UCRS Newsletter • July 1990 Toronto & Guelph Railway Note: The Toronto & Goderich Railway Company was estab- At the time of publication of this summary, Pat lished in 1848 to build from Toronto to Guelph, and on Scrimgeour was on the editorial staff of the Upper to Goderich, on Lake Huron. The Toronto & Guelph Canada Railway Society (UCRS) newsletter. This doc- was incorporated in 1851 to succeed the Toronto & ument is a most useful summary of the many pioneer Goderich with powers to build a line only as far as Guelph. lines that criss-crossed south-western Ontario in the th th The Toronto & Guelph was amalgamated with five 19 and early 20 centuries. other railway companies in 1854 to form the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada. The GTR opened the T&G line in 1856. 32 - Historical Outlines of Railways Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada in Southwestern Ontario The Grand Trunk was incorporated in 1852 with au- BY PAT SCRIMGEOUR thority to build a line from Montreal to Toronto, assum- ing the rights of the Montreal & Kingston Railway Company and the Kingston & Toronto Railway Com- The following items are brief histories of the railway pany, and with authority to unite small railway compa- companies in the area between Toronto and London. nies to build a main trunk line. To this end, the follow- Only the railways built in or connecting into the area ing companies were amalgamated with the GTR in are shown on the map below, and connecting lines in 1853 and 1854: the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Toronto, Hamilton; and London are not included. The Canada East (Montreal to Rivière-du-Loup), the Toron- histories cover the years from 1850 to 1921, with some to & Guelph Railway Company, the St. Lawrence & subsequent information provided for continuity. Within Atlantic Railroad Company (Montreal to Island Pond, each of the corporate groups, the companies are listed Vermont), the Quebec & Richmond Railway Company, chronologically. The sources of information are vari- and the Grand Junction Railroad Company (Belleville ous; where the literature conflicts in dates, the more to Peterborough). In addition, the Atlantic & St. Law- authoritative source is generally used this occasionally rence Railroad Company (Portland, Maine to Island results in differences from popular railfan books. Pond, Vermont) was leased. The Grand Trunk extended its line west from The Grand Trunk lines Guelph to Stratford in 1856, to St. Mary’s Jct. in 1858, Buffalo, Brantford & Goderich Railway and to Point Edward, near Sarnia, in 1859. A connect- The BB&G was the first railway to be built into south- ing line under construction from St. Mary’s Jct. to Lon- western Ontario. In the 1850's, the boundary between don, the London and Grand Trunk Junction, was amal- the United States and Canada was no impediment to gamated into the GTR in 1857. trade, and so the businessmen of Buffalo were able to The property of the Preston & Berlin Railway was support a new line to extend their trading area to the acquired in 1865, giving the GTR a branch from Berlin west. Residents of Brantford were unhappy that the to Doon. By agreement with the Town of Galt, this planned Canadian main trunk railway was to bypass branch was extended to Galt in 1873. Brantford to the north. A partnership between the busi- A working agreement was established in 1866 with ness communities in Brantford and Buffalo formed the the Buffalo & Lake Huron, and the B&LH was acquired Brantford and Buffalo Joint Stock Railroad Company in by the Grand Trunk in 1869. 1850. The company was formed without incorporation In 1872, the gauge of the rails on the former B&LH under the Plank Road Act, and the Town of Brantford line from Buffalo to Stratford, and on the GTR lines and the City of Buffalo purchased stock in the firm. west of Stratford, was narrowed from 5'6" to 4’8½“, to The joint stock company was incorporated in 1852 allow interchange with lines in the U.S. The line from under the name of the Buffalo, Brantford & Goderich Stratford to Montreal was changed in 1873, and all Railway with authority to build from Fort Erie to Brant- lines were subsequently changed to the standard ford. gauge of 4’8½". The BB&G was opened from Buffalo to Caledonia To replace the Grand Trunk’s old locomotive repair on December 20, 1853, and to Brantford in January, shops in Toronto, and those of the B&LH in Brantford, 1854. A train left each end every morning (except a large new shop facility was opened in Stratford in Sundays) for the day trip to the other end. In Novem- 1871. In the same year, new car shops were built at ber 1856, the line was opened to Paris, where a con- Brantford. nection