The Toronto and Nipissing Railway (T&N) was the first public
narrow-gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard-gauge railway, standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum r ...
in North America. It chartered in 1868 to build from
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
to
Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing (; french: lac Nipissing, oj, Gichi-nibiinsing-zaaga’igan) is a lake in the Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under ...
in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, via
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
counties. At Nipissing it would meet the transcontinental lines of the
Canadian Pacific
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
, providing a valuable link to Toronto. It opened in 1871, with service between
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
and
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...
. By December 1872 it was extended to
Coboconk
Coboconk, often shortened to Coby, is a community in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the south-central portion of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The village lies at the junction of Ontario Highway 35, Highway ...
, but financial difficulties led to plans of the line being built further abandoned at this point. The railway merged with the
Midland Railway of Canada
The Midland Railway of Canada was a historical Canadian railway which ran from Port Hope, Ontario to Midland on Georgian Bay. The line was originally intended to run to Peterborough, but the competing Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was complet ...
in 1882.
A series of mergers, bankruptcies and ownership changes eventually turned this right of way into the CN Uxbridge Subdivision, at least the portions north of the
CN Kingston Subdivision
Canadian National Railway's Kingston Subdivision, or Kingston Sub for short, is a major railway line connecting Toronto with Montreal that carries the majority of CN traffic between these points. The line was originally the main trunk for the Gra ...
at Scarborough Junction. Passenger service was offered to
Markham Markham may refer to:
It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873.
Biology
* Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia
* ...
and then
Stouffville, before the service passed to
Via Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
, and then to
GO Transit
GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven millio ...
in 1982. The lines are currently used both by CN in the southern reaches for freight, as well by GO for interurban rail service as their
Stouffville line
The Stouffville line is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. Its southern terminus is Union Station in Toronto, and its northern terminus is (formerly "Lincolnville") in Whitchurch ...
. The lines are still in place as far as
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...
, and the section between Stouffville and Uxbridge is used by the
York-Durham Heritage Railway for tourist runs.
Early history
![TNFairSCol](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/TNFairSCol.jpg)
Early development of railways in the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...
, which consisted of
Canada East
Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...
(Quebec) and
Canada West
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
(Ontario), was delayed by lack of capital and industrial infrastructure. The first major national railway development was the construction of the
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...
of Canada on a gauge of from
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
to
Sarnia
Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...
, Canada West via Montreal and Toronto, with a branch from Richmond to Levis near Quebec City. Investment funds for railways were scarce in the Province of Canada because the economy was mainly agricultural, and most capital was tied up in land. The line was constructed by the English contractors
Peto
Peto may refer to:
People
* Peto (surname), includes a list of people with the surname Peto
* Kawu Peto Dukku (1958–2010), Nigerian politician, Senator for the Gombe North constituency of Gombe State, Nigeria
Other uses
* PETO, a German party
* ...
,
Brassey and
Betts Betts is an English Patronymic surname, deriving from the medieval personal name Bett, a short form of Bartholomew, Beatrice, or Elizabeth. It is also the americanized spelling of German Betz. The surname may refer to
* Alejandro Jacobo Betts (1947 ...
, who undertook to raise the capital required in London if they obtained the contract. As a result of the exorbitant cost of land and charters, overbuilding stone bridges and stations to English standards, and initial lack of traffic to support the capital cost, the line was soon insolvent. This failure, together with a severe recession and the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, meant that no more capital could be raised and almost no railways were built in Canada during the 1860s.
There was a return of confidence with the Confederation of the
British North American colonies into
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 1867, and the political promise of a transcontinental railway to the Pacific. Merchants, industrialists, and politicians of Toronto, Ontario and surrounding counties began to look for ways of opening up the back country 'bush' north of the city to settlement and trade. Lakes and rivers had been the principal means of transportation, but they were frozen and unusable for 4–5 months of the year. Road construction was primitive; trees were cut down and laid side by side in swamps to form 'corduroy' roads. Most roads were passable in winter (hard frozen) and summer (hard baked), but impassable mud troughs in spring and fall. Railways were essential, but had to be built cheaply enough to serve a wild and unsettled region.
