I’ve always been charmed by the train station in Belleville with its jaunty roof and dormers and beautiful stone work. We lived in an 1850 stone house for many years just north of the city and I am still so attracted to stone buildings of that period. This one was built in 1856 for Grand Trunk Railway and it is made of Trenton limestone. Yesterday my train was 20 minutes late so I left the brand new and much less charming replacement station and did a 15 minute sketch of my old love — with only time for a couple of windows. The Montreal train came in as I was sketching so I included it. I finished the sketch up on the jerky journey with some paint added later. My trip to Toronto passes another original station in Cobourg but I’ve always thought that Belleville’s was the best design. I’ve been reading up on these stations today and learned that the Cobourg station along with others in Georgetwon and Napanee are “Type C” while Belleville’s is “Type B” meaning it is larger and has more curved arches. I’ve promised myself that I’ll go back and do a much fuller sketch of the Belleville station, and maybe Cobourg too. Belleville’s is empty now and I do worry about its future. We seem to knock down so many beauties and never learn from our mistakes.
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