Station Master

Finch, Ontario, is where the Canadian Pacific railway crosses the New York Central, a tiny but important link in Canada's railway network. This film looks at the daily duties of station master Dalton Henry and his staff.
Directed by William Davidson - 1954 | 15 min
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[@jeffreyhunt1727]

What a cozy little film. I love it!

[@jayropa]

Just tell your son you’re happy he made the hockey team, damn.

[@benmarykuca4144]

@PatchesRips clear the track here comes Eddy Shack

[@parveshrana894]

Beautiful time , awesome people...

[@markdantonio1582]

Mom: "Aim did you finish your homework?" 2024 Aim would have said "katie texted me all the answers and I;ll post them to my facebook page later...now get off my back woman! Oh--and I need a new laptop because Britney and Tanisha all got new ones. Fork over another $1500."

[@sitarnut]

Could we have a shout out for the wonderful woodwind laced music of Robert Fleming and Eldon Rathburn in so many of these wonderful documentaries on what we love. Steam locos. Rathburn is featured in "End of the Line" and his part is poignant indeed. What he says is heartfelt and tinged with sadness over the end of steam. These would be so much less without the music.

[@fabreeze8972]

funny enough that same train no. 1201 is still here with us in quebec.

[@James_Knott]

I used to be a technician with CN Telecommunications and for about 2.5 years, just over 20 years after this film was made, I worked in Northern Ontario, largely along the CN main line. Back then I did a lot of work on railway communications systems and I see quite a difference between then and when the film was made. For example, Morse telegraph was long gone, though I knew several people who used to use it and I salvaged a Morse sounder from the CN office in Geraldton, before it was demolished. I still have it. Of course, by my time, steam had long been replaced by diesel.

[@RNP69]

I just looked on a satellite map and you still can see the old New York Central rail road grade in the town.

[@JustAnotherCarpenter]

The old railway is mostly trail now

[@FinnsterP]

A very interesting film on the life of a railway worker! Sad to hear the rail line was abandoned three years later in 1957

[@simonf8902]

Old time railroading. Telegraphs. Order boards. Highball.

[@marvwatkins7029]

Almost all those services and way of life are long gone forever

[@robertbyrne3309]

Thanks for the great documentary.

[@CNGP9]

Interesting film

[@simonf8902]

Charming portrayal. A way of life now gone. Canadians are very different to their neighbours to the South. ❤ Compare to This is York. BTF film. Similarities abound in manners, dress, work, steam engines.

[@tutsebhatu6495]

i love your videos soo much its very pleasing to watch!

[@johnuhelski8613]

Man, I miss hanging around interlocking towers. Great film !!

[@markdantonio1582]

I'm looking at a current Google map of Finch...where was the tower and station and crossline? I cant fund any remnants of any of it. Does anyone know where the station was located? I see one RR x ing in Finch...is that the approximate spot?

[@markdantonio1582]

Mrs Henry was likely a hot item and a looker in the days before electricity.

[@rapman5791]

A hotbox wasn’t just something the railroads deal with, old Mrs. H was known to keep the boys warm in the old days. 😮

[@oldclip70]

Very nice. Thank you for posting.

[@nfb]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@himat]

Everything but the unforgettable smell of hot oil and steam...

[@sitarnut]

Charly, when my kids were under ten years old, back in the 70's I took them downtown to see "Madam Queen" the famous Steam Locomotive She was behind a cyclone fence. I positioned the kids on the North end behind the tender and told them to inhale deeply because one could still smell a bit of those smells you mentioned. I grew up with steam trains... sorely miss those smells and sounds. Here's a bit on "Queenie" kzbin.info/www/bejne/j324ZZZpbpatn6M

[@w9x7cv3vg6]

and zero was zero back then

[@markdantonio1582]

as said by Albert in a "I mean it' voice too

[@hyundia1]

I lived just down the street from there and about 1000 ft from the old New York central they called the peanut line where the two tracks crossed was a great time easy going life style no drama like today lol

[@markdantonio1582]

where were the station and tower located? I looked at a Google map and found onky ne RR x ing in Finch...is that the spot? Is that where the NY central line came through? Just trying to get my bearings at a 2024 map of the town....

