Bill Meek’s 
Ontario L’Orignal Railway 

     The 25 mile Ontario L’Orignal Railway, owned and operated by Railtex from November 1996 to January 2001, is the inspiration for Bill’s model shortline operation.  The former CN Vankleek Hill Subdivision serves the communities of Hawkesbury, L’Orignal and Dalkieth.  In Vankleek Hill, The crew boards the Portia and Champlain, two GP9’s once owned by the Cartier and later the Goderich-Exeter Railways, for the morning run south to Glen Robertson to exchange their consist with the CN train arriving from Coteau Junction, east of Montreal.  At the Glen, they drop off loaded cars of steel wire, roof shingles, plastic packaging, etc., as well as the empty cars they collected the previous day in Hawkesbury.  They lift open gondolas of scrap metal, bulk-head flats loaded with 40 foot long steel billets and empty flats destined for Ivaco Rolling Mills in L’Orignal.  The six day a week operation is carried out a leisurely pace, traveling at no more than 10 to 15 miles per hour.

     Bill’s model of the OLOR reflects the laid back, country style of prototype.  Construction began in 1998 and much of it is now plywood and track.  The completed scenery along the track from Glen to Hawkesbury features a tree-lined rail line through rolling hills, fields, farm scene, and the 417 overpass.  The layout provides enough track to simulate typical drops and lifts, including the unusual prototype manoeuvre of backing the train from Hawkesbury the 4 ½ miles east into the Ivaco Rolling mill in L’Orignal.  The plant, which will be the focal point of the layout, is currently well under construction.