A day of trains 24 July

Monday morning I am off to Kingston The days was to be rain, trains, and trains.

I checked out of my hotel, walked through the automatic doors, turned left, down an escalator, and onto the platform for the monorail to Terminal 1. After short, quick, and silent trip on the driverless monorail I stepped out at Terminal 1 and walked to the end of the platform and straight through the doors of UP train. Placed my luggage in the loading racks  and I settled into a seat. Less the five minutes the door closed and I was off to Toronto’s Union Station.

The view from my seat and the end of my carry-on bag in the luggage rack, followed by view out the window while travelling the first elevated section of the trip with the hotel I spent the previous night.

The UP train is a relatively new direct link from the airport to Toronto’s Union Station. A twenty minute ride with just two stops and trains leaving every 15 minutes. A quick comfortable ride that cost $12 return.

At the end of the UP ride  it was a short walk and I was in the main foyer of the Union Station.

From the foyer it was a short walk down a sloping floor to a lower level to the area where my ticket was checked and I headed up an escalator to the platform. I found carriage number three  the guard help load my bags, I found my seat and I was soon off to Kingston some two hours away.

Before pulling out I lent over and took this photo of the inside of the carriage.

In Prison in Kingston 26 July

The day really got underway with a drive into Kingston for lunch at Woodhouse Italian Restaurant. Here we met Maureen’s son Joel and after a excellent lunch we headed to the Kingston Penitentiary or KP as it is known locally. Here we met up Sarah, Joel’s wife, and entered into the old prison through the main gate to be blocked by a old battered wooden door with peephole that afforded a view into the prison yard. The prison, now closed, dates back to1835 and when originally built had cells just 29 inches wide. During its lifetime the prison had many changes and the cells got a little bigger. A maximum security prison it house some Canada’s worse criminals.

We didn’t go through wooden gate but headed off to our left to sign a form indemnifying the tour company of claims injury etc. Once signed, and complete with green wrist bands, we passed through the prison’s visiting area and out into open area inside the main gate.

  

From here to the family visiting facilities—a later addition—villas a bit like those at my retirement village. OK, we don’t have the wire fence and barbed-wire!

Then on the cell blocks set out in a cross format with a round full height centre guard post at the intersection. The guard-post was added after a riot in 1971. It was fortified provided the armoury for the cellblock. All prisoner movements passed through the central hub and were followed by the guards rifles poking through slits in the widows of the central guard-post.

Throughout the tour we heard many stories of riots and escapes. Even the story of one man on being released broke back into the prison and stole 12 shillings then the next day he returned to the prison to pick up his coat he had left behind. Another who was caught after the authorities tracing his letter of apology for hitting a guard over the head with a shovel handle during the escape.

A two hour tour well worth while and extremely interesting.