Exploring the CP Rail Hamilton Subdivision's Southern Portion 2025

Here lies the Canadian Pacific's Hamilton Subdivision, a rail corridor connecting Hamilton, ON north to Guelph Jct in Campbellville (located in the rural Nassagaweya township in Milton, ON). The line is notable for its steep Niagara Escarpment grade along Stoney Creek (Red Hill-Vinemount) alongside another grade north of Hamilton (Desjardins-Millgrove) with Desjardins connecting to the CN Oakville Subdivision, plus features the Hunter St straightaway tunnel in downtown Hamilton mainly used by both CP Rail/GO Transit. The subdivision is also best known for incorporating part of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway (TH&B) for nearly 100 years (1892-1987), connecting major North American rail systems throughout Southern Ontario and even servicing Hamilton's industries.

Onto our main project in this video, I spent spring/summer of this year touring the southern portion of the Hamilton Subdivision mainly for southbounds CP 236 (Toronto - Buffalo, NY) & 133 (Montreal - Schiller Park, IL) with many appealing outskirts, crossbucks, and some old mechanical bell crossings to go with it. Each location is described below the location name in each timestamp.

0:00 Vinemount (10th Rd E)
Located at the higher end of the Niagara Escarpment on the Stoney Creek mountain, 10th Rd E sees a rural meadowland surrounding the crossing equipped with a WRRS mech bell which is noticeably starting to wear out after years in service. The area is provided with the Dofasco 2000 trail which stretches a 11.5km multi-use path for hiking and biking through the fields, wetlands, and a boardwalk laying over the Vinemount South swamp.

1:29 Hysert (Hysert Rd)
Nearly 2 miles south from Vinemount lays a withered Hysert Rd, a rarely-used roadway with 1 out of 9 crossbuck crossings on the Hamilton Sub. Back before railroad crossings were invented in 1867, driver were required to look both ways before proceeding across the tracks just like a typical 4-way intersection on a roadway.

3:57 Grassie, ON (Mud St)
On a crisp late March afternoon we hit up Grassie, a small rural town in the Niagara Regional Municipality in West Lincoln. The first of 4 crossings we occupy is Mud St which showcases an interesting straightaway stretch splitting 2 houses nearby.

5:49 Vinemount (Ridge Rd)
Returning to Vinemount once again we stumble into a private crossing next to Ridge Rd which provides an excellent view of both the escarpment curve and the city below.
Important info: This area is condemned private property, forbidden to the public at all times but only if you're willing to use it at your own risk, and if willing to film a train make sure the waiting game is at least 5-10 minutes. I highly recommend to not visit this spot at all.

7:40 Grassie Rd
A glorious spring afternoon starts with an insane K5LA horn blasting away before Grassie Road's mech bell activates. Many parked construction vehicles belonging to Wesroc Construction company is shown in the background.

9:25 S Grimsby Rd 12
Another low-traffic roadway with another set of crossbucks. For southbounds you can already hear them sounding the horn before peeping up along the slight grade.

11:24 Alway (Alway Rd)
Just around the corner from Grassie is a quiet Alway Rd neighborhood with another set of crossbucks.

13:04 Concession Rd 7
One of my best spots of the tour goes to Concession Rd 7. The immaculately silent roadway provided much needed horn action on a perfect bluebird afternoon.

16:07 S Grimsby Rd 10
After the steep grade at Grassie, southbounds endure a giant dip ascension leading into Smithville. Apologies for the constant screen movement at the start.

17:51 Smithville (Station St)
Considered one of the best small towns in Ontario, Smithville is a perfect living condition for those house hunting. One of 2 crossings I toured is Station St, accompanied with a nearby museum alongside a vintage gateless crossing beside it.

20:21 Saint Anns (Sixteenth Rd)
We start digging further south into the rural farming county of Saint Anns, situated along the Twenty Mile Creek banks.

21:56 Silverdale (Silverdale Rd)
Not far from Saint Anns is Silverdale with a gun club one of many fun activities around for whenever you come visit.

23:06 Boyle (Boyle Rd)
After a month off I went back on tour for the last 3 stops of the Hamilton Sub adventure. Kicked off with a trip to Boyle with lots of mounted windmills surrounding the outskirts.

24:34 Fenwick (Farr St)
Our final stop of the 5 month long southern Hamilton Sub project is the Farr Rd crossbuck crossing, sitting 15 miles north from Welland Yard to which southbounds start slowing down (shown as example in the clip).

27:15 S Grimsby Rd 5
Originally having filmed a train here before, I returned to one of 2 crossings in Smithville with this particular spot being highly active for more traffic. The crossing bell which used to have a WCH hayes was exchanged with a new Siemens type 3 e-bell.

Thanks for Watching!