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Barrie Collingwood Railway

January 01, 1970

The Barrie-Collingwood Railway (reporting mark CCGX), commonly referred to as the BCRY, is a shortline railway operating between the towns of Innisfil and Utopia in south central Ontario, Canada. The line was started in 1998 and runs on former Canadian National (CN) trackage which was collectively purchased by the railway's namesake municipalities. The BCRY continues to run under the ownership of the City of Barrie and is operated by Cando Rail Services Ltd., based in Brandon, Manitoba.[1]

Barrie Collingwood Railway
BCRY's lone locomotive, CCGX 1001, about to pull its train southbound across Saunders Road in Barrie in May 2018.
Overview
Reporting markCCGX
LocaleSimcoe County, Ontario, Canada
Dates of operation1998–Present
PredecessorCanadian National Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Barrie Collingwood
Railway
Legend
end of track
 Angus
Utopia
CP MacTier Sub
North Simcoe Railtrail
Lorena Street spur
 Barrie
industrial spurs
Tarpin spur
 Innisfil
Highway 400
end of track
Thornton-Cookstown Trail
& Trans Canada Trail

History edit

In 1996, the Canadian National Railway abandoned its Newmarket Subdivision from Bradford to Ramara, as well as its entire Meaford Subdivision which ran from Barrie to Collingwood (both parts of the former Northern Railway of Canada). CN had plans to rip up its tracks; however, the City of Barrie and the Town of Collingwood stepped in to purchase the lines to maintain their rail infrastructures. Barrie purchased the remainder of the Newmarket Subdivision, the Meaford Subdivision from Barrie to Utopia in Essa Township and the remainder of the abandoned Beeton Subdivision (originally the Hamilton and North-Western Railway) which runs south from Barrie to Innisfil and connects with the other two subs at the site of the former Allandale Yard in Barrie. Collingwood purchased the rest of the Meaford Subdivision from Utopia northwestward.

In 1998, the BCRY was created to service various customers in Innisfil, Barrie, Colwell, Angus, Stayner and Collingwood along the Beeton and Meaford Subdivisions. The line crosses the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Mactier Subdivision at Utopia, where a small interchange yard was subsequently built using old rails and ties pulled up from Allandale Yard. This was necessary as the abandonment of the Newmarket Sub north and south of Barrie effectively isolated the line from the North American rail network.[2] The yard is also where maintenance of way (MOW) equipment and the locomotive is stored when not in use. Transloading facilities are also located here for customers not directly rail served. The yard has a storage capacity of 60 cars.[3] The Newmarket Subdivision is not used by the BCRY; it was purchased to preserve future GO Transit expansion north from Bradford, which re-opened in late 2007. It has since been sold to Metrolinx, the operators of GO Transit.

The BCRY was used in the TV series Mayday for the episode featuring the San Bernardino train disaster.[4]

 
BCRY yard in Utopia in 2006
 
Track being lifted west of Angus in late 2023
 
Abandoned BCRY track in Stayner crossing Highway 26 in August 2023, with a trail continuing along the right-of-way beyond. The rails crossing the road were removed shortly afterwards.

Decommissioning of Collingwood portion of line edit

On July 15, 2011, the Town of Collingwood decided to decommission its portion of the line due to financial reasons. It was costing taxpayers up to $425,000 annually to keep providing regular rail service to essentially one customer, the Canadian Mist distillery, while Amaizeingly Green in the same industrial lot used it only sporadically. The only other user was a farm supply company in Stayner that was well served by Highway 26. In 2018, The trackage between Utopia and Collingwood was sold to the County of Simcoe, which abandoned it. The City of Barrie continues to operate the line east of the Utopia yard, serving Barrie, Essa Township and Innisfil.[5]

After the decommissioning of the line west of Utopia, removal of the tracks was carried out over the next several years. As of late 2023, most of the abandoned track between Utopia and Collingwood had been lifted, though a few short sections remain intact. A rail trail has since been constructed along the former right-of-way between Stayner and Collingwood.

Current status edit

Today the railway services only four customers in the Barrie area. They include Tag Environmental and Western Mechanical in Barrie, and Tarpin Lumber and Comet Chemical in Innisfil, effectively reducing it to a local shunting operation. The line's future could be in jeopardy unless new customers can be attracted, as operating costs consistently exceed revenues.[6] As of January 2016, unused stretches of track are being leased for empty tank car storage, due to the slow down in the oil industry.[7] This has led to community backlash, citing safety concerns and impact on property values.[8]

Equipment and track edit

Currently, the BCRY has only one locomotive, an EMD Phase III GP9, #1001, which was formerly Ohio Central (OHCR) #94 and Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) #6594. Another GP9, #1000, was in the fleet until 2000, when it was transferred to the newly-created Orangeville-Brampton Railway (OBRY), another shortline which Cando operated until 2018. BCRY also possesses various MOW equipment and a road railer.

The track is over a century old, though remains in satisfactory condition for the class of track. Speed is limited along the line due to the short length of each subdivision. Track speed is currently 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). Efforts are continuously made to improve the right-of-way, including tie and rail replacement and signal upgrades.[6] Between 2011 and 2018, all level crossings on the Meaford and Beeton Subdivisions (spurs excluded) have received signal upgrades. In 2013, the level crossing at Mapleview Avenue was removed during the street's widening and replaced with an overpass.[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Short Line Operations". Cando Rail Services Ltd. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  2. ^ "Old Time Trains". Trainweb.org. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  3. ^ . Cando Modal-Logic. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016.
  4. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NS84qoYV_Y Mayday: Runaway Train. Retrieved July 28, 2021
  5. ^ . Barrie Examiner. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Bruton, Bob (February 3, 2016). . Barrie Examiner. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016.
  7. ^ Pritchard, Brad (January 8, 2016). "Railway near Utopia being prepped for empty car storage". Simcoe.com. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  8. ^ McVeigh, JT (April 7, 2016). . Barrie Examiner. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016.
  9. ^ . City of Barrie. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barrie Collingwood Railway.
  • (copy archived January 10, 2007)
  • Barrie Collingwood Railway on City of Barrie site August 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
  • Cando Contracting
  • A history of the BCRY

