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Canada Atlantic Railway

The Canada Atlantic Railway (CAR) was a North American railway located in Ontario, southwestern Quebec and northern Vermont. It connected Georgian Bay on Lake Huron with the northern end of Lake Champlain via Ottawa. It was formed in 1879[1] through a merger of two separate railway companies that John Rudolphus Booth had purchased, and reached its full extent in 1899 through a third company that he had created. The CAR was owned by Booth for several years after its completion until he agreed to sell it to the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in 1904.

Canada Atlantic Railway
Overview
HeadquartersOttawa, Ontario, Canada
LocaleOntario, Quebec, Vermont
Dates of operation1879–1914
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

For a short time at the end of the 19th century the CAR handled up to 40% of the grain traffic from Lake Huron; this was due to a combination of factors including the advent of the grain boom on the Canadian Prairies and prior to the construction of the Canadian Northern Railway's transcontinental line across Ontario, as well as prior to the opening of the Fourth Welland Canal.

The CAR continued as a separate GTR-owned subsidiary from 1905 until 1914 when its operations were fully merged into the GTR. The GTR encountered financial difficulty during and after the First World War and was dissolved and its assets merged into the Canadian National Railways (CN) in 1923. Today remnants of the CAR continue as either active rail lines for CN or Via Rail. Some abandoned CAR rail lines have been converted into rail trails.

Route edit

The CAR comprised the following lines, west to east:

History edit

 
Vauclain compound Engine 618, Canada Atlantic Railway

The CAR owes its existence to industrialist John Rudolphus Booth. J.R. Booth was an Ottawa-based lumber baron who in the latter half of the 19th century amassed timber rights approaching 7,000 sq mi (18,000 km2) in central and northern Ontario.[2] J.R. Booth was North America's largest timber-rights holder at the time and was also the owner of the world's largest lumbering operation, located at Chaudière Falls on the Ottawa River just upstream from Parliament Hill.

Booth's sawmill operations could never run at full capacity because the output could not be carried out of the lumber yards fast enough.[3] As a result of the transportation problems he experienced in the Ottawa area, Booth became an important participant in the development of Canada's railway system when he purchased two railway companies in 1879, the Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway (M&OJ) and the Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company (C&PL), merging them to create the Canada Atlantic Railway. The M&OJ had received a charter to build southeast from Ottawa to Coteau, QC on the north bank of the St Lawrence River. The C&PL had received a charter to build a bridge across the St Lawrence River to Valleyfield, QC and then across southwestern Quebec to Swanton, VT on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain. Due to financial difficulties, neither line had been completed and Booth worked through the early to mid 1880s on completing this route between Ottawa and Swanton.

In the late 1880s and throughout the 1890s Booth established a third company, the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway (OA&PS) which received a charter to build northwest from Ottawa to the shores of Lake Huron at Depot Harbour, ON. All three lines met "end to end". The M&OJ met the OA&PS on Booth's sawmill property in Ottawa while the C&PL met the M&OJ in Coteau, using several hundred feet of trackage rights of the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR). In 1899 Booth merged the OA&PS into the CAR, retaining the name Canada Atlantic Railway.

Ottawa to Vermont edit

In 1871 and 1872 a group headed by Donald Macdonald, the brother of Ontario's first premier, Sir John Sandfield Macdonald, created two railway companies which received charters to build tracks between Ottawa and northern Vermont. The promoters failed to lay any track, mainly due to the high cost of bridging the St. Lawrence River.

The Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway (M&OJ) would run south-east from Ottawa to Coteau-du-Lac, just west of Montreal. The line would connect to the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) at what became known as Coteau Junction, also known as Coteau station. Crossing the GTR main line, the Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company (C&PL) ran southeast, bridging the St. Lawrence River to reach Valleyfield where it crossed the original Beauharnois Canal at a lock, thence across southwestern Quebec to Cantic and then crossing the northern end of Lake Champlain between Alburgh and Swanton where it ended at a connection with the Central Vermont Railway (CVR).

In 1879 Booth, with William Perley of Ottawa and J. Gregory Smith of St. Albans, Vermont, purchased the lines from the Macdonald group as part of an aggressive railway expansion plan. By this time Booth's mills were hampered by a lack of markets, and the lines would connect the mill with the US eastern seaboard markets, either for regional consumption or for export to Europe from year-round Atlantic coast ports.[4] On 15 May 1879 the two lines were amalgamated into the newly chartered Canada Atlantic Railway.[N 1]

Between July 1881 and September 1882 track was laid from Ottawa to Coteau and trains began to run regularly.[5] Approval for a bridge across the St. Lawrence River was delayed, partly because of lobbying by competing railways and partly from fears of the effect a bridge would have on river traffic. Threatened with a lapsed charter in 1884, Booth instituted a train ferry for the C&PL by early 1885 and completed the line through to Vermont using trackage rights on a small section of the GTR main line at Coteau, QC.[6]

Bridging of the St. Lawrence River started in 1887. Work began in May 1888 and was completed in February 1890.[7] The bridge consisted of three sections on 16 piers. The route included 2,125 ft (648 m) of track located on river islands, thus only 3,906 ft (1,191 m) of bridging was built. The northern section included a 355 ft (108 m) swing bridge elevated 25 ft (7.6 m) above the water for the river's navigation channel.[8] A decade later, an additional structure was added on the north shore when the Soulanges Canal was built.

