Richmond Hill
Live Steamers

About the Club
History
Gauges
Visitors' Information
2009 Executive

Events for 2009

Location

President's Welcome

Meeting Information

Photographs

Our Club Property

Contact

Links to Live Steam Friends

Rainfan Funnies...

Copyright

Links

About the Club

The Richmond Hill Live Steamers is a non-profit live-steam club whose members are dedicated to building and operating scale model steam, electric and diesel locomotives.

The History of RHLS:
R.H.L.S. was formed by a small group of model engineers who decided they would like to operate their own track. Some of the founding members are still actively involved in the club and have been a driving force which has brought the club to the extensive facility that we all enjoy today. Through subscriptions, donations and not a little hard work over the past years, our track site, just north of Ballantrae, has been developed into the best facility in Ontario.

Gauges:
We have 4 gauges of track.

3 1/2 & 4 3/4 gauges run on another track we call "The High Line". The engines are powered by steam generated by burning coal. Some are battery powered electric engines and can pull several children or two or three adults.

5" & 7 1/4" gauge are on a "Ground Level" track. We have steam, electric & diesel powered engines which are capable of pulling 10 to 20 adults. This track is approximately 1800' long.

The whole site is situated in trees on a 4 1/2 acre lot on the southwest corner of St. John's Side Road and McCowan.

Visitors' Information:
The location is quiet and relaxing and visitors are welcome to come and sit at our picnic tables among the trees and watch the trains.

Our open house week-ends are in July and September when we are open to the public and to other clubs or model Railways enthusiasts to bring along their engines and enjoy the use of our facilities. On these week-ends our ladies have a full snack bar in operation. Light snacks are available at other times.

There is no entrance fee, but if you would like to make a donation, red boxes are situated around the premises.

Camera enthusiasts are very welcome, but we must warn you, not to lean out of the trains while riding, as the cars have a very high centre of gravity and have a narrow wheel gauge.

COME STEAM WITH US

2009 Executive:
President: Brian Burns
Vice President: Jesse Woods
Secretary: Sybil Clothier
Treasurer: Eric Motten
Members-at-large: Graham Moores, Art Gentle, Brian Compson

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Events for 2009

The club is taking part in the Whitchurch-Stouffville Doors Open Event on Saturday, June 6, 2009 ~ 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

2009 Open House!
Our open house dates are
Saturday, July 4, at 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m
& Sunday July 5, at 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m and
Saturday, September 12, at 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m
& Sunday, September 13, at 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

"International Meet" in conjunction with GHLS, TLS, TRHA, TSME for "Affiliate Club members" only July 11 & 12, 2009

During our open house hours please stop by for a ride and don't forget your camera!

Weather permitting the gates may be opened most Sundays from May to September 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Donation boxes are available on the property during open house
~ all donations are used to maintain the club's property ~
Thank you for keeping live steam alive!

Stop By For A Visit!

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Location

The RHLS train track site is located in Ballantrae - 15922 McCowan Ave, one mile north of Aurora Road in trees on a 4 1/2 acre lot on the southwest corner of St. John's Side Road and McCowan Road.{approximately 45 minutes, north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada}. Click here for Location Map

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President's Welcome

Welcome to our website.

The Richmond Hill Live Steamers is an organization of avid hobbyists and model engineers. All members of our club show enthusiasm in the hobby of trains, and particularly the “steam powered” machines. We strive to safely demonstrate this mode of transportation, which once was so prevalent in our society. The sights, sounds, and smells of steam powered equipment is a trip down memory lane for some of our more mature visitors. For the younger ones, it serves as a history lesson, which gives them a sense of life in a simpler time, before computers and video games.

The sharing of ideas and knowledge is paramount in our club so please feel free to ask questions and find out how the trains work, how they are constructed, and where the original ones ran. New members are welcome and assisted in their quest to learn more about the many facets of this interesting hobby.

This year, we are hoping to allow the public to once again ride the rails with us and enjoy an entertaining day out.

Eric Motton
Past President R.H.L.S.

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Meeting Information

Meetings for club members are held on the third Sunday of each month.

If you are interested in joining our club
- please contact our Secretary for club details.

