More than a few Orangeville residents must have done a double take last Saturday, at the sight of a passenger train making its way through town to and from the north end of the Orangeville Brampton Railway (OBRY) line.

Coincidentally coming as it did exactly 50 years after the Canadian Pacific Railway ran the last ordinary passenger train between Toronto and Owen Sound, the "all day" Credit Valley Explorer run served as a nostalgic reminder to some of the roughly 200 passengers of how nice it once was.

Five hours later, there was nary a complaint to be heard as the passengers detrained at the new Orangeville train station and headed for cars that filled both the freshly paved commuter parking lot and the gravel overflow lot to the south.

On spotting mention of the special tour on the Explorer's website (creditvalleyexplorer .com) a few weeks ago, I called Steve Gallagher, operations manager of Cando Contracting Ltd., to get a few details. Steve advised me that it was a trip aimed at "rail buffs" rather than the general public, and while the tour operator had sold 78 tickets, they had no idea how popular it would be at more than $70 a ticket for the tour and meal service.

I decided then and there that I'd like to take the trip, but on checking the website about 10 days ago I was horrified to see that the tour had been sold out.

However, when I called Steve back for confirmation that there were no seats left, he said there still were a couple of seats for us media types and I was welcome to use one of them.

Although November might be thought of as a strange time to have such a special run, the main reason was that Cando had brought in a second diesel locomotive, its 1009, while the line's "Spirit of Orangeville," No. 1000, was getting some routine maintenance, and by that time both engines would be available.

That was important because of the fact the OBRY doesn't own the trackage all the way to the main CP Rail line at Streetsville, CP having retained ownership of the final mile or so, and there's no siding there that could be used to get the engine to the other end of the train.

Although the tour, which lasted nearly twice the normal three hours for trips between Orangeville and Snelgrove, had targeted rail buffs, the passengers appeared to be of all types and ages, including families with babes in arms and even some Old Order Mennonite ladies.

The weather was just about ideal for early November — cool but mainly clear — and as usual the service aboard the Explorer was superb, with a friendly crew and meal service that would put any of today's airlines to shame. The lunch menu included soup and a delightful chicken sandwich, with scrumptious carrot cake for desert.

I was particularly impressed by the informative 2008 Route Guide with its historical notes, colour map and even a quiz on the full-page James Dick Construction Limited ad.

The tour included both southbound and northbound stops at Inglewood, which gave the passengers opportunities to stretch and/or visit the Inglewood General Store (which began its existence as a railway hotel), as well as for the nicotine addicts to pollute their lungs. Visiting the store, I discovered two delicious items in a "Bruce Trail bar" and a package of fresh cheese curds. (They must have been fresh, since the expiry date was in December!)

We stopped at Snelgrove long enough for Engine 1000 to be moved to the back of the train and proceeded to move through Brampton without even a pause as we crossed the main CNR line, reaching the end of the OBRY tracks at about 1 p.m.

On the return trip we did have to stop south of the CNR crossing for a few minutes to await the passage of an enormously long freight pulled by three locomotives each of which made our two look positively tiny.

As we waited there it became obvious to one and all that common sense demands the addition of Explorer tours originating in Brampton. As it happens, the north end of the former CPR rail yard is immediately opposite the newest GO Transit parking lot, which is empty on weekends.

Without a doubt, tours up the Credit Valley from Brampton would be enormously popular, and would be a boon to Orangeville-area merchants if the Saturday trips began in midmorning and included a two-hour stopover, with bus shuttles to local attractions such as the farmers' market and the Hockley Valley.

Incredibly, I was told that all attempts to introduce such a service have been frustrated by opposition within the Town of Orangeville, the opponents apparently insisting that all the tours start and finish in Orangeville.

Considering the relative populations of the city and town, isn't it truly amazing how short-sighted some people can be?