In Vermont the CAR connected with the Delaware & Hudson Railway, the Rutland Railroad, and the Central Vermont Railway. In 1897 a 3.1 mi (5.0 km) US connector section (the Province Line Railroad, later the Vermont and Province Line Railroad) made shipments into the United States even more efficient.[9]

Ottawa to Lake Huron edit

 
Construction scene inside Algonquin Park, ca. 1894-5

With the completion of the Ottawa to Vermont section, Booth began looking westward from Ottawa, not only to transport logs year-round to his Ottawa lumber mills, but also to take advantage of the increasing grain production on the prairies which was destined for eastern North American and European markets. By building through to an appropriate harbour on Georgian Bay for the receiving of Great Lake steamers, Booth could avoid the large expense of building a land-line through the rough and uninhabited terrain north of Lake Huron and Lake Superior.[10]

In 1888 Booth incorporated the Ottawa, Arnprior and Renfrew Railway, and the Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway to build track from Ottawa to Lake Huron. Despite opposition from the Canadian Pacific and from Toronto business interests, despite fires at his large Ottawa saw mill and the deaths of his partners, Booth pushed forward with his rail line.

Even though from September 1892 to May 1893 only the Ottawa to Arnprior section had been built (38 miles/61 km), by December 1896 the line was complete through Algonquin Park to Depot Harbour on Georgian Bay, although another 16 months was needed to complete ancillary elements such as freight yards and port facilities. The first eastbound train, Depot Harbour to Ottawa, ran on 22 April 1898.[11] In the process Booth had acquired (1892) the Parry Sound Colonization Railway which had started to build track westward from Scotia Junction towards Parry Sound.[12]

Depot Harbour

The original plan for the western terminus of the CAR was in the vicinity of Parry Sound. However speculation in the late 1880s and early 1890s drove up the price of the necessary terminus and port lands. In 1885, after he had visited the Parry Sound area, Booth chose instead to locate the terminus on undeveloped land on nearby Parry Island, occupied by Parry Island Indian Reservation (No. 16). Under pressure from the federal Department of Indian Affairs, the local band that autumn surrendered the necessary 315.5 acres (127.7 ha) for the rail access, terminus, port facilities and residences.[13] A further 110 acres (45 ha) were purchased in 1899.[14]

The new port was named Depot Harbour and it proved to be one of the better natural harbours on the Great Lakes.[15] Booth built both a town site and port, including waterfront freight sheds, a 1,000,000 imp bsh (36,000 m3) grain elevator, wharves, water towers, pumping stations, offices, a bunk house, hotel, over 100 company houses, a community centre, a school, and several churches.[16] The 1901 census recorded 576 inhabitants in the village, plus 231 on the reservation.[17]

The railway accessed Depot Harbour by crossing South Channel between Parry Island and Rose Point on the Wasauksing Swing Bridge.

Great Lakes shipping edit

In 1898 Booth created the Canada Atlantic Transit Company to operate steamships on the Great Lakes from Depot Harbour to Fort William and in 1899 the Canada Atlantic Transit Company of the United States to operate between Depot Harbour and American ports such as Chicago and Duluth.[18]

During their early years, the ships of both companies, as well as other vessels operating under charter, regularly carried goods between the upper Great Lakes and Depot Harbour. These shipping routes linked the railway across eastern Ontario, to Vermont with other railways in western Canada and the United States which terminated at ports in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Overall, east-bound tonnage far exceeded west-bound tonnage with a ratio of about 4:1. Booth was able to make a profit on the ships during the few years that he owned them, however, after the sale of the CAR and its shipping lines to the GTR, the profits turned to losses and shipping declined in importance.[19]

Statistics edit

Grain and Lumber freight, 1899–1902:[20]
Year Grain (bushels) Lumber (fbm)
1899 12,999,612 224,267,000
1900 15,053,238 374,906,000
1901 19,301,281 231,869,000
1902 19,038,924 311,885,460
  • In the 1899 season Depot Harbour handled 38.4% of all grain shipped via Great Lakes rail ports, and 51.2% of all western grain exported from Montreal.[21]
  • Between 1899 and 1914, grain traffic averaged 13,084,483 bushels (475,866 m3) per year.
  • Between 1987 and 1095, lumber traffic averaged 294,272,203 board feet (694,405 m3) per year.
  • Between 1897 and 1914, passenger traffic averaged 419,139 people per year.[20]

Under the Grand Trunk Railway edit

Throughout the 1890s, the Government of Canada promoted the creation of a second transcontinental railway line that could compete with the Canadian Pacific as well as American railroads. Federal politicians and bureaucrats believed that Booth's railways could form a strategic link in such a new system.