January 01, 1970
barrie, collingwood, railway, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jsto. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Barrie Collingwood Railway news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message The Barrie Collingwood Railway reporting mark CCGX commonly referred to as the BCRY is a shortline railway operating between the towns of Innisfil and Utopia in south central Ontario Canada The line was started in 1998 and runs on former Canadian National CN trackage which was collectively purchased by the railway s namesake municipalities The BCRY continues to run under the ownership of the City of Barrie and is operated by Cando Rail Services Ltd based in Brandon Manitoba 1 Barrie Collingwood RailwayBCRY s lone locomotive CCGX 1001 about to pull its train southbound across Saunders Road in Barrie in May 2018 OverviewReporting markCCGXLocaleSimcoe County Ontario CanadaDates of operation1998 PresentPredecessorCanadian National RailwayTechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gauge vteBarrie CollingwoodRailway Legend end of track Angus Utopia CP MacTier Sub North Simcoe Railtrail Lorena Street spur Barrie former CN Newmarket Subnow GO Transit Barrie line industrial spurs Tarpin spur Innisfil Highway 400 end of track Thornton Cookstown Trail amp Trans Canada Trail Contents 1 History 2 Decommissioning of Collingwood portion of line 3 Current status 4 Equipment and track 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory editIn 1996 the Canadian National Railway abandoned its Newmarket Subdivision from Bradford to Ramara as well as its entire Meaford Subdivision which ran from Barrie to Collingwood both parts of the former Northern Railway of Canada CN had plans to rip up its tracks however the City of Barrie and the Town of Collingwood stepped in to purchase the lines to maintain their rail infrastructures Barrie purchased the remainder of the Newmarket Subdivision the Meaford Subdivision from Barrie to Utopia in Essa Township and the remainder of the abandoned Beeton Subdivision originally the Hamilton and North Western Railway which runs south from Barrie to Innisfil and connects with the other two subs at the site of the former Allandale Yard in Barrie Collingwood purchased the rest of the Meaford Subdivision from Utopia northwestward In 1998 the BCRY was created to service various customers in Innisfil Barrie Colwell Angus Stayner and Collingwood along the Beeton and Meaford Subdivisions The line crosses the Canadian Pacific Kansas City CPKC Mactier Subdivision at Utopia where a small interchange yard was subsequently built using old rails and ties pulled up from Allandale Yard This was necessary as the abandonment of the Newmarket Sub north and south of Barrie effectively isolated the line from the North American rail network 2 The yard is also where maintenance of way MOW equipment and the locomotive is stored when not in use Transloading facilities are also located here for customers not directly rail served The yard has a storage capacity of 60 cars 3 The Newmarket Subdivision is not used by the BCRY it was purchased to preserve future GO Transit expansion north from Bradford which re opened in late 2007 It has since been sold to Metrolinx the operators of GO Transit The BCRY was used in the TV series Mayday for the episode featuring the San Bernardino train disaster 4 nbsp BCRY yard in Utopia in 2006 nbsp Track being lifted west of Angus in late 2023 nbsp Abandoned BCRY track in Stayner crossing Highway 26 in August 2023 with a trail continuing along the right of way beyond The rails crossing the road were removed shortly afterwards Decommissioning of Collingwood portion of line editOn July 15 2011 the Town of Collingwood decided to decommission its portion of the line due to financial reasons It was costing taxpayers up to 425 000 annually to keep providing regular rail service to essentially one customer the Canadian Mist distillery while Amaizeingly Green in the same industrial lot used it only sporadically The only other user was a farm supply company in Stayner that was well served by Highway 26 In 2018 The trackage between Utopia and Collingwood was sold to the County of Simcoe which abandoned it The City of Barrie continues to operate the line east of the Utopia yard serving Barrie Essa Township and Innisfil 5 After the decommissioning of the line west of Utopia removal of the tracks was carried out over the next several years As of late 2023 most of the abandoned track between Utopia and Collingwood had been lifted though a few short sections remain intact A rail trail has since been constructed along the former right of way between Stayner and Collingwood Current status editToday the railway services only four customers in the Barrie area They include Tag Environmental and Western Mechanical in Barrie and Tarpin Lumber and Comet Chemical in Innisfil effectively reducing it to a local shunting operation The line s future could be in jeopardy unless new customers can be attracted as operating costs consistently exceed revenues 6 As of January 2016 unused stretches of track are being leased for empty tank car storage due to the slow down in the oil industry 7 This has led to community backlash citing safety concerns and impact on property values 8 Equipment and track editCurrently the BCRY has only one locomotive an EMD Phase III GP9 1001 which was formerly Ohio Central OHCR 94 and Baltimore and Ohio B amp O 6594 Another GP9 1000 was in the fleet until 2000 when it was transferred to the newly created Orangeville Brampton Railway OBRY another shortline which Cando operated until 2018 BCRY also possesses various MOW equipment and a road railer The track is over a century old though remains in satisfactory condition for the class of track Speed is limited along the line due to the short length of each subdivision Track speed is currently 10 miles per hour 16 km h Efforts are continuously made to improve the right of way including tie and rail replacement and signal upgrades 6 Between 2011 and 2018 all level crossings on the Meaford and Beeton Subdivisions spurs excluded have received signal upgrades In 2013 the level crossing at Mapleview Avenue was removed during the street s widening and replaced with an overpass 9 See also edit nbsp Railways portal nbsp Ontario portal MacTier Subdivision North Simcoe Railtrail Barrie line List of Ontario railwaysReferences edit Short Line Operations Cando Rail Services Ltd Retrieved August 6 2019 Old Time Trains Trainweb org Retrieved January 13 2018 BCRY Barrie Ontario Cando Modal Logic Archived from the original on April 19 2016 https www youtube com watch v 0NS84qoYV Y Mayday Runaway Train Retrieved July 28 2021 Barrie Collingwood rail line to be decommissioned Barrie Examiner Archived from the original on September 30 2011 a b Bruton Bob February 3 2016 Rising costs of Barrie Collingwood Railway raising concerns Barrie Examiner Archived from the original on April 24 2016 Pritchard Brad January 8 2016 Railway near Utopia being prepped for empty car storage Simcoe com Retrieved January 13 2018 McVeigh JT April 7 2016 Collingwood s decision to store rail cars in Essa Township irks some residents Barrie Examiner Archived from the original on April 16 2016 Mapleview Drive East Improvements City of Barrie June 6 2013 Archived from the original on April 19 2016 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barrie Collingwood Railway BCRY website copy archived January 10 2007 Barrie Collingwood Railway on City of Barrie site Archived August 7 2019 at the Wayback Machine Cando Contracting Trainweb org A history of the BCRY Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Barrie Collingwood Railway amp oldid 1207867308, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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