![]() The railway station and the New York Central rail link made Russell Village the commercial centre for the Townships of Russell, Winchester and Osgoode.īefore 1900, Concession St. With the construction of the railway, farmers were able to bring their cheese boxes to the Russell station from the local factories to be shipped off to markets in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and overseas. John Loucks hauled freight from the Russell railyard to the center of Russell Village as well as to Vars, Metcalfe, Pana and Kenmore. There were 25 cheese factories in the Russell area in 1906. It was where families gathered after weddings to say goodbye to the newly weds departing on their honeymoons. During the first and second world wars, the whole community would assemble at the station to say farewell to the troops leaving to go overseas. The Russell station was a one-storey wooden building painted in the New York Central colours – grey with green trim. Nothing changed life in this small rural community like the opening of this rail link to the outside world. The train station was the social centre of the village. On the Canadian side the station at Finch connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway and the station in Cornwall connected with the Canadian National Railway. Passengers and freight could travel by rail from Russell to anywhere in North America. There the railway was connected to the vast U.S. The Russell Train Station on the New York Central (Ottawa-New York) railway opened in 1898. The New York Central railway line connected Ottawa, south through Russell to Cornwall, across the St. By 1882, the closest railway station to Russell was at the Village of Osgoode, 32 km away. Without adequate transportation, no community could hope to grow and prosper. This plaque commemorating the Russell Train Station was added to the Historical Plaque Program in 2021, in partnership with the Russell and District Historical Society. This plaque is located at the entrance of the Recreational Trail, at the North end of 1st Avenue in Russell (behind the Russell Library Branch).
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