Booth himself was concerned with building the railways as well as marketing the service to build and maintain tonnage on the new lines.[22] He was open to cooperation with other railways in eastern and western Canada, as well as to sale or amalgamation with a larger railway system. Only 4 years after the CAR was finally created, Booth was contemplating such a sale by 1901.[23] Whether it was because Booth at age 74 was tired, or because he realized that competition from other transcontinental lines would soon cause serious problems for the CAR, he did everything possible in the early years of the 20th century to make every aspect of the railway profitable, and therefore attractive to potential buyers.[24]

Prompted by the federal government, the Grand Trunk Railway began negotiating with Booth to acquire the Canada Atlantic as part of the Grand Trunk's efforts to expand into northern Ontario and eventually into Western Canada. In August 1904 the Grand Trunk agreed to purchase the Canada Atlantic system, including the Great Lakes steamship fleet and the line in Vermont which connected with its Central Vermont Railway subsidiary. The agreed-upon price for the entire system as well as the Depot Harbour and Ottawa terminals was CAD $16,000,000.[25] The Grand Trunk took over all operations of the CAR on 1 October 1905; actual purchase was ratified by Parliament only in 1914.[26]

After the purchase closed, the GTR appeared to be in no hurry to consolidate the CAR into the larger system, operating it instead as a stand-alone company for another nine years. While a Grand Trunk subsidiary, the Canada Atlantic purchased the Pembroke Southern Railway in 1906[27] and in 1907 the CAR created the Ottawa Terminals Railway Company; in 1912 the OTR built a large train station in downtown Ottawa near Parliament Hill and directly across Wellington Street from the GTR-owned Château Laurier hotel.[28] This train station operated until the 1960s when it was converted into the Government Conference Centre.

The CAR was merged into the Grand Trunk on 27 May 1914 and the subsidiary company's name started to disappear as the Grand Trunk's timetables and equipment started to usurp those of the former subsidiary. Despite further Grand Trunk investments in the former CAR infrastructure, including new depot facilities, improved roadbeds and heavier track, the increased freight tonnage, passengers and income did not keep pace with the more rapidly increasing costs, so that net losses increased year by year.[29] After the First World War, the bankrupt (or near-bankrupt) Grand Trunk Railway was finally taken over in 1923 and absorbed into the new government-owned Canadian National, which also took over ownership of the former Canada Atlantic properties.

Despite efforts by the Grand Trunk Railway to turn a profit, including the former CAR lines, it was fairly obvious not long after the 1905 purchase that this was not going to happen. The separate CAR accounts during the transition period (1905–1914) made that clear.[30]

The Grand Trunk was the last significant railway in Canada to be nationalized by the federal government into the Canadian National (CN). During the run-up period to 1923, while it was well understood that the federal government would force the amalgamation of a number of money-losing railways, including the Canadian Northern and eventually the Grand Trunk, which would require extensive rationalization of trackage. The GTR was itself involved in pruning unnecessary routes and the former-CAR system was not immune. The GTR found it was particularly expensive to operate on the section over the height of land through Algonquin Park known as the Haliburton Highlands. This hilly area required that heavy or long freight trains had to be either "doubled" (separated and pulled in sections over the high point), or required helper locomotives.[31] The GTR found that heavily loaded eastbound trains from Depot Harbour could be routed south around the Haliburton Highlands to eastern Ontario at less expense.

Under the Canadian National Railways edit

The insolvent GTR was acquired by the federal government and merged into CN in 1923. That year, a 5.5 mi (8.9 km) section of the CAR main line between Two Rivers and Algonquin Park Station was abandoned.[32][N 2]

The western section of the CAR was heavily used by CN until the Great Depression collapsed the grain trade on the lakes. When a bridge washed out in 1933 it was not replaced, and the line remained split inside the Algonquin Provincial Park. Service ran on either side of the split into the 1950s.

CN closed most of its operations at Depot Harbour on 30 May 1953. All the remaining inhabitants of the village moved out and the buildings were either demolished or left to disintegrate.[34] The rail line remained in place and from 1959 to 1979 iron ore from Northern Ontario was loaded at Depot Harbour into freighters. The workers commuted from Parry Sound and other nearby communities.[35]

The CAR steamship companies that had been sold along with the railway in 1905 to the Grand Trunk continued to operate under CN ownership until after World War II. The American company was voluntarily dissolved in 1948 and the charter for the Canadian company was allowed to lapse in 1950.[36]

Current status edit

Most of the CAR line west of Ottawa has been abandoned. East of Ottawa, the line is still mostly intact to Coteau and is used by CN freight trains and Via Rail passenger trains. The bridge over the St Lawrence is still intact as CN uses this for an industrial spur between Coteau and Valleyfield. The line has been abandoned east of Valleyfield to Cantic. The line is still intact between Cantic and Swanton, VT

  • To the east of Two Rivers, the 16.46-mile (26.49 km) stretch to Whitney, just outside Algonquin Park was abandoned in 1946.
  • Near the west end of the line, a 3.44 mi (5.54 km) section of duplicate track was abandoned in 1938. CN continued to use the parallel track of the former Canadian Northern Ontario Railway, later styled the Canadian Northern on its Toronto to Sudbury mainline.
  • The 41.19 mi (66.29 km) section between Falding on the CN Toronto-Sudbury mainline (former Canadian Northern Railway) and Scotia Junction on the CN Washago-North Bay secondary line (former Grand Trunk Railway) was abandoned in 1955.
  • The section from Kearney eastward through to the end of severed section at Algonquin Park Station was abandoned in 1959 (38.3 mi (61.6 km)).[37]
  • The section from Scotia Junction to Kearney was torn up in 1975 (5.4 mi (8.7 km)).[38]

