Old Grand Trunk Railway Building

Old Grand Trunk Railway Building, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

This building (dating from 1900) recently underwent a face lift - copper was replaced and the exterior was cleaned. It was once the headquarters of the Grand Trunk Railway, but is now a government building



Since the railway disaster in Lac Mégantic, people have become much more aware of the dangers of moving certain substances through populated areas. Though the Grand Trunk Railway does not exist anymore, its tracks do (now used by CN). Just today in the newspaper there was a letter to the editor talking about the use of their tracks in Point St. Charles as shunting yards - with who knows what is in the cars in a populated area. Too often safety is overlooked in the name of economics.



It is such false economy - just ask the people of Lac Mégantic. How much will it cost to rebuild the buildings and decontaminate the region? And how much will it cost to put peoples' lives back together after such enormous human losses?

Times Change

Times Change, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

I like to see the remnants of the past, evidence of our history. This building, now government offices once served as the offices of the Trunk Railway, theifore-runner to CN, which runs across Canada. You can see the sign, in relief in the stonework. So often our past is eradicated with demolition and new buildings, with new signs as buildings take on new purposes. This sign stands as a testimony to our past, while the French only government sign (not visible in this photograph)vouches for the needed changes that happened in Quebec.