[@hyundia1]

@@markdantonio1582 it crossed the Canadian pacific line right at the north end of Nelson street I lived at 5 nelson st the station and tower was East of the county rd 12 crossing on Bergin st which then turns into Nelson' st going south

[@markdantonio1582]

so then the NY Central would have cut perpendicular, right through that large farm which now sits north of the double tracks then? . Is that accurate? I do the street view of the Rt. 12 crossing and as I look east at that crossing I can see a long narrow patch of rectangular land that I surmise is where the station and tower once stood....I thank you so much for your input and background...it must be tough for you who lived so close to see this video and know what was once there is now gone. I love this video and only wish some remnants of the tower and station were still there. It looked so quant and intimate. again--my sincere thanks.

[@markdantonio1582]

so did the NY Central run through your backyard south to north then? Guessing maybe yes? @@hyundia1

[@leniszameit]

my friend was the engineer of 1201 in 1986. she was in port moody,bc for the reenactment of the last spike for golden spike days on the 100 anniversary of the first train to port moody from montreal at 12.01pm july 4,1986. beautiful steam loco

[@anastasiszaroliagis5066]

Simply living...😊

[@jamesrichardson559]

What a great video. From research I believe the NYC line was abandoned in 1957 and the tower was demolished in the early 1960's. That is sad.

[@fatumsfaber8809]

This is justify, righteous to the bone.

[@Terrys-Steam-and-Bricks]

Brilliant! I have been tracing the NYC through this area.

[@garthmcgibbon4285]

Do you know when the NYC tracks were removed going to Ottawa? Thanks!

[@Terrys-Steam-and-Bricks]

@@garthmcgibbon4285 i believe 1958

[@simonf8902]

Right angle crossing of New York Central and Canadian Pacific. Unusual. But not uncommon in North America.

[@James_Knott]

I'm not sure of the angle, but there is a crossing of what was the Algoma Central and Canadian National at Oba, Ontario. I did some work in Oba and one thing I recall was CN on the south side of the station and AC on the north side. Just past the AC track was a store.

[@kevinpurcell2093]

Thank you for the video. And the detailed narrative.

[@MrNostalgiabuff]

Thank you for such a cozy film reel!!

[@michellebabicz7065]

Love the girlie calendar at 8:41! This is so great!

[@OKFrax-ys2op]

Pre dirty magazine’s era

[@lou626]

Sexist much?

[@CG_Hali]

Got the love these jobs where the manager does sweet f all, keeps making snide comments, delegates everything, and plays crokinole with all the local hacks who also seem to have nothing better to do than hang around the station all day. lol I was expecting the end to be him going home to his wife and saying how busy it was at work and how exhausted he was!

[@James_Knott]

The cat did more work than he did. 🙂

[@markdantonio1582]

Cecil is a good boy..

[@markdantonio1582]

and another thing--that young Cecil Runyon likely sneaking in upstairs to lay some track with the daughter while she does "homework...." Yup, Cecil is a good boy!

[@chrisbrady-t1u]

I can see why they got rid of steam locomotives.Must have been a giant pain the ass to run one

[@ianmedium]

I’m guessing this is like quite a few NFB “documentaries” and is actually actors playing the parts of real people in real locations as this all feels very scripted to me.

[@markdantonio1582]

I get the sense its very real and not actors at all

[@FayeVert]

Right, especially as there's a "written by" credit. Could be like "Westray" where the surviving miners played themselves in dramatizations of real events.

[@markdantonio1582]

and while we;'e on the subject, that bossy tall glass of water Albert needs an attitude adjustment too...i don't see him doing a stitch of work other than loading his pipe and pointing to snow and then having his lunch. Get off your high horse Albert, Yer annoying as heck.

[@markdantonio1582]

Mrs Abraham is in need of some attitude adjustment too...put the letter in the mail slot and beat it.....talk about entitled....

[@bestfriendhank1424]

A lot of loafers and loafing. I can see why they have eliminated most of those positions.

[@rapman5791]

All they do is stand around with a shovel in their hand making it look like they are working.