lasted until 1961. By this time the line was then converted to diesel. This was also the same year the Waterford LE&N station was closed for good. By 1969 all stations along the line were closed and the tracks no longer used. The 1980's saw the rails of the Lake Erie & Northern Railway removed, leaving only the memories of the electric trolleys that passed through Waterford.
Bring your own pen.
