The York–Durham Heritage Railway was a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

in both the

York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional ...

and the

Durham Region The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, it forms the east end of the Greater Toronto A ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, north of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The railway formerly operated excursion trains from

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

. Trips had various travel times depending on the event or festival. The railway ran on the tracks of the former

Toronto and Nipissing Railway The Toronto and Nipissing Railway (T&N) was the first public narrow-gauge railway in North America. It chartered in 1868 to build from Toronto to Lake Nipissing in Ontario, Canada, via York, Ontario, and Victoria counties. At Nipissing it would me ...

Metrolinx Metrolinx is a transportation agency in Ontario, Canada. It is a Crown agency that manages and integrates road and public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). It was created as the Greater Toronto Transportation Au ...

owns and operates the line south from

Stouffville GO Station Stouffville GO Station is a railway station in the GO Transit network located in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. It was the northern terminus of the Stouffville line train service until the line was extended to Lincolnville (now ) on September 2, 2 ...

as the

Stouffville line Stouffville 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-Stouff ...

. In 2022 the railway reported financial difficulties, and as of January 2024 has ceased all operations and filed for bankruptcy protection.

Operations

The York–Durham Heritage Railway operated non-stop from the Uxbridge Station on the

Uxbridge Subdivision. Trains were usually scheduled on weekends from June through mid-October, and were pulled by an

Alco The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various time ...

RS-11

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

, #3612, which was built for the Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Railway in 1956. Coaches included both vintage heavyweights built in the 1910s and 1920s, and lightweight cars from 1954. The railway cars are stored at an open rail yard on Railway Street/King Street West in

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 the following: ...

. Several railway sheds are on the yard. The most significant is the Uxbridge Station, built in 1904. As of 2022, the YDHR was operated by nine full-time staff supplemented by 88 part-time and seasonal workers and volunteers of the York–Durham Heritage Railway Associatio

On January 21, 2024 it was announced that all operations were ceased and the railway had filed for bankruptcy protection.

Railway History

The Uxbridge Subdivision was built in 1871 as the Toronto and Nipissing Railway, a narrow-gauge line. The line was Track gauge conversion, converted to shortly after being acquired by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

in 1882. Following a series of mergers and acquisitions, the line became part of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

(CN) in 1923. In the 1980s, CN began to abandon the line. Tracks north of Uxbridge were lifted, but the line south of Uxbridge was purchased by

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 mil ...

(now

) to preserve it for possible Uxbridge - Toronto commuter rail service. Until such a service is introduced, the York-Durham Railway is the sole operator north of Old Elm station.

Rolling stock

Locomotives

* 1951 MLW RS-3 #1310 * 1955 MLW RS-3 #22 * 1956

ALCO RS-11 The ALCO RS-11 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive rated at , that rode on two-axle trucks, having a B-B wheel arrangement. This model was built by both Alco (327 units) and Montreal Locomotive Works (99 units). Total production was 433 uni ...

#3612 * 1603 ONR GP-9 #1603 on lease to the YDHR 2023-2024

Passenger Cars

* 1919

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

Colonist A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

sleeper #4960 * 1930

CCF CCF can refer to: Computing * Confidential Consortium Framework, a free and open-source blockchain infrastructure framework developed by Microsoft * Customer Care Framework, a Microsoft product Finance * Credit conversion factor converts the ...

Solarium Solarium may refer to: * A sunroom, a room built largely of glass to afford exposure to the sun * A terrace (building) or flat housetop * The '' Solarium Augusti'', a monumental meridian line (or perhaps a sundial) erected in Rome by Emperor Aug ...

Lounge car A lounge car (sometimes referred to as a buffet lounge, buffet car, club car or grill car) is a type of passenger car on a train, in which riders can purchase food and drinks. The car may feature large windows and comfortable train seats to creat ...

#15041, (ex- CNR) * 1950s

Coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

# 3233, 3209 (ex- CNR) * 1955 Budd coaches #101 - #106, converted from Rail Diesel Cars to coaches in 2008.

Non-passenger cars

* 1919

National Steel Car National Steel Car Limited is the largest manufacturer of railway rolling stock in Canada, based in Hamilton, Ontario. The company was founded in 1912, and has been a top 3 rolling stock manufacturer in Canada for its lifetime. National Steel Car i ...

boxcar A boxcar is the North American (Association of American Railroads, AAR) and South Australian Railways term for a Railroad car#Freight cars, railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simpl ...

#406308 (ex- CNR) * 1950

flatcar A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on trucks (US) or bogies (UK) at each end. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted ...

#662339 (ex- CNR) * 1953

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting; as well as in keeping a lookout for load ...

#434908 (ex-

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until sp ...

) * 1957

Baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (American English), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (British English and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (Indian English) is a railroad car that is designed to c ...

#9636 *

hopper car A hopper car () or hopper wagon () is a type of railroad freight car that has opening doors or gates on the underside or on the sides to discharge its cargo. They are used to transport loose solid bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, a ...

#165 (ex- Green Bay and Western Railway) * 3 track inspection cars

References

External links

York-Durham Heritage RailwayYDHR Facebook Page.YDHR YouTube Page.
{{DEFAULTSORT:York Durham Heritage Railway Heritage railways in Ontario Standard-gauge railways in Canada] 2024 disestablishments in Ontario