I have a Facebook group known as Chatham History where our more than 11,000 members submit photos and are free to ask questions and make comments.  

One question asked very often concerns the route of the Chatham, Wallaceburg & Lake Erie Electric Railway, which functioned from 1905 until 1931.  

There were two routes: Chatham to Wallaceburg, completed in the fall of 1905, and Chatham to Erie Beach, completed in the summer of 1908. 

I will tell you about the “Lake Line” first, and in a future column I will relate the story of the Pain Court-Wallaceburg routes.  

The lake line car, No. 8, was a combination freight and passenger carrier, about 25 horsepower and operated by an overhead trolly cable receiving current from a central powerhouse at the northeast corner of King and Third streets.  

It would begin its run to Erie Beach from a staging area at the southwest corner of King and William streets. The CW&LE had enough track on William Street to accommodate two or three street cars. 

The spot was ideal as the Canadian Pacific........

© Sarnia Observer