Choice of narrow gauge, promotion and financing
![Turning the First Sod on the Toronto and Nipissing Railway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Turning_the_First_Sod_on_the_Toronto_and_Nipissing_Railway.gif)
A charismatic Scots-born Toronto wharfinger and trader,
George Laidlaw
George Laidlaw (February 28, 1828 – August 6, 1889) was a businessman who promoted the development of narrow gauge railways and was invaluable in the chartering of the Toronto and Nipissing (with which his own Victoria Railway would soon c ...
, took up the challenge. He was a business associate of the powerful Gooderham and Worts Distillery interests, and other Toronto bankers and merchants. Laidlaw advertised in newspapers in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England for suggestions as to how railways might be built more cheaply in Canada. He received a reply from
Carl Abraham Pihl
Carl Abraham Pihl (16 January 1825 – 14 September 1897) was a Norwegian civil engineer and director of the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) from 1865 until his death. Pihl was one of the main architects of the use of narrow-gauge railways in No ...
, first managing engineer of Norway's Railway Construction Bureau. Pihl had worked on the construction, under
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS HFRSE FRSA Doctor of Civil Law, DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railway ...
, of the first Norwegian trunk railway – the
Hovedbanen
In telecommunications, trunking is a technology for providing network access to multiple clients simultaneously by sharing a set of circuits, carriers, channels, or frequencies, instead of providing individual circuits or channels for each clie ...
from
Christiania (today
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
) to
Eidsvoll
Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.
General information
E ...
– which opened in 1854, where the same issues of overbuilding a line in a small farming and fishing economy had led to an unaffordable railway. He now advocated the use of the narrow gauge of with all major construction in wood, which system he had developed since the early 1860s. Pihl's ideas had been noticed in Britain where the smaller
Ffestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage railway based on narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.
The railway is roughly long an ...
was also proving a success. After a visit to Norway, the 3 ft 6 in gauge was taken up by
Sir Charles Fox and Sons, the firm founded by the eminent engineer and constructor of the
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
at the
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
of 1851. Fox had a very influential consulting practice throughout the former British Empire and Colonies and was instrumental in gaining acceptance for the gauge in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
The choice of the narrow gauge led to vigorous challenges in London, England and Canada.
Zerah Colburn, the editor of the London technical journal ''
Engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
'', used its columns to violently criticise the advice of
Douglas Fox, the elder son of Sir Charles Fox, to the promoters, and this was taken up by the
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
''Spectator'', which supported that town's claim to be the hub (rather than Toronto) of railway traffic for western Ontario.
Abraham Fitzgibbon
Abraham 'Abram' Fitzgibbon (23 January 1823 – 4 April 1887) was an Irish-born railroad engineer and a pioneer for narrow-gauge railways.
Career
In the early 1860s, Fitzgibbon was working at Dun Mountain Railway in Nelson, New Zealand, a hor ...
, the chief engineer of the
Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...
ways, came to the aid of the promoters with a speech in Toronto. The main opposition to the narrow gauge came from the
Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway
The Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway (WG&BR) was a railway in Ontario, Canada. It ran roughly northwest from Guelph (in Wellington County) to the port town of Southampton (in Bruce County) on Lake Huron, a distance of . It also had a branch l ...
in the west and the
Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway
The Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway (PW&PP) was a railway running from Whitby to Port Perry, running north–south about 50 km east of Toronto. It was built to connect local grain and logging interests with the railway mainlines on the s ...
in the east. Both lines were proposing to build competing lines on the "
Provincial gauge
Indian gauge is a broad track gauge of , used in India, Pakistan, western Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile, and on BART in San Francisco, United States.
In North America, it is called Indian Gauge, Provincial, Portland, or Texas gauge. ...
