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Rule 105 Territory.
Mile 0.0 (Jct. with CP Welland Industrial Lead) Plymouth Road, Welland : The CP Page Hersey Spur switch is located here, west of the old WX tower location of the former NYC/MC/PC Mainline. The switch was located
behind the Polish Community Hall.
Mile 0.35 (Welland Pipe) : Ontario Road at Dain Avenue, Welland : This was the entrance to the former Page Hersey Works. It is now Lakeside Steel. It is located at the intersection of Plymouth Road-Dain Avenue and Ontario Road.
The Lakeside Lead was build in 2009 when Lakeside Steel started reusing rail service. The TR Lakeside Lead is on the same ROW as the former CP Page Hersey Spur. The CP Page Hersey Spur was torn out in 2003.
Lakeside Steel took over the former Stelco Page Hersey steel plant, after the turn of the 21st century when Stelco was liquidating property.
For a period of time Lakeside Steel was trucking the pipe to Dain City to be placed on lumber cars, to be taken out of the Niagara area.
On July 29, 2009, when this line didn't exist, I was informed that this line was being prepped to be reinstated for rail service back into the plant. A bulldozer travelled the old R.O.W. and there were orange marker-stakes present along the outer limits of the soon to be TR Lakeside Lead.
I was informed on August 11th 2009, that a subcontractor was beginning to relay the ties and rail one by one, and on August 12th 2009 I returned to the scene and they had laid most of the ties and rail but hadn't yet put all of the spikes in place.
I followed the progress of the re-installation of the trackage, exactly where it used to lay. Within the plant property, the trackage may have changed slightly, but I don't think by much. I never exactly knew the entire layout, as that was inside the fence and the gates are closed unless the train was inside servicing the plant.
In mid August, I went to the local newspaper, with information they hadn't yet been aware of regarding the rail being reinstalled. When it comes to covering the business aspect of positive changes, I thought they'd like to know. One of the newspaper reporters asked me if I'd be interested in getting them a photo of the operation going on. On August 15, 2009, the photo I supplied them showed was published in the local newspaper. It was put in the first section of the Welland Tribune.
I stopped following the progress of the installation in mid September, of what was going in within the plant as the scene was obscured by pipe laying along the fence next to Ontario Road. The buildings themselves were no benefit for view either.
For the next number of years, I photographed Trillium servicing Lakeside Steel, that later changed it's name to Energex. It was rather interesting watching the trains cross through the intersection of Ontario Road where Dain Avenue and Plymouth Road met.
In the April 17, 2012 copy of the Welland Tribune, the announcement that Lakeside Steel had been changed to Energex Steel.
On March 25, 2014, it was made public that Energex was closing the plant, and within 2 months the plant would sit idle. From that day on, the plant hasn't seen any action. Even the fence where the trains went in was blocked by stone, so that the gates couldn't be pushed open.
It was the week of April 20, 2014, when Energex stopped production and the majority of the buildings that were 100 years old started to be torn down.
| Photo of the re-installment of the trackage. |  | August 2009. |
On August 26, 2010, I headed down to photograph TR 1859 as expected on the CP Lakeside Lead and noticed something new. Since the re-installation of this line in 2009, the traffic signals weren't tied in with the train being on the Ontario Road/Dain Avenue/Plymouth Road crossing, like they used to blink red when this line was the CP page Hersey Spur. The traffic signals continued to cycle through their proper traffic flow cycles.
But, a new key switch had been recently been installed on the northeast corner of the crossing. I asked and found out that it had been installed around mid August 2010. I had also been told that a key key is turned manually for now, on the post on the approach of the train to the intersection. It was to force all vehicular traffic traffic lights solid red. When the train had cleared the crossing, the key was put back to the normal position of entry.
I had also been told that they plan to incorporate the signals back into the bond wire circuit at some point in time, as it used to be with the existence of the former CP Page Hersey Spur. That never did happen.
Switching was done here anytime between 10am and 2pm. There were times that I saw them service the plant twice a day.
With Energex closing during the summer of 2013, the TR Lakeside Lead outside of the plant began to start rusting away like any other unused rail line, by sitting in the weeds until late May or very early June of 2020 when the line was lifted from it's second time alive into the plant.
It was removed all the way up to the switch to the CP Welland Industrial Lead.
64 photos in gallery
 Mile 0.00 Looking East (2009) |
 Mile 0.00 Looking East (2020) |
 Mile 0.00 Looking East (2020) |
 Mile 0.00 Looking West (2009) |
 Mile 0.00 Looking West (2009) |
 Mile 0.00 Looking West (2009) |
 Mile 0.05 Looking Northeast (2009) |
 Mile 0.05 Looking Northeast (2020) |
 Mile 0.05 Looking Southwest (2014) |
 Mile 0.15 Looking Northeast (2009) |
 Mile 0.15 Looking Northeast (2020) |
 Mile 0.15 Looking Southwest (2009) |
 Mile 0.15 Looking Southwest (2009) |
 Mile 0.15 Looking Southwest (2010) |
 Mile 0.15 Looking Southwest (2020) |
 Mile 0.20 Looking Northeast (2009) |
 Mile 0.20 Looking Northeast (2009) |
 Mile 0.20 Looking Northeast (2013) |
 Mile 0.20 Looking Northeast (2020) |
 Mile 0.20 Looking Northeast (2020) |
 Mile 0.20 Looking West (2009) |
 Mile 0.20 Looking West (2020) |
 Mile 0.25 Looking West (2009) |
 Mile 0.25 Looking West (2009) |
 Mile 0.30 Looking East (2009) |
 Mile 0.30 Looking West (2009) |
 Mile 0.30 Looking West (2013) |
 Mile 0.32 Looking East (2009) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Northeast (2009) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Northeast (2013) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Northeast (2020) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking East (2009) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking East (2009) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking East (2009) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking East (2010) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking East (2014) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2009) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2009) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2009) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2009) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2010) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2012) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2012) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2014) |
 Mile 0.35 Looking Southwest (2015) |
 Mile 0.40 Looking Northeast (2011) |
 Mile 0.40 Looking Southeast (2011) |
 Mile 0.40 Looking Southwest (2012) |
 Mile 0.40 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.40 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.40 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.40 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.40 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.45 Looking Northeast (2011) |
 Mile 0.45 Looking Southwest (2013) |
 Mile 0.45 Looking Southwest (2013) |