Significant dates and legal history edit

Canada Atlantic Railway and predecessors
Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway (1888)
Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway (1891)
Ottawa, Arnprior and Renfrew Railway (1888)
Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway (1896)
Parry Sound Colonization Railway (1885)
Canada Atlantic Railway (1899)
Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway (1871)
Canada Atlantic Railway (1879)
Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company (1872)
  • 1871: Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway Company created[39]
  • 1872: Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company created[40]
  • 1879: J.R. Booth buys and merges the two lines, creating the Canada Atlantic Railway Company[41]
  • 1881 to 1882: Ottawa to Coteau section completed
  • 1882: Province Line Railroad Company created in Vermont[42]
  • 1885: system south of the St. Lawrence River completed
  • 1885: Parry Sound Colonization Railway created[43]
  • 1887: Coteau Bridge over the St. Lawrence River approved
  • 1888 to 1890: Coteau Bridge built
  • 1888: Ottawa, Arnprior and Renfrew Railway Company created[44]
  • 1888: Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway Company created[45]
  • 1891: Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Company created[46] (amalgamation of Ottawa, Arnprior and Refrew Railway Co. and Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway Co.)
  • 1891: Parry Sound Colonization Railway acquired.
  • 1893 to 1896: rail laid from Ottawa to Georgian Bay
  • 1895: Parry Island/Depot Harbour land acquired
  • 1896: Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Company (amalgamation of existing railway and Parry Sound Colonization Railway Co.)[47]
  • 1897: Vermont and Province Line Railroad created in Vermont[48]
  • 1897: Vermont and Province Line Railroad section built
  • 1898: through train service established, Depot Harbour to Ottawa
  • 1898: Canada Atlantic Transit Company created[49]
  • 1899: Canada Atlantic Transit Company of the United States created[50]
  • 1899: Canada Atlantic Railway amalgamates with Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Co.[51]
  • 1905: control of CAR, the Vermont railroad and the two steamship companies assumed by the Grand Trunk Railway (1 October)
  • 1914: sale of CAR to Grand Trunk Railway ratified by Parliament;[26] Canada Atlantic Railway Company ceases to exist
  • 1923: bankrupt Grand Trunk Railway absorbed by Canadian National[52]
  • 1923: Last through trains between Depot Harbour and Ottawa[53]
  • 1923–1959: abandonment of main track sections
  • 1953: closing of Depot Harbour Village

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ By act of parliament of the Dominion of Canada, 42 Victoria chapter 57. Bell states correctly this was in May. Some other sources give March in error.
  2. ^ In 1933 an iron trestle between Lake of Two Rivers and Cache Lake was damaged by flooding and neglect. Since the old CAR track had been already abandoned in this area for 10 years, CN did not want to repair it, nor did the federal government, which at the time was heavily subsidizing a road through Algonquin Park parallel to the railway, so the line remained physically severed.[33]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ A complete corporate history of the CAR is given in Hopper & Kearney (1962).
  2. ^ Bell 1991, p. 5.
  3. ^ Bell 1991, p. 8.
  4. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 10–11.
  5. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 15–16.
  6. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 20–21.
  7. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 22–36.
  8. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 38–42.
  9. ^ Bell 1991, p. 42.
  10. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 43–44.
  11. ^ Bell 1991, p. 45.
  12. ^ Bell 1991, p. 51.
  13. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 63–68.
  14. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 69–70.
  15. ^ MacKay 1981, p. 19.
  16. ^ Bell 1991, p. 83.
  17. ^ Canada, Census Office, Fourth Census of Canada, 1901 (Ottawa, 1902), vol. 1.
  18. ^ Bell 1991, p. 73.
  19. ^ Bell 1991, p. 81.
  20. ^ a b Bell 1991, p. 162.
  21. ^ Bell 1991, p. 165.
  22. ^ Bell 1991, p. 137.
  23. ^ Bell 1991, p. 139.
  24. ^ Bell 1991, p. 142.
  25. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 143–144.
  26. ^ a b Canada, 4-5 George V, chap. 89 (27 May 1914).
  27. ^ Canada, 6 Edward VII, chap 73 (26 June 1906).
  28. ^ Canada, 6-7 Edward VII, chap. 117 (27 April 1907).
  29. ^ Bell 1991, p. 148.
  30. ^ Bell 1991, p. 120.
  31. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 120–122.
  32. ^ Hopper & Kearney 1962.
  33. ^ MacKay 1981, p. 65.
  34. ^ Bell 1991, p. 149.
  35. ^ MacKay 1981, p. 77.
  36. ^ Bell 1991, pp. 73–82.
  37. ^ Bell 1991, p. 160.
  38. ^ MacKay 1981, p. 119.
  39. ^ Canada, 34 Victoria, chap. 47 (14 April 1871).
  40. ^ Canada, 35 Victoria, chap. 83 (14 June 1872).
  41. ^ Canada, 42 Victoria, chap. 57 (15 May 1879).
  42. ^ Vermont, Articles of Association (4 March 1882).
  43. ^ Ontario, 48 Victoria, chap. 78 (30 March 1885).
  44. ^ Ontario, 51 Victoria, chap. 71 (23 March 1888).
  45. ^ Canada, 51 Victoria, chap. 65 (4 May 1888).
  46. ^ Canada, 54-55 Victoria, chap. 93 (31 July 1891).
  47. ^ Canada, 60 Victoria, chap. 8 (5 October 1896).
  48. ^ Vermont, Articles of Association (27 May 1897).
  49. ^ Canada, 61 Victoria, chap. 65 (13 June 1898).
  50. ^ General Laws of the State of Minnesota, 30 October 1899.
  51. ^ Canada, 62-63 Victoria, chap. 81 (11 August 1899).
  52. ^ Privy Council of Canada Order 181, 30 January 1923.
  53. ^ Bell 1991, p. 126.