", and claimed that the choice of the narrow gauge was a ruse to ensure that all the traffic of the districts would be exclusively trans-shipped at Toronto, rather than Hamilton and
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
. The opposition narrowly failed to defeat the narrow gauge, and provincial charters were granted to the Toronto and Nipissing Railway and the
Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway
The Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway (TG&B) was a railway company which operated in Ontario, Canada in the years immediately following the Canadian Confederation of 1867. It connected two rural counties, Grey County and Bruce County, with the provi ...
on March 4, 1868.
George Laidlaw sought to raise money to finance the construction of the narrow-gauge railways by the following means, in order of preference:
* Bonuses approved by vote of taxpayers from each township and county on the route of the line
* Provincial government grants per mile of track built, under the "Aid to Railways Act"
* Sale of stock
* Sale of bonds
* Loans
Laidlaw and other directors fanned out through the townships, speaking at taxpayer meetings in support of bonuses for the railways. His messianic style at these meetings often generated so much enthusiasm that motions were immediately approved to grant large sums in support of the lines. On the morrow, the local politicians often had second and more sober thoughts and sought to control the process themselves, trying to dictate where and when the money would be spent, and on what. Long, drawn-out campaigns ensued, with businessmen and progressive farmers whose lots would be near the line advocating large unconditional grants, and those in more distant locations opposing the free bonuses of tax money. Generally, the response of the settlers, anxious to expand opportunities for trade and travel, was generous. But, when strongly opposed, Laidlaw's combative and insulting responses could generate such opposition that townships delayed contributing money for years, or refused entirely.
Contrary to the hopes of the promoters, the proceeds from bonuses, grants, and stock sales fell short of paying for construction of the roadbed and structures. This deficit, and the cost of purchasing iron and equipment, had to be made up by issuing bonds whose guaranteed interest payments were a heavy burden on the income of the T&NR, and ultimately were to prove fatal to its prospects. Gooderham and Worts had a vital interest in maintaining supplies of firewood for fuel and grain for its production processes, and for several years it was loans and other support from the distillery company which kept the T&NR afloat.
The Nipissing Act of Parliament was vague, and even the promoters were uncertain for some time as to the exact scope of the proposed railway. The T&NR Prospectus of April 1869 speaks of an ‘first section’ to
Coboconk
Coboconk, often shortened to Coby, is a community in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the south-central portion of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The village lies at the junction of Ontario Highway 35, Highway ...
, with a branch of to the town of Lindsay. Such a branch was never built by the T&NR, although the connection was eventually made by the
Whitby, Port Perry, and Lindsay Railway
The Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway (PW&PP) was a railway running from Whitby to Port Perry, running north–south about 50 km east of Toronto. It was built to connect local grain and logging interests with the railway mainlines on the s ...
via a junction at Blackwater. The first objectives were the towns of Markham and
Stouffville in York County, and Uxbridge in Ontario County. These could be reached on a direct line through the well-established villages of Scarborough Township. Once at Uxbridge (), Laidlaw's next objective was Lake Nipissing () and a junction with the future Pacific Railway. The provisional mainline terminus of the T&NR, on the way to Lake Nipissing, was to be Coboconk.
On the lower and longer settled part of the line, as far as Uxbridge, municipal bonuses were generally given freely and generously, but beyond that place townships were sometimes less enthusiastic. Whitchurch, Reach, and Mariposa accounted for of line, but gave nothing. Further north, some remote townships such as Bexley responded handsomely. The T&NR's main opponents were the
Northern Railway of Canada
The Northern Railway of Canada was a railway in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was the first steam railway to enter service in what was then known as Upper Canada. It was eventually acquired by the Grand Trunk Railway, and is therefore a ...
in the west and the
Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway
The Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway (PW&PP) was a railway running from Whitby to Port Perry, running north–south about 50 km east of Toronto. It was built to connect local grain and logging interests with the railway mainlines on the s ...
in the east. Neither seriously blocked its territorial advance but were instrumental in persuading some townships not to vote bonuses.
