Arundel, Quebec. Railway Watercolour by Henry J Simpkins RCA

This reproduction of a watercolour had been framed and was on the walls of my parents' homes since before the dawn of recorded time. I decided that it should be preserved in some additional way, given its long years of service. My spouse photographed the image while it was still in the frame.

My father assigned the identities of some Lachute-area relatives to some of the figures painted in this scene - including the sled driver who might have been assigned the farm task of taking cans of milk down for the morning milk run. This train appears to be a northbound and not headed for the dairies of Montreal. A period topographic map and an employee timetable are provided for your review.

The Canadian National Railways station at St Andrew's East, Quebec - where my father witnessed similar scenes - was the closest railway point providing milk can services to my father's maternal grandfather's farm on Lachute Road near the post village of Geneva. 

However, another ancestor did appear at this Arundel station from time to time. My father's paternal grandfather was a bilingual Anglican minister and the church and congregation at Arundel was one of his pastoral charges at one point.

Perhaps this image appeared in an old periodical like the Family Herald or the Star Weekly and my father sent for a copy because of its salience for him. 

It was painted by Henry J Simpkins RCA (1906-1995) and his grandson has produced a website on his life and work. There, you can find out about this family of artists and see a large gallery of Simpkins paintings.

"He specialized in Quebec scenes, sugar shacks, horses, barns and rural landscapes."

simpkinsart.com

Lachute sheet, 1:126,720 map. 1932 data. Government of Canada

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After posting, Jim Christie found some additional resources from this region ...

Above: An Ian Walker photo from circa 1980, showing the railway bridge across the Rouge River near Gray Valley. 

Pictured are Jim Christie and Mike Gammon. 

Thank you to Jim Christie and Ian Walker for this photo. 

Here is Mike Gammon's commentary on the bridge:

"That's the bridge on the "main line" across the Rouge river, looking towards Montreal (timetable south) so we are standing at the north end of the bridge.  I can't remember if we approached it from the North or the South but I remember driving the Ventura almost right up to it and I seem to recall we were rewarded for our efforts with a flat tire. It is indeed now a rail trail, less well known than the famous Petit Train du Nord on the old CPR line to Mt. Laurier."

Above: Are two images I have combined, which were sent by Mike Gammon. 

 Above in the image is the Huberdeau low trestle.

Below in the image is the steel bridge.

45.963361, -74.629901 trestle to Huberdeau

45.937931, -74.673351  steel bridge

45.963882, -74.626845 cut off for Huberdeau stub

On the map below, you can see the layout of this area in the 1930s.

Notice that there was a wye at Intervale.

It seems that the line did not actually cross the Rouge at Huberdeau.

1932 Canadian Government topographic map

No doubt, many will recognize some of the CHRA excursion riders pictured below.

The magazine above, Jim found at BANQ. Here's the link:

Samedi magazine. December 1950.

The postcards below are sourced as marked.

Circa 1910.

Circa 1890.

Circa 1910.

Circa 1898.