Kick and Push - Sharbot Lake

06/06/2026

Finally some weather that the flowers love. Thanks to Gene from the Railway Heritage Society and Debbie from Villages Beautiful for putting the petunias in the bell garden at the park! Unfortunately somebody less community minded came along and made a mess of the nearby Lions Club bench.

06/03/2026

Even as the Railway Heritage Society prepares to start renovations on our new 1922 caboose, we're also keeping busy with lots of other things. Check out the display in the bay window of the brand new washroom building at the Sharbot Lake beach. And the fresh yellow paint on our little old Fairmont section car.

05/31/2026

The Railway Heritage Society has special 150th Anniversary items for sale shown in these pictures. Mugs are $10, custom jigsaw puzzles are $40, framed artists prints are $45 and unframed (10”x20”) are $20. All these items feature the beautiful mural image by local artist Donna Larocque. We also have copies of The First Spike ($25), hats ($15) and children’s T shirts ($20). Items can be purchased at the caboose during Saturday openings in July and August. You can also get them now from Rhonda Kimberley-Young -- direct message her to arrange it.

05/26/2026

Revised information:
This photo appears in Hilda Geddes' 1998 book Rails & Trails of North Frontenac: the Kingston & Pembroke Railway and the Old Snow Road.

The caption in the book identifies the people as follows: top row L-R, James Geddes, Robert Fletcher; middle row L-R, Eileen Geddes, Muriel Fletcher, Katherine Geddes, Isabel Fletcher, un-named locomotive fireman; front row L-R, Mrs. Fletcher, Hilda Geddes, engineer James Barlow.

The young woman standing on the station platform in the background is not identified.

The photo is dated August 1936 and the train is CPR No. 613, the daily local from Kingston to Renfrew, hauled by steam locomotive No. 459.

Original post:
The Lanark & District Museum has shared this photo from its collection of a group of people posed in front of Canadian Pacific Railway steam locomotive No. 459 at Snow Road Station. It was probably taken in the 1940s, and no later than 1953 as No. 459 was scrapped in May of that year. The locomotive was a D4g class 4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler, built at the CPR's Angus Shops in Montreal in February of 1912.

I believe the man in the white slouch cap standing on the locomotive pilot is John Adam Geddes (1881-1966), the caretaker station agent at Snow Road from 1915 until 1963.

One of the women in the photo is likely Hilda Sophia Geddes (1907-2001), who would have been anywhere from her 30s to her early 40s when the photo was taken. She may be the one standing at far left in the second row.

The older woman at left in the front row may be Blanche Sophia (Allan) Geddes (1881-1966), John's wife and Hilda's mother. Other people in the photo may be Hilda's brothers and sisters Ralph (1910-1998), Katherine (1912-2005), Eileen (1916-2008) and James (1920-1977).

If I'm right, that would leave two women and the man in the engineer's overalls and cap unidentified, along with the child standing in the background by the station.

- Posted by Andrew Jeanes.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E74Bu6iH5/

05/21/2026

Lorraine Kenney (left), Awards and Scholarship Chair for Entente Education Canada District 20, presents Rhonda Kimberley-Young of the Railway Heritage Society, with a Service to Others Grant of $1000, toward our 1922 caboose project.

05/18/2026

Good news regarding the vandalism at the park -- the missing piece of the lamppost has been located and other evidence has turned up. The OPP are investigating. Thanks to everybody for your concern, and thanks to Julie and Shawn Duggan for finding the finial (see the photo!) We are now confident that the lamppost can be restored. Dave Riddell Welding donated some great work to repair other damaged parts before we put the posts up last year.

05/17/2026

Update: Good news -- the missing piece has been located and other evidence has turned up. The OPP are investigating.

Very disappointing that this should happen just days after the wonderful community celebration of the 150th anniversary of the railway in Sharbot Lake. Vandals have broken off one of the vintage CPR lampposts donated to Railway Heritage Park by Dr. Bell. The upper half was thrown into the marsh behind the caboose, but the irreplaceable cast iron finial from the top is missing. This crime has been reported to the OPP, and a reward is being offered for information leading to the recovery of the finial and arrest of the vandals.

05/12/2026

Last Friday, May 8, the Central Frontenac Railway Heritage Society celebrated the 150th anniversary of the completion of the causeway which brought the Kingston & Pembroke Railway into Sharbot Lake and turned the village into a boom town in 1876. Details in the captions for each photo.

05/10/2026

Another fun video -- this one is for anybody who missed the arrival of the 1922 caboose at Railway Heritage Park!

Join me as we witness the intricate process of moving a classic train caboose at a railway heritage park, a true spectacle for any railroad enthusiast. This ...