was made with the Great Western. In 1881, the Port Dover & Lake Huron, the Strat- A new company, the Buffalo & Lake Huron Railway ford & Huron, and the Georgian Bay & Wellington were Company, was formed in 1856 to buy the assets of the amalgamated into one company, the Grand Trunk, BB&G, which had become financially troubled during Georgian Bay & Lake Erie, which was then leased by its extension from Paris to Goderich. The B&LH com- the GTR. pleted the line under construction to Stratford in 1856, The Grand Trunk and its branches were in 1883 and became the first railway to serve the area, beating declared to be for the general advantage of Canada. the GTR by only months. The line was completed to This allowed subsidy to be provided by the federal Goderich in 1858. The B&LH was then able to capture government. sizeable freight traffic from Lake Michigan and Chica- In 1884 the Great Western was amalgamated with go to the eastern United States, via Goderich. the GTR under the Grand Trunk name. The new GTR The GTR in 1864 leased the B&LH for 21 years, took over the leases by the GWR of the Galt & Guelph; and in 1869, the line was owned in perpetuity. the Brantford, Norfolk & Port Burwell; the London, Hu- ron & Bruce; and the Wellington, Grey & Bruce. Port Dover & Lake Huron Railway The Northern Railway of Canada and the Hamilton The PD&LH was incorporated in 1872 to build from & North Western were absorbed by the Grand Trunk in Port Dover to Stratford. The company was allowed 1888, so that the GTR then controlled all of the im- to acquire the roadbed and holdings of the Wood- portant railway lines in Ontario except for the Canada stock & Lake Erie Railway and Harbour Company. Atlantic (Parry Sound to Ottawa and Montreal) and The line was opened between Port Dover and those owned by the Canadian Pacific. The Grand Woodstock in 1875, and between Woodstock and Trunk had been prohibited by law from amalgamating Stratford in 1876. The PD&LH purchased Port Do- or pooling profits with the Canadian Pacific in 1885. ver harbour from the federal government in 1877. The Grand Trunk was reorganized by the amal- The Port Dover & Lake Huron was amalgamated gamation of fifteen companies to form a new Grand into the Grand Trunk, Georgian Bay & Lake Erie in Trunk company in 1893. In southwestern Ontario, the 1881, which was subsequently amalgamated in amalgamated lines were the GTR itself; the Brantford, 1893 into the Grand Trunk. Norfolk & Port Burwell; the Galt & Guelph; the Grand The seven-mile portion of the PD&LH from near Trunk, Georgian Bay & Lake Erie; the London, Huron Tavistock to Stratford ran parallel to the original Buf- & Bruce; the Waterloo Junction Railway and the Wel- falo, Brantford & Goderich line. In 1893, this part of lington, Grey & Bruce. the PD&LH was closed in favour of a short connect- Following an agreement with the City of Brantford ing track at Tavistock Jct., in the western part of in 1902, tracks in the vicinity were realigned so that Tavistock. Part of the line, in the east end of Strat- the Grand Trunk's main east-west line followed the ford, was retained as a connection between the Great Western to Lynden, a new four-mile connect- BB&G, the GTR main line, and the Stratford & Hu- ing track to Alford, the GWR Harrisburg – Brantford ron to the north. branch to Brantford, via a new connecting track to the B&LH at Brantford, then back to the GWR at Stratford & Huron Railway Paris Jet. When the new route opened in 1905, the The Stratford & Huron was incorporated in 1855, old GWR main line between Lynden and Paris Jct. and revived in 1873. Lines were built from Stratford was then downgraded to the status of a branch line. to Harriston in 1877, Harriston to Chesley in 1882, The Grand Trunk encountered political and fi- and Chesley to Wiarton in 1882. These lines were nancial difficulties resulting from the construction of leased to the Port Dover & Lake Huron for opera- its line from Winnipeg to Prince Rupert, the Grand tion. The Stratford & Huron was amalgamated into Trunk Pacific. Rather than bail out the company, the federal government assumed control of the GTR in the Grand Trunk, Georgian Bay, & Lake Erie in 1920. After ownership was transferred in 1923, the 1881, and into the Grand Trunk in 1893. Following GTR was amalgamated into the Canadian National the amalgamation, a portion of the S&H from Wes- Railways System. tonville (Listowel) to Harriston (15 miles) was aban- doned. Preston & Berlin Railway Hamilton & North Western Railway The Preston & Berlin was incorporated in June, 1857, to take over the extension to Berlin (now The Hamilton & North Western was incorporated in Kitchener) under construction by the Galt & Guelph.