Sources edit

  • "Private Acts – Railways – Canada Atlantic Railway Company". 18 August 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  • "Canada Atlantic Railway Company". Library and Archives Canada. 25 November 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  • Bell, Allan (1991). A Way to the West. Barrie, Ont.: privately published.
  • Hopper, A.B.; Kearney, T. (1962). Canadian National Railways, Synoptical History of Organization, Capital Stock, Funded Debt and Other General Information as of December 31, 1960. Montreal: CNR Accounting Dept.
  • MacKay, Niall (1981). Over the Hills to Georgian Bay. Erin, Ont: Boston Mills Press.

canada, atlantic, railway, recently, defunct, railway, canadian, atlantic, railway, north, american, railway, located, ontario, southwestern, quebec, northern, vermont, connected, georgian, lake, huron, with, northern, lake, champlain, ottawa, formed, 1879, th. For the recently defunct railway see Canadian Atlantic Railway The Canada Atlantic Railway CAR was a North American railway located in Ontario southwestern Quebec and northern Vermont It connected Georgian Bay on Lake Huron with the northern end of Lake Champlain via Ottawa It was formed in 1879 1 through a merger of two separate railway companies that John Rudolphus Booth had purchased and reached its full extent in 1899 through a third company that he had created The CAR was owned by Booth for several years after its completion until he agreed to sell it to the Grand Trunk Railway GTR in 1904 Canada Atlantic RailwayOverviewHeadquartersOttawa Ontario CanadaLocaleOntario Quebec VermontDates of operation1879 1914TechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gauge For a short time at the end of the 19th century the CAR handled up to 40 of the grain traffic from Lake Huron this was due to a combination of factors including the advent of the grain boom on the Canadian Prairies and prior to the construction of the Canadian Northern Railway s transcontinental line across Ontario as well as prior to the opening of the Fourth Welland Canal The CAR continued as a separate GTR owned subsidiary from 1905 until 1914 when its operations were fully merged into the GTR The GTR encountered financial difficulty during and after the First World War and was dissolved and its assets merged into the Canadian National Railways CN in 1923 Today remnants of the CAR continue as either active rail lines for CN or Via Rail Some abandoned CAR rail lines have been converted into rail trails Contents 1 Route 2 History 2 1 Ottawa to Vermont 2 2 Ottawa to Lake Huron 2 3 Great Lakes shipping 2 4 Statistics 2 5 Under the Grand Trunk Railway 2 6 Under the Canadian National Railways 3 Current status 4 Significant dates and legal history 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 7 1 Citations 7 2 SourcesRoute editvteCanada Atlantic OA amp PS Legend nbsp Depot Harbour 0 nbsp South Channel Parry Sound nbsp Rose Point near Parry Sound 3 5 nbsp nbsp nbsp GTR CP 5 5 nbsp nbsp nbsp CN 6 0 nbsp Falding 10 5 nbsp Maple Lake 18 7 nbsp Edgington 21 8 nbsp Seguin Falls 28 2 nbsp Bear Lake 33 7 nbsp Spruce Lake 40 2 nbsp Mud Lake Siding 45 8 nbsp nbsp nbsp Scotia Junction GTR 51 2 nbsp Kearney 56 6 nbsp Ravensworth 63 8 nbsp Rainy Lake 73 6 nbsp Brule Lake 81 7 nbsp Canoe Lake 87 8 nbsp Joe Lake 88 1 nbsp Algonquin Park 95 8 nbsp Rock Lake 107 7 nbsp nbsp Opeongo Lake W amp OR nbsp Whitney 118 4 nbsp L Amable Siding 126 0 nbsp nbsp Shirley Lake nbsp Egan Estate 130 5 nbsp Madawaska 133 6 nbsp nbsp nbsp Bridge 51 CP 142 8 nbsp Aylen Lake 146 0 nbsp nbsp Western Division Middle Division nbsp nbsp Martins Siding 153 0 nbsp Barry s Bay 155 2 nbsp Wilno 161 7 nbsp nbsp Killaloe 170 0 nbsp nbsp nbsp Pembroke GTR nbsp nbsp nbsp Locksley nbsp nbsp Woito nbsp nbsp Dore Bay nbsp nbsp nbsp Golden Lake 178 9 nbsp Eganville 186 8 nbsp Caldwell 194 1 nbsp Douglas 197 1 nbsp Admaston 202 8 nbsp nbsp nbsp Renfrew Junction GTR 207 9 nbsp Renfrew 209 0 nbsp Goshen 213 9 nbsp Glasgow 217 7 nbsp Arnprior 225 4 nbsp Galetta 230 4 nbsp Kinburn 235 0 nbsp Carp 243 4 nbsp South March 249 4 nbsp Graham Bay 254 5 nbsp nbsp Chaudiere nbsp nbsp OA amp PS M amp OJ nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Chaudiere Junction CP 261 1 nbsp Elgin Street Roundhouse 262 1 nbsp Ottawa Union Station 263 8 vteCanada Atlantic Ottawa to Vermont Legend nbsp Ottawa Union Station 263 8 nbsp Eastman s Springs 275 2 nbsp Vars 281 4 nbsp nbsp Rockland nbsp nbsp Clarence Creek nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Hammond CP nbsp nbsp Cheney nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp South Indian 286 3 nbsp Casselman 294 1 nbsp Moose Creek 301 9 nbsp Maxville 307 8 nbsp Greenfield 312 5 nbsp Alexandria 319 2 nbsp nbsp Hawkesbury nbsp nbsp Vankleek Hill nbsp nbsp Dalkeith nbsp nbsp Glen Sandfield nbsp nbsp nbsp Glen Robertson 326 6 nbsp nbsp Ontario Quebec nbsp nbsp Ste Justine 331 2 nbsp nbsp nbsp St Polycarpe Junction CP 336 0 nbsp St Polycarpe 338 3 nbsp nbsp nbsp Coteau Junction GTR 342 2 nbsp nbsp M amp OJ C amp PL nbsp nbsp Saint Lawrence River nbsp Valleyfield 347 6 nbsp nbsp nbsp Cecile Junction NYC 350 1 nbsp St Louis de Gonzague 356 2 nbsp nbsp nbsp Howick Junction GTR 362 1 nbsp Aubrey 367 4 nbsp nbsp nbsp Johnsons Barrington GTR 377 6 nbsp Henrysburg 384 0 nbsp nbsp nbsp Lacolle Junction GTR NJR 388 9 nbsp Noyan Junction NYC 391 1 nbsp nbsp Quebec Vermont nbsp nbsp nbsp C amp PL V amp PL nbsp nbsp Alburgh Springs 397 3 nbsp Swanton 405 2 miles from Depot Harbour The CAR comprised the following lines west to east Ottawa Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway OA amp PS Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway M amp OJ Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company C amp PL History edit