Text by James Bow. Photos by Richard Glaze

By 1955, the electric interurban operations heading south towards Lake Erie were on their last days. The Lake Erie & Northern railroad and the Grand River Railroad were now owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the owners seemed determined to end electric operations. Interest in passenger operations were waning, as ridership suffered from increasing competition with the private automobile, and the owners wanted to replace the aging electric equipment with the diesel power they were investing in throughout the rest of CP’s network.

Likely aware of the waning opportunities to capture this unique operation, enthusiasts chartered a special run from Preston south to Port Dover. Richard Glaze was there with his cameras, and these are some of the images he captured.

Lake Erie and Northern Charter Image Archive

	A view of LE&N car #795 sits at Preston Shops. Richard Glaze took this shot during a visit of the facility on April 24, 1955.
	The four-car charter train pauses just south of Brantford's Downtown. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze on April 24, 1955.
	A view of the head of the charter train beneath Brantford Station, taken by Richard Glaze on April 24, 1955.
	A view of the charter train at Brantford, looking south. Photo taken by Richard Glaze on April 24, 1955.
	The charter train pauses for photographs at Simcoe Station. Photo taken by Richard Glaze on April 24, 1955.
	Lake Erie & Northern passenger locomotives #937 and 937 pause to pick up passengers at Preston Station. This shot was taken on April 24, 1955, by Richard Glaze.