Surveys of a line beyond Coboconk, and as far as
Minden, Ontario, were made, but it was never found economic to blast a way through such rough uninhabited territory, and the line never did go to
Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing (; french: lac Nipissing, oj, Gichi-nibiinsing-zaaga’igan) is a lake in the Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under ...
.
The lack of communications in that part of east York County lying between the line of the Northern Railway of Canada through
Newmarket, and the Toronto and Nipissing Railway through
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...
convinced local politicians that a cheap narrow-gauge line connecting with the T&NR at
Stouffville and running north to
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk'' ...
near
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location
* S ...
would enhance the agricultural and forest trade in the area and tap the Lake Simcoe steamer traffic. The 26 mile, 3 ft 6 in gauge line was promoted as the
Lake Simcoe Junction Railway.
Engineering
The Toronto and Nipissing Railway and the
Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway
The Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway (TG&B) was a railway company which operated in Ontario, Canada in the years immediately following the Canadian Confederation of 1867. It connected two rural counties, Grey County and Bruce County, with the provi ...
s were promoted at the same time, and with similar objectives, by an interlocking group of Ontario businessmen and politicians. It is not surprising that the group should decide to economise by employing one chief engineer who would apply the same design principles and choices on both lines. The first consulting engineer in Canada was
John Edward Boyd of New Brunswick, who conducted the preliminary surveys over the ground to Uxbridge and Orangeville.
Douglas Fox came to Canada several times in 1868 and 1869 to support the parliamentary campaign and verify the surveys. On his return to England in the summer of 1869, he made arrangements for an associate,
Edmund Wragge
Edmund Wragge (1837 – 26 November 1929) was a British-born and trained engineer who constructed the first common-carrier narrow gauge railways in North America. He was invited back to Britain in 1897 to engineer the difficult approaches of ...
, to come to Canada at once to take up the engineering of both lines. In August, Wragge visited Pihl in Norway to see his narrow-gauge lines, and arrived in Toronto in September 1869. The tenders for the first sections of line were immediately put out.
The engineering of the T&NR and the LSJR was of a much less substantial nature than on the TG&BR, with only one significant trestle over the Rouge River between Unionville and Markham. The
ruling gradient
The term ruling grade is usually used as a synonym for "steepest climb" between two points on a railroad. More simply, the steepest grade to be climbed dictates how powerful the motive power (or how light the train) must be in order for the run to ...
was 2% or 1:50 between Goodwood and Uxbridge, and the
minimum curvature was . Wragge appointed
John Charles Bailey as his first resident engineer on the T&NR. When Wragge became general manager of the TG&BR in 1874, Bailey became chief engineer of the Toronto and Nipissing Railway. Bailey was also the chief engineer for the construction of the
Lake Simcoe Junction Railway.
Construction
The successful contract bidder on the first section of the Toronto and Nipissing Railway as far as Uxbridge was
John Ginty
John Ginty (born 1972) is an American organist, keyboard player, and session musician. He was a founding member of Robert Randolph's "Family Band", and is often seen guesting with such jamband luminaries as the Allman Brothers, Santana, Govt. Mul ...
of Toronto. The first used a
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
on the -gauge
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...
easterly from Toronto's Berkeley Street Station to Scarborough Junction. The line became the first Canadian narrow-gauge common carrier when opened to Uxbridge on 12 July 1871. Much of the contract beyond Uxbridge was undertaken by
Edward Wheler
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...
, a miller and businessman of
Stouffville, and of rail line was opened to Coboconk on 26 November 1872. The
panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...
halted further construction toward
Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing (; french: lac Nipissing, oj, Gichi-nibiinsing-zaaga’igan) is a lake in the Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under ...
. In 1876, the Lake Simcoe Junction Railway Company, formed by citizens of York County, awarded a contract to John Naismith and Co. (in association with
Frank Shanly
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Cur ...