nbsp Vauclain compound Engine 618 Canada Atlantic Railway The CAR owes its existence to industrialist John Rudolphus Booth J R Booth was an Ottawa based lumber baron who in the latter half of the 19th century amassed timber rights approaching 7 000 sq mi 18 000 km2 in central and northern Ontario 2 J R Booth was North America s largest timber rights holder at the time and was also the owner of the world s largest lumbering operation located at Chaudiere Falls on the Ottawa River just upstream from Parliament Hill Booth s sawmill operations could never run at full capacity because the output could not be carried out of the lumber yards fast enough 3 As a result of the transportation problems he experienced in the Ottawa area Booth became an important participant in the development of Canada s railway system when he purchased two railway companies in 1879 the Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway M amp OJ and the Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company C amp PL merging them to create the Canada Atlantic Railway The M amp OJ had received a charter to build southeast from Ottawa to Coteau QC on the north bank of the St Lawrence River The C amp PL had received a charter to build a bridge across the St Lawrence River to Valleyfield QC and then across southwestern Quebec to Swanton VT on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain Due to financial difficulties neither line had been completed and Booth worked through the early to mid 1880s on completing this route between Ottawa and Swanton In the late 1880s and throughout the 1890s Booth established a third company the Ottawa Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway OA amp PS which received a charter to build northwest from Ottawa to the shores of Lake Huron at Depot Harbour ON All three lines met end to end The M amp OJ met the OA amp PS on Booth s sawmill property in Ottawa while the C amp PL met the M amp OJ in Coteau using several hundred feet of trackage rights of the Grand Trunk Railway GTR In 1899 Booth merged the OA amp PS into the CAR retaining the name Canada Atlantic Railway Ottawa to Vermont edit Main articles Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway and Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company In 1871 and 1872 a group headed by Donald Macdonald the brother of Ontario s first premier Sir John Sandfield Macdonald created two railway companies which received charters to build tracks between Ottawa and northern Vermont The promoters failed to lay any track mainly due to the high cost of bridging the St Lawrence River The Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway M amp OJ would run south east from Ottawa to Coteau du Lac just west of Montreal The line would connect to the Grand Trunk Railway GTR at what became known as Coteau Junction also known as Coteau station Crossing the GTR main line the Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company C amp PL ran southeast bridging the St Lawrence River to reach Valleyfield where it crossed the original Beauharnois Canal at a lock thence across southwestern Quebec to Cantic and then crossing the northern end of Lake Champlain between Alburgh and Swanton where it ended at a connection with the Central Vermont Railway CVR In 1879 Booth with William Perley of Ottawa and J Gregory Smith of St Albans Vermont purchased the lines from the Macdonald group as part of an aggressive railway expansion plan By this time Booth s mills were hampered by a lack of markets and the lines would connect the mill with the US eastern seaboard markets either for regional consumption or for export to Europe from year round Atlantic coast ports 4 On 15 May 1879 the two lines were amalgamated into the newly chartered Canada Atlantic Railway N 1 Between July 1881 and September 1882 track was laid from Ottawa to Coteau and trains began to run regularly 5 Approval for a bridge across the St Lawrence River was delayed partly because of lobbying by competing railways and partly from fears of the effect a bridge would have on river traffic Threatened with a lapsed charter in 1884 Booth instituted a train ferry for the C amp PL by early 1885 and completed the line through to Vermont using trackage rights on a small section of the GTR main line at Coteau QC 6 Bridging of the St Lawrence River started in 1887 Work began in May 1888 and was completed in February 1890 7 The bridge consisted of three sections on 16 piers The route included 2 125 ft 648 m of track located on river islands thus only 3 906 ft 1 191 m of bridging was built The northern section included a 355 ft 108 m swing bridge elevated 25 ft 7 6 m above the water for the river s navigation channel 8 A decade later an additional structure was added on the north shore when the Soulanges Canal was built In Vermont the CAR connected with the Delaware amp Hudson Railway the Rutland Railroad and the Central Vermont Railway In 1897 a 3 1 mi 5 0 km US connector section the Province Line Railroad later the Vermont and Province Line Railroad made shipments into the United States even more efficient 9 Ottawa to Lake Huron edit Main article Ottawa Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway nbsp Construction scene inside Algonquin Park ca 1894 5 With the completion of the Ottawa to Vermont section Booth began looking westward from Ottawa not only to transport logs year round to his Ottawa lumber mills but also to take advantage of the increasing grain production on the prairies which was destined for eastern North American and European markets By building through to an appropriate harbour on Georgian Bay for the receiving of Great Lake steamers Booth could avoid the large expense of building a land line through the rough and uninhabited terrain north of Lake Huron