We know the Group of Seven loved to paint in Plein Air, but exactly how did they get around the Algoma region back when roads and cars were few. The short answer is the Algoma Central Railway (ACR).
Back then the ACR had a program where you could outfit a railway car, like a little cabin, and have it dropped off somewhere along the rail line. Between 1918 & 1922 the Group of Seven spent a lot of time in the Algoma area and took full advantage of this program. In Sault Ste. Marie we were able to see a replica of their boxcar used in the film Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven. Lawren Harris describes the boxcar as “...a few windows, four bunks, a stove, water tank, sink, cupboard, two benches and a table”. Thanks to the kind park staff who were willing to take pictures for me in the closed visitors centre, I also have a picture of how they got around on the rails. They would use a three wheeled hand cart called a velocipede. Now, the staff wasn’t sure this was the exact one they used, but it could have been😄 I think I’ve mentioned that we can’t take the Algoma Tourist Train this year, but Ray did his research and found a road we could take part way. So, with me yelling out where the potholes and the rocks were we managed to make our way down a back road (7.5 km) to the abandoned railway station of Frater which is on the line the tourist train usually takes to the Agawa Canyon—in other words Group of Seven territory. We were actually chatting to somewhat local folks that had a camp out there—travelling by ATV—that said even a few years ago the ticket booth still stood. Now there are just the section houses (where you stayed if you had to take care of that section of the railway). It was cool to imagine someone from the G of Seven coming through there with their boxcar or velocipede. These days no one is going to drop off a boxcar for you and definitely no one is going to let you on the rails with a velocipede. However, I did get a ride on a handcart at the Palmerston Rail Museum a few years back. It was a lot of fun—if you ever get a chance...go for it! You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom.
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Ray & Diane HomewoodSharing the Blessing of Travel Archives
August 2022
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