And is the only line through Canada under distinctively American
management. While the Michigan division of the road contributes a large
amount of local business, even to the express trains, the less populous
districts of Canada are sufficiently accommodated by the local trains,
allowing the through expresses to make long and rapid runs, with few
stops. The fast New York express, for instance, is timed to make the run
from Windsor to St. Thomas, a distance of 111 miles, with only a single
stop, about midway. The level country through which the road passes,
with the long stretches of air line, many miles in extent, are conducive
to smooth and rapid running, and in this respect amply compensates for
any lack of beauty in the natural scenery. There are, however, some
quite interesting sections of country on the route.
ST. THOMAS, about midway of the line, is a city of some eight or nine
thousand inhabitants, and of considerable importance as a railroad
center. We here cross the Great Western division of the Grand Trunk, and
connect with the St. Clair division of the Michigan Central, and the
Credit Valley Railway for Toronto. The leading hotels are the
Commercial, Queens, Hutchinson, Wilcox and Lisgar.
At NIAGARA JUNCTION the train divides, and that portion having Buffalo
for its objective point, proceeds, by way of Fort Erie and Black Rock,
to the Union Depot in Buffalo, while the other portion goes to America’s
greatest pleasure resort _via_ the Niagara Falls division of the road.
Should the tourist choose to first visit Buffalo, he may proceed to the
Falls by later trains, which run at frequent intervals during the day
between the two points.