and Lake Superior 10 In 1888 Booth incorporated the Ottawa Arnprior and Renfrew Railway and the Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway to build track from Ottawa to Lake Huron Despite opposition from the Canadian Pacific and from Toronto business interests despite fires at his large Ottawa saw mill and the deaths of his partners Booth pushed forward with his rail line Even though from September 1892 to May 1893 only the Ottawa to Arnprior section had been built 38 miles 61 km by December 1896 the line was complete through Algonquin Park to Depot Harbour on Georgian Bay although another 16 months was needed to complete ancillary elements such as freight yards and port facilities The first eastbound train Depot Harbour to Ottawa ran on 22 April 1898 11 In the process Booth had acquired 1892 the Parry Sound Colonization Railway which had started to build track westward from Scotia Junction towards Parry Sound 12 Depot Harbour The original plan for the western terminus of the CAR was in the vicinity of Parry Sound However speculation in the late 1880s and early 1890s drove up the price of the necessary terminus and port lands In 1885 after he had visited the Parry Sound area Booth chose instead to locate the terminus on undeveloped land on nearby Parry Island occupied by Parry Island Indian Reservation No 16 Under pressure from the federal Department of Indian Affairs the local band that autumn surrendered the necessary 315 5 acres 127 7 ha for the rail access terminus port facilities and residences 13 A further 110 acres 45 ha were purchased in 1899 14 The new port was named Depot Harbour and it proved to be one of the better natural harbours on the Great Lakes 15 Booth built both a town site and port including waterfront freight sheds a 1 000 000 imp bsh 36 000 m3 grain elevator wharves water towers pumping stations offices a bunk house hotel over 100 company houses a community centre a school and several churches 16 The 1901 census recorded 576 inhabitants in the village plus 231 on the reservation 17 The railway accessed Depot Harbour by crossing South Channel between Parry Island and Rose Point on the Wasauksing Swing Bridge Great Lakes shipping edit In 1898 Booth created the Canada Atlantic Transit Company to operate steamships on the Great Lakes from Depot Harbour to Fort William and in 1899 the Canada Atlantic Transit Company of the United States to operate between Depot Harbour and American ports such as Chicago and Duluth 18 During their early years the ships of both companies as well as other vessels operating under charter regularly carried goods between the upper Great Lakes and Depot Harbour These shipping routes linked the railway across eastern Ontario to Vermont with other railways in western Canada and the United States which terminated at ports in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior Overall east bound tonnage far exceeded west bound tonnage with a ratio of about 4 1 Booth was able to make a profit on the ships during the few years that he owned them however after the sale of the CAR and its shipping lines to the GTR the profits turned to losses and shipping declined in importance 19 Statistics edit Grain and Lumber freight 1899 1902 20 Year Grain bushels Lumber fbm 1899 12 999 612 224 267 000 1900 15 053 238 374 906 000 1901 19 301 281 231 869 000 1902 19 038 924 311 885 460 In the 1899 season Depot Harbour handled 38 4 of all grain shipped via Great Lakes rail ports and 51 2 of all western grain exported from Montreal 21 Between 1899 and 1914 grain traffic averaged 13 084 483 bushels 475 866 m3 per year Between 1987 and 1095 lumber traffic averaged 294 272 203 board feet 694 405 m3 per year Between 1897 and 1914 passenger traffic averaged 419 139 people per year 20 Under the Grand Trunk Railway edit Throughout the 1890s the Government of Canada promoted the creation of a second transcontinental railway line that could compete with the Canadian Pacific as well as American railroads Federal politicians and bureaucrats believed that Booth s railways could form a strategic link in such a new system Booth himself was concerned with building the railways as well as marketing the service to build and maintain tonnage on the new lines 22 He was open to cooperation with other railways in eastern and western Canada as well as to sale or amalgamation with a larger railway system Only 4 years after the CAR was finally created Booth was contemplating such a sale by 1901 23 Whether it was because Booth at age 74 was tired or because he realized that competition from other transcontinental lines would soon cause serious problems for the CAR he did everything possible in the early years of the 20th century to make every aspect of the railway profitable and therefore attractive to potential buyers 24 Prompted by the federal government the Grand Trunk Railway began negotiating with Booth to acquire the Canada Atlantic as part of the Grand Trunk s efforts to expand into northern Ontario and eventually into Western Canada In August 1904 the Grand Trunk agreed to purchase the Canada Atlantic system including the Great Lakes steamship fleet and the line in Vermont which connected with its Central Vermont Railway subsidiary The agreed upon price for the entire system as well as the Depot Harbour and Ottawa terminals was CAD 16 000 000 25 The Grand Trunk took over all operations of the CAR on 1 October 1905 actual purchase was ratified by Parliament only in 1914 26 After the purchase closed the GTR appeared to be in no hurry to consolidate the CAR into the larger system operating it instead as a stand alone company for another nine years While a Grand Trunk subsidiary the Canada Atlantic purchased the Pembroke Southern Railway in 1906 27 and in 1907 the CAR created the Ottawa