Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Guelph, Ontario |
| Reporting mark | WG&B |
| Locale | Ontario, Canada |
| Dates of operation | 1856–1861, charter expired; charter resumed 1864; 1882, sold and later absorbed (1893) into Grand Trunk Railway; finally into CNR, mostly abandoned in 1980s-1990; portions now are a recreational rail trail |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge after 1873 |
| Previous gauge | 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) until 1873 |
Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway was a small short line railway that operated in Ontario in the 19th Century using 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge or provincial gauge. The line was built to transport goods and passenger service from the communities in Wellington, Grey and Bruce Counties, which were not served by large railways.[1]
History
Canada North West Railway Company
The first was a planned line founded in 1856 as Canada North West Railway Company but the line was never built as the provincial charter lapsed in 1861.[2]
Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway
The second attempt in 1864 resulted in the successful building of a line from Guelph to Harriston from 1867 to 1871 with further extensions were added from 1871 to 1874. The initial survey for the line was done by Sanford Fleming.[3] The emergence of the line helped spur growth in Bruce County.[4] At somepoint after 1873 the line was converted as standard gauge as the GTR would commence the change on their own lines.
WG&B was acquired by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1882 and the line's name disappeared by 1893.[5] The line routing was later acquired by Canadian National Railway in 1923.[6] and trackage was abandoned from the 1980s to 1990s.[2]
Stations
Fourteen stations were built on the 105 miles (169 km) main line:
- Guelph, Ontario
- Elora, Ontario
- Fergus, Ontario
- Drayton, Ontario
- Atwood, Ontario
- Palmerston, Ontario
- Harriston, Ontario
- Clifford, Ontario
- Mildmay, Ontario
- Eden Grove, Ontario
- Cargill, Ontario
- Paisley, Ontario
- Port Elgin, Ontario
- Southampton, Ontario
The 66 miles (106 km) branch line travelled northwest from Palmerston to Kindcardine included 7 stations:
- Palmerston
- Listowel, Ontario
- Brussels, Ontario
- Wingham, Ontario
- Lucknow, Ontario
- Ripley, Ontario
- Kincardine, Ontario
In 1971 CNR create a branch line from Port Elgin to Douglas Point to serve the construction of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station.[7] Once the power station was completed this branch line was abandoned.
Only 9 mainline stations survived as a reminder of the line's existence:
- Palmerston
- Harriston
- Cargill
- Eden Grove
- Southampton
- Listowel
- Atwood
- Brussels
- Wingham
Rolling Stock
As a broad gauge railway the line was supplied by locomotives and passenger cars from Great Western Railway.[8]
Legacy
After abandoned, parts of the railway route was re-purposed. Section from Southampton to Port Elgin is part of the Saugeen Rail Trail.[1] and the section from Port Elgin to Kincardine is part of the Bruce County Rail Trail.[9]
See also
Refereneces
- ^ a b "Saugeen Rail Trail". www.brucecountytrails.com.
- ^ a b "The Wellington, Grey & Bruce Railway". www.trainweb.org.
- ^ Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway Co; Reid, George Lowe (July 21, 1868). "Prospectus of the Wellington, Grey & Bruce Railway [microform] : to which is appended the report of George Lowe Reid, Esq., on the survey of the line to Harriston and Mount Forest". [Hamilton, Ont.? : s.n.] – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "History of the County of Bruce Ontario Canada". www.electricscotland.com.
- ^ "The Wellington, Grey & Bruce Railway". www.trainweb.us.
- ^ "Charles Cooper's Railway Pages - Grey and Bruce Counties". railwaypages.com.
- ^ http://www.trainweb.us/ontariorailways/railwgb.htm#sthash.KYbAj0qy.E8npfSdP.dpbs
- ^ http://www.trainweb.org/ontariorailways/railwgb.htm
- ^ "Bruce County Rail Trail". www.brucecountytrails.com.
Category:Defunct Ontario railways Category:5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Canada Category:Canadian National Railway subsidiaries
| This article, Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
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