) to build a line from Stouffville Junction to Sutton and a Lake Simcoe steamer dock at Jackson's Point. This branch line was opened in December 1877.
Stations
Coboconk
The historic building was relocated to its present location off Portage Road west of Highway 35 (Laidlaw Heritage Village) in 1995
and is now used by 314 Hood
Royal Canadian Sea Cadets
The Royal Canadian Sea Cadets (RCSC; french: links=no, Cadets de la Marine royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and the civilian Navy League of Canada. Administered by the Canadian Forces, t ...
.
Formerly, it was near the RONA Tri-county Building Supplies store at .
Kirkfield
The station was located in the village of
Kirkfield Kirkfield is a village located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The incorporated place, unincorporated village was named in 1864 after the initial name, ''Novar'', was rejected by the government. A list of ...
in the Kawartha Lakes, near 1834 Victoria Road on the east side. . The 1892 stationed burned down in 2001.
Eldon
In
Eldon, Ontario
The City of Kawartha Lakes (2021 population 79,247) is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. It is a municipality legally structured as a single-tier city; however, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontario county and is mostl ...
on southside of Eldon Station Road west of Prospect Road. . Station burned down or demolished in 1962.
Lorneville
Junction with the
Midland Railway of Canada
The Midland Railway of Canada was a historical Canadian railway which ran from Port Hope, Ontario to Midland on Georgian Bay. The line was originally intended to run to Peterborough, but the competing Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was complet ...
. . Station moved over.
Cannington
Stationed burned down in fire in 1968, Mount Albert Station is relocated to Cannington Community Centre off of Elliot Street.
Sunderland
Station demolished 1969.
Blackwater
Junction with a connecting spur to
Coboconk
Coboconk, often shortened to Coby, is a community in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the south-central portion of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The village lies at the junction of Ontario Highway 35, Highway ...
. One storey wood station demolished in the 1960s and station area now part of conservation area. Tracks removed but now used as trail. Bridge on west side of Highway 7/12 used for users on trail.
Uxbridge
Station still exists and used by
York-Durham Heritage Railway. See
Uxbridge railway station (Ontario)
Uxbridge railway station in Uxbridge, Ontario, now serves as a railway museum and a station of the York–Durham Heritage Railway. The station building, constructed by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1904, is owned and maintained by the Township of Uxb ...
.
Goodwood
Demolished in 1960 and only a siding remains. Flag stop shelter replaced station and removed in 1980s when passenger service by CN ended in 1978.
Stouffville
See
Stouffville GO Station. 1886 station burned down and last station demolished in 1982 was converted house and annex added.
Markham
Restored and in use as station. See
Markham GO Station
Markham GO Station is a railway station on the GO Transit Stouffville line network located on Markham Main Street North in Markham, Ontario in Canada.
History
The station was built in 1871 by the Toronto and Nipissing Railway, which was taken ...
Unionville
Used as station until 1991 and now a community centre. See
Unionville Station
Scarborough
Formerly near
Scarborough GO Station
Scarborough GO Station is a train station served by GO Transit's Lakeshore East line, located in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the ...
the 1871 station burned down in 1960. Now site vacant land between tracks.
Toronto
Berkeley Street Station west of the
Gooderham and Worts Distillery
Gooderham and Worts, also known as Gooderham & Worts Limited, was a Canadian distiller of alcoholic beverages. It was once one of the largest distillers in Canada. The company was merged in 1926 with Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd., and the merged firm ...
. Now parking lot north of Parliament Square Park.
Locomotives
The first locomotive on the T&NR was a small
4-4-0
4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...
ordered from the
Avonside Engine Company
The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company.
Origins
The firm was original ...
by
George Laidlaw
George Laidlaw (February 28, 1828 – August 6, 1889) was a businessman who promoted the development of narrow gauge railways and was invaluable in the chartering of the Toronto and Nipissing (with which his own Victoria Railway would soon c ...