Terminals Railway Company in 1912 the OTR built a large train station in downtown Ottawa near Parliament Hill and directly across Wellington Street from the GTR owned Chateau Laurier hotel 28 This train station operated until the 1960s when it was converted into the Government Conference Centre The CAR was merged into the Grand Trunk on 27 May 1914 and the subsidiary company s name started to disappear as the Grand Trunk s timetables and equipment started to usurp those of the former subsidiary Despite further Grand Trunk investments in the former CAR infrastructure including new depot facilities improved roadbeds and heavier track the increased freight tonnage passengers and income did not keep pace with the more rapidly increasing costs so that net losses increased year by year 29 After the First World War the bankrupt or near bankrupt Grand Trunk Railway was finally taken over in 1923 and absorbed into the new government owned Canadian National which also took over ownership of the former Canada Atlantic properties Despite efforts by the Grand Trunk Railway to turn a profit including the former CAR lines it was fairly obvious not long after the 1905 purchase that this was not going to happen The separate CAR accounts during the transition period 1905 1914 made that clear 30 The Grand Trunk was the last significant railway in Canada to be nationalized by the federal government into the Canadian National CN During the run up period to 1923 while it was well understood that the federal government would force the amalgamation of a number of money losing railways including the Canadian Northern and eventually the Grand Trunk which would require extensive rationalization of trackage The GTR was itself involved in pruning unnecessary routes and the former CAR system was not immune The GTR found it was particularly expensive to operate on the section over the height of land through Algonquin Park known as the Haliburton Highlands This hilly area required that heavy or long freight trains had to be either doubled separated and pulled in sections over the high point or required helper locomotives 31 The GTR found that heavily loaded eastbound trains from Depot Harbour could be routed south around the Haliburton Highlands to eastern Ontario at less expense Under the Canadian National Railways edit The insolvent GTR was acquired by the federal government and merged into CN in 1923 That year a 5 5 mi 8 9 km section of the CAR main line between Two Rivers and Algonquin Park Station was abandoned 32 N 2 The western section of the CAR was heavily used by CN until the Great Depression collapsed the grain trade on the lakes When a bridge washed out in 1933 it was not replaced and the line remained split inside the Algonquin Provincial Park Service ran on either side of the split into the 1950s CN closed most of its operations at Depot Harbour on 30 May 1953 All the remaining inhabitants of the village moved out and the buildings were either demolished or left to disintegrate 34 The rail line remained in place and from 1959 to 1979 iron ore from Northern Ontario was loaded at Depot Harbour into freighters The workers commuted from Parry Sound and other nearby communities 35 The CAR steamship companies that had been sold along with the railway in 1905 to the Grand Trunk continued to operate under CN ownership until after World War II The American company was voluntarily dissolved in 1948 and the charter for the Canadian company was allowed to lapse in 1950 36 Current status editMost of the CAR line west of Ottawa has been abandoned East of Ottawa the line is still mostly intact to Coteau and is used by CN freight trains and Via Rail passenger trains The bridge over the St Lawrence is still intact as CN uses this for an industrial spur between Coteau and Valleyfield The line has been abandoned east of Valleyfield to Cantic The line is still intact between Cantic and Swanton VT To the east of Two Rivers the 16 46 mile 26 49 km stretch to Whitney just outside Algonquin Park was abandoned in 1946 Near the west end of the line a 3 44 mi 5 54 km section of duplicate track was abandoned in 1938 CN continued to use the parallel track of the former Canadian Northern Ontario Railway later styled the Canadian Northern on its Toronto to Sudbury mainline The 41 19 mi 66 29 km section between Falding on the CN Toronto Sudbury mainline former Canadian Northern Railway and Scotia Junction on the CN Washago North Bay secondary line former Grand Trunk Railway was abandoned in 1955 The section from Kearney eastward through to the end of severed section at Algonquin Park Station was abandoned in 1959 38 3 mi 61 6 km 37 The section from Scotia Junction to Kearney was torn up in 1975 5 4 mi 8 7 km 38 Significant dates and legal history editCanada Atlantic Railway and predecessorsOttawa and Parry Sound Railway 1888 Ottawa Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway 1891 Ottawa Arnprior and Renfrew Railway 1888 Ottawa Arnprior amp Parry Sound Railway 1896 Parry Sound Colonization Railway 1885 Canada Atlantic Railway 1899 Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway 1871 Canada Atlantic Railway 1879 Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company 1872 1871 Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway Company created 39 1872 Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company created 40 1879 J R Booth buys and merges the two lines creating the Canada Atlantic Railway Company 41 1881 to 1882 Ottawa to Coteau section completed 1882 Province Line Railroad Company created in Vermont 42 1885 system south of the St Lawrence River completed 1885 Parry Sound Colonization Railway created 43 1887 Coteau Bridge over the St Lawrence River approved 1888 to 1890 Coteau Bridge built 1888 Ottawa Arnprior and Renfrