The Ontario West Shore Railway is a historic railway that operated in
Ontario, Canada.
The company started construction on a railway line between
Goderich and
Kincardine Kincardine may refer to:
Places Scotland
*Kincardine, Fife, a town on the River Forth, Scotland
**Kincardine Bridge, a bridge which spans the Firth of Forth
*Kincardineshire, a historic county
**Kincardine, Aberdeenshire, now abandoned
**Kincardi ...
in the early 1900s, but the line was never completed. The company's president was J. W. Moyes of
Toronto, Ontario.
[The Goderich Star, August 28, 1908] Moyes was neither wealthy nor a railroad man.
Huron, Bruce and Grey Electric Railway
In 1902, Moyes incorporated the Huron, Bruce and Grey Electric Railway and proceeded to lobby local municipalities for capital.
[The Goderich Star, March 7, 1902] He asked the town of
Goderich for $50,000, the township of
Ashfield Ashfield may refer to:
People
* Ashfield (surname)
Places
Australia
* Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney
** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...
for $50,000 and $25,000 each from
Colbourne Colbourne is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bill Colbourne (1895–1979), Australian political organizer and trade unionist
*Mark Colbourne (born 1969), Welsh Paralympic cyclist
*Maurice Colbourne
Maurice Colbourne (24 ...
and
West Wawanosh townships.
[The Goderich Star, April 11, 1902]
The initial scheme was to build a railroad from Goderich to
Dunlop. From Dunlop, the line was to split with one branch to
Amberley Amberley may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Amberley, Queensland, near Ipswich, Australia
*RAAF Base Amberley, a Royal Australian Air Force military airbase
United Kingdom
* Amberley, Gloucestershire, England
* Amberley, Herefordshire, England
...
and another to
Dungannon
Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...
. A third branch would be built from
Saltford to
Blyth. Freight and daily passenger service would operate on all lines.
[The Goderich Star, July 4, 1902][The Goderich Star, November 14, 1902]
Each municipality held a vote on the scheme. Goderich approved the $50,000 investment,
[The Goderich Star, December 5, 1902] but the townships rejected the plan.
[The Goderich Star, December 19, 1902][The Goderich Star, January 23, 1903]
Goderich to Kincardine
In 1906, after the company was renamed the Ontario West Shore Railway, the municipalities provided funding for a single line extending from Goderich to Kincardine. Goderich commits $150,000, Kincardine $50,000, and the townships commit money as well.
In 1908, work on the track is started in
Port Albert
Port Albert is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, on the coast of Corner Inlet on the Yarram - Port Albert Road, south-east of Morwell, south-east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. At the , Port Albert had a population of 293.
L ...
.
[The Goderich Star, October 2, 1908] By the end of summer 1911, the railroad was completed from Goderich to
Kintail.
[The Signal (Goderich), August 10, 1911] At that point, one car of freight per day, mostly grain, was being loaded along the track.
[The Signal (Goderich), November 23, 1911]
In January, 1912, the company defaulted on their bonds to the municipalities.
[The Signal (Goderich), January 4, 1912] The line was never completed.
See also
*
List of Ontario railways
*
List of defunct Canadian railways
References
{{reflist
Defunct Ontario railways
Railway companies established in 1902
Railway companies disestablished in 1912