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Photographs

~~~
~~ Click on the above pictures for a larger view! ~~

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Our Club Property

The club operates on approximately 4 1/2 acres of treed property.
This large wooded area has two sections of track which travel through trees and over bridges. It makes for a very peaceful ride!

All donations offered to the club are used to maintain the club's property.
~ Thank you for keeping live steam alive!

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Contact Information

Secretary: Sybil Clothier
Email Address: clothiers@sympatico.ca

Website Designed and Maintained by: mingweb: contact can be made through RHLS's contact person.
All articles on this webpage were written by RHLS members or the RHLS President.

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Live Steam Friends

Montreal Live Steamers... http://www.trainweb.org/mls/

Waushakum Live Steamers... http://www.steamingpriest.com/wls/

Cass Scenic Railroad, West Virginia...http://www.cassrailroad.com/

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You Know You're a Railfan When...

...funnies to read - click here

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Copyright

This web site including all of its text, photographs, pages, content, logos and content are owned by Richmond Hill Live Steamers and are "Copyright© 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 by Richmond Hill Live Steamers" except where otherwise stated. No part of these pages may be published in any form without the express written permission from the club's current executive. "Publishing" includes copying for electronic redistribution (including publishing articles on other webpages or email) or printed copies. No part of these pages maybe sold without the express written permission of the club's current executive. You may only print a copy for your own personal use.

Violation of this copyright is illegal.

All articles on this webpage were written by RHLS members or the president.

This site contains links to other sites but Richmond Hill Live Steamers is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these other web sites.

It would be appreciated if you provide a link back to this page. This is the correct way to share the content of this website. This page born and first published Spring 2001.

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Links

Companies:
CN
CP
The Railway Association of Canada

Clubs:
Erin Mills Model Railroad Association Inc. ~ Mississauga, Ontario
Richmond Hill Live Steamers ~ Richmond Hill, Ontario
The Edmonton Model Railroad Association
The Prairie Rail Workshop ~ Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Ottawa Valley Live Steamers and Model Engineers

Historical / Museums / Restoration :
Alberta Railway Museum
Canada Science & Technology Museum
Halton County Radial Railway ~ A Streetcar Museum with a Difference
Muskoka Heritage Place ~ Steam Museum & Pioneer Village
South Simcoe Railway ~ Ontario's 1st Steam Heritage Railway
Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society

History:
Historical Model Railway Society ~ UK Railway Modellers, Historians & Enthusiasts
Hudson Bay Railway Page

Japanese Trains {not steam but very interesting ~ all articles in English}
JR's Project ~ neat info and pics here

Lists of Rail Sites:
RailsCanada ~ All Canadian Internet Search Engine & Directory
Live Steaming includes lists of clubs
Live Steam Tracks - Map on Google for North America - (if you get a message box saying permission denied - click okay and the map appears)

Magazines:
Large Scale Online
Railfan & Railroad Magazine ~ locomotives and diesels
Steam in the Garden ~ small scale live steam

Miscellaneous:
Railroad Mania
Toy Trunk Railroad
RailServe ~ from collectibles to games, music to newsgroups, cams to photos, themes to screensavers, etc.

Tours / Transporation:
Algoma Central Railway ~ northern Ontario
Grand Canon Railway
Polar Bear Expess ~ from Cochrane it is 186 miles north to Moosonee
Prairie Dog Central ~ Winnipeg, Manitoba
Rocky Mountaineer Railtours ~ western Canada
Royal Canadian Pacific
Royal Hudson 2860 ~ between North Vancouver and Squamish
Toronto's Union Station ~ includes its history
Via Rail Canada
White Pass & Yukon Route Scenic Railroad ~ Skagway, Alaska

RHLS Members' WebPages:
Moe's Locomotive Works Limited ~ Moe Chaput ~ Canadian Site*

Web Pages {Personal}:
Handcar.net
Dave H.'s Trains ~ Live Steam Locomotives ~ Canadian Site*
The Model Railroad ~ Magic Website
Railways in the Niagara Region
Dave's Trains, Inc. ~ postwar Lionel trains and trains from the Soviet Union

Web Rings:

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