The Railway in Brockville and Canada - 1 of 7

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History of the Railway in Brockville

Railway Travel Greatly Influenced Brockville On January 25, 1859 the first passenger train left Brockville’s Grand Trunk Station. The temperature was -40 degrees that day and the trip from Brockville to Perth took 9.5 hours instead of the planned 3.5 hours. This train consisted of two passenger cars hauled by a wood-burning locomotive, and en route to Perth, the wheels slipped, the couplings broke, and the engine and cars had to be tied together with rope for the remainder of the trip. However, on the whole, the railway had a positive influence on Brockville. Small businesses no longer had to store goods for the winter since they could ship them by rail rather than having to wait for the river to thaw.

Brockville even had its own local train named “the Moccasin” which was a passenger train. This train was officially train No.5280, but anyone who spent anytime along the Grand trunk line from Montreal to Brockville knew this train as the “Moccasin”. It was given this nickname because many of the passengers who originally rode the train more moccasins and as they would dry they would produce a strange smell. It was know for being the slowest train between Montreal and Brockville. Although “the Moccasin” was a passenger train it was often referred to as a “milk train: because it picked up milk cans along its route. “The Moccasin” made its last run on August 10th1958, after more than 100 years of service.

Train # 5062 ‐ “The Moccasin”

History of Brockville’s Train Stations Brockville’s first station opened in 1856 near the south entrance of the tunnel. In 1857 a locomotive shed was added as well. Railway business was so good that by 1872 Brockville required a new station. At the same time that this was created, a new engine house was also constructed with room for 10 locomotives. This station was located on the north side of the tracks, just east of Perth Street and was used by both the Grand Trunk, and the Brockville and Ottawa Railway Companies. The station was modernized again in the 1960's.

Brockville & Ottawa Railway Station circa 1860

Another major renovation project of the Brockville station occurred in1986. The station was expanded (in terms of square footage) by about 80%, and a new ticket office, baggage room and heating system were created.

Grand Trunk Railway Station

Brockville’s Violent Summer

Brockville is normally considered a quiet, peaceful town, however, the summer of 1910 was anything but peaceful. Nicknamed “Brockville’s violent summer,” it was during that time that Brockville’s railway union staged a strike.

The railway union was the first union organized in Brockville. The strike started peacefully, but before it was over, railway officials were injured, trains were sabotaged, several people were arrested, troops had to be called in to maintain order and Brockville experienced the worst riot in its history.

Initially, rumours were spreading that conductors and trainmen were about to strike while unconfirmed reports said the trainmen were seeking a 25-40% wage increase. On July 18, 1910, over 3 000 union members on the Grand Trunk Railroad voted to strike. The strike would be in effect at 9:30 p.m. on July 18 unless Grand Trunk officials and union negotiators in Montreal reached an agreement. However, the strike deadline passed and there was no agreement. Two days after the strike began, passenger traffic fell off and local trade was hurt.

The strike then turned violent when on July 22 a riot occurred and the crowd stormed the yardmaster’s office. The riot became so violent soldiers had to be called in, 55 of whom arrived in Brockville on July 27 to establish order. The crowds eventually were subdued and the strike ended on August 3, 1910, exactly two weeks after it began.

Brief History of the Railway in Canada

Small Beginnings Lead to a Time of Rapid Progress In 1850, there was less than 60 miles of railway in all of Canada, however, the Railway Guarantee Act of 1849 gave the industry a boost, and by 1860 there was over 2 000 miles of railway, most of which was in Western Canada. At this time, there were two major railway lines running in Ontario. The Grand Trunk Railway (or GTR) ran from Montreal to Brockville and eventually to Toronto and beyond. This line opened for traffic between Montreal and Brockville on November 29, 1855.

The Brockville and Ottawa Railway (or B & O) eventually ran from Brockville to Smiths Falls to Ottawa. This railway company was originally formed to transport lumber from the Ottawa valley. Brockville was intended to serve as the connection point with the Grand Trunk Railway. The first time trains ran from Brockville to Smiths Falls was in 1859, Ottawa was not added to this line until 1876. However, by 1867, the GTR was the largest railway system in the world.

Connecting Canada with the Canadian Pacific Railway In the late 1800's it was felt that Canada needed to be united somehow. It was decided that what Canada needed was a transcontinental railway running from coast to coast connecting all of Canada. The Conservative government was in power at the time, and Sir John A. MacDonald promised that the transcontinental railway would be completed within 10 years of July 20, 1871.

There were many obstacles along the way including difficult terrain to build on, financial struggles and political scandals. After much struggle the Canadian Pacific Railway was finally finished, and on November 7, 1885 the last spike was put into place at Craigellarchie, British Colombia. Even though it was 4 years late, the Conservative government came through with their promise of a transcontinental railway.

Laying the last rails The Pas, Manitoba, July 1929

Many Small Companies are United In the early 1900's there was a large increase in railway activity, because of this many railway companies began to experience financial difficulties. In order to solve this financial crisis, the government formed the Canadian National Railway. This company merged many small and financially troubled companies in order to make one larger railway line.

Some of the railway lines they acquired included the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Canadian Northern Railway, and the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada which was the oldest and largest railway company operating out of Canada. With the addition of these lines, CNR became the largest railway company in Canada, controlling over 35,000k of railway lines. Over the years many other companies became part of CNR.

The Brockville CNR Station

Good Times Did Not Last Forever The railway industry was booming in the second half of the 1800's. However, the railway’s share of the total transportation market decreased steadily from 1928 to 1953 with the exception of the war years.

The increasing popularity of automobiles would forever change the railway. Passenger rail travel steadily declined in the first part of the 20th century. By 1953 the total passenger miles would account for only 11.3% of the railways business as compared to 38.3% in 1928.

Interesting Facts about the Railway

Tradition Every night at sundown, the heavy oak doors covering the south entrance of the tunnel were closed, and then reopened at sunrise. This was originally intended to keep livestock, which wandered Brockville’s streets, from entering the tunnel at night. However, this process was abandoned in 1950 when it was deemed no longer necessary.

Schedules and Costs A train schedule from 1865 (Brockville and Ottawa Railway)

Trains depart: 8:00 a.m., 4:50 p.m. Trains arrive: 1:30 a.m., 10:28 p.m.

During construction of the railway, the company offered $0.90 a day for labouring wages. However, a return trip from Brockville to Perth would cost $1.00.

A School on Wheels In 1926, the Canadian National Railway donated a wooden car and on September 19 of that year it became Canada’s first school on wheels.

Fred Sloman became the teacher of this school and remained so for 39 years. The car would be dropped off at a destination, remain there for four days, and would then be taken to the next location. Fred Sloman would leave enough homework with the children to last them until he returned.

The school cost $5500 a year which included the teacher’s salary, school supplies and fuel. This school was so popular that in 1920, 2 more cars were added and by the late 1940's, there were a total of seven in operation. No one was ever turned away.