, and
John Shedden during a visit to England in the Spring of 1869. This was before the appointment of Edmund Wragge as Chief Engineer, and it is likely that they were advised to order it by
Douglas Fox based on his similar recommendations for the
Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...
ways. The largest order placed by the T&NR was for six small 4-4-0s from the
Canadian Engine & Machinery Company of
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
delivered in 1870–71. It is significant that John Shedden, President of the T&NR, was also a Director of CE&MC. In 1872 a
Fairlie 0-6-6-0 was received from Avonside together with another, larger,
4-6-0
A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...
. Then followed two small 4-6-0s and one large 4-6-0 from Avonside. The most successful of all these locomotives, judged by their utilisation, were the Avonside 4-6-0s. Four of the locomotives were damaged beyond repair during a January 1883, fire at
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada.
Communities
The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge. Other settlements within the township include Altona, Coppin' ...
and the remainder were sold following
gauge standardisation and amalgamation with the
Midland Railway of Canada
The Midland Railway of Canada was a historical Canadian railway which ran from Port Hope, Ontario to Midland on Georgian Bay. The line was originally intended to run to Peterborough, but the competing Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was complet ...
.
The numbers and names of these T&NR locomotives have long been confused in early historical reviews, and the errors repeated in subsequent publications. Reference to the original company records held by
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
, the published Annual Reports of the company, and the Avonside Engine Company records held at the
Leeds Industrial Museum
The Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills is a museum of industrial heritage located in Armley, near Leeds, in West Yorkshire, Northern England. The museum includes collections of textile machinery, railway equipment and heavy engineering amon ...
(UK) have established the correct numbering and naming, cited below.
Rolling stock
Based partly on contemporary British railway practice, the experience of Sir Charles Fox and Sons on the
Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...
ways, and Carl Abraham Pihl's work in Norway, the early rolling stock was intended to consist of short four-wheel
boxcar
A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...
s, and longer six-wheel
flat
Flat or flats may refer to:
Architecture
* Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries
Arts and entertainment
* Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch
* Flat (soldier), ...
and
passenger cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
using Clark's
radial axle A radial axle is an axle on a railway locomotive or carriage which has been designed to move laterally, along the arc of a circle, when entering a curve in order to reduce the flange and rail wear. William Bridges Adams was an early developer of rad ...
arrangement. The four-wheel boxcars were reliable and suited the traffic at first, but became too small for the increasing traffic, and were not added to after 1874. Many became wayside grounded tool vans after gauge standardisation. The first longer flatcars were built using imported sets of Clark's radial gear and put into service with the construction contractors. The intention was that they would go more easily around tight curves. Whether through bad design, poor assembly, or abuse and heavy uneven loading by the construction gangs, the six-wheel cars proved disastrously prone to derailment and were soon put aside in favour of cars re-equipped with two standard North American four-wheel
trucks (bogies). The passenger cars were never used in six-wheel form due to safety concerns.
Most of the T&NR freight and passenger cars were built by the St. Lawrence Foundry, on Parliament Street, Toronto; the foundry was just a short distance from the main T&NR locomotive and car depot at Berkeley Street. William Hamilton, the owner of the foundry, was a substantial investor in the T&NR. Based on contemporary sources the passenger cars were painted a 'straw' colour.
Operation
Passenger and freight traffic on the Toronto and Nipissing Railway grew strongly at first, challenging the ability of the line to carry all that was offered. Lumber and firewood traffic always remained strong. The T&NR directors reacted promptly by buying substantial numbers of new locomotives and freight cars, but then the effects of poor grain harvests and the business recession of the mid-late 1870s weighed heavily on the line's ability to pay a return on the capital invested. Operating ratios (costs/receipts) were no worse than other small Ontario railways of the period, but substantially worse than those of large railways such as the GTR and CPR. The gross profit was barely equivalent to 5-6% on its outstanding bonds, which had been sold with a guaranteed return of 7-8%. This left nothing for the stockholders, or for renewals of equipment and trackage. The LSJR branch to Sutton and Lake Simcoe did not add an amount of traffic proportional to the cost of construction.
The typical passenger service consisted of two trains per day each way between Midland Junction (Lorneville) and Toronto; one of these trains extended to Coboconk; there was only one return trip each day from Sutton to Stouffville. The small narrow-gauge engines were able to cope with normal winter weather, but there was no money for snow clearing after severe storms and Gooderham and Worts sometimes paid for this work in order to maintain their distillery fuel supplies. Sometimes it took a month to clear the line with manual labour. There were few public accidents, but a severe toll of industrial fatalities to the operating staff. The most dangerous job was Brakesman, with many young men being crippled or killed when walking along the tops of vehicles to manually screw down brakes, and when manually coupling cars using the highly dangerous
link and pin couplers. The worst accident occurred when the boiler of the Fairlie engine ''Shedden'' (see illustration above) exploded at Stouffville on January 31, 1874, due to the safety valves being tied down to increase haulage power, killing three enginemen.
Change of gauge and absorption by the Midland Railway of Canada
The poor financial returns on investment of all small Ontario railways in the late 1870s caused severe discontent among the bondholders. Many charged that the T&NR's troubles were due to the narrow gauge which made freight haulage uneconomic, but in fact the line's financial performance was better than most of its neighbours, and there was no lack of capacity. The real issue was overcapacity during a protracted traffic slump. The T&NR along with several other bankrupt lines was amalgamated in early 1882 into the Midland Railway of Canada. The MRC by this time was a proxy for the Grand Trunk Railway in its fight with the CPR for control of Ontario rail traffic. The Midland quickly laid a
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
in the track from Midland Junction (Lorneville) to Scarborough Junction and thus gained prized standard-gauge access to Toronto. The narrow-gauge third rail was removed by 1883, and the whole Midland Railway of Canada was leased by the Grand Trunk Railway on January 1, 1884.
Heritage railway
![Uxbridge railway station, ON (15520028556)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Uxbridge_railway_station%2C_ON_%2815520028556%29.jpg)
The
York-Durham Heritage Railway operates since 1996 on weekends from June through mid-October with Santa Runs in late November to mid December over 4 weekends, between the
Uxbridge Station
Uxbridge is a London Underground station in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. The station is the terminus of the Uxbridge branches of both the Metropolitan line and the Piccadilly line. The next station towards London i ...
on the
Metrolinx
Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union Sta ...
Uxbridge Subdivision and the
Stouffville GO Station.
See also
*
Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway
The Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway (TG&B) was a railway company which operated in Ontario, Canada in the years immediately following the Canadian Confederation of 1867. It connected two rural counties, Grey County and Bruce County, with the provi ...
*
Narrow-gauge railways in Canada
Although most railways of central and eastern Canada were initially built to a broad gauge, there were several, especially in Atlantic Canada and Ontario, which were built as individual narrow-gauge lines. These were generally less expensive t ...
*
List of gauge conversions
This is a list of notable railway track gauge conversions, railway lines where the distance between a set of tracks is broadened or narrowed. Conversions to broader gauge are generally to accommodate heavier loads or for wider cars, while conver ...
*
List of Ontario railways
The following railways operate in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Common freight carriers
* Barrie Collingwood Railway (BCRY)
*Canadian National Railway (CN) including subsidiaries Algoma Central Railway (AC), Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW ...
*
Rail transport in Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
*
History of rail transport in Canada
: ''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series.''
The history of rail transport in Canada began in the early 19th century. The Canadian railway system saw several expansion "booms" throughout history, as well as a ma ...
References
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External links
'Narrow Gauge Through the Bush' R Milland Pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto Nipissing Railway
Midland Railway of Canada
Defunct Ontario railways
Narrow gauge railways in Ontario
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Canada
Predecessors of the Grand Trunk Railway
Transport in Whitchurch-Stouffville
History of rail transport in the Regional Municipality of Durham
History of rail transport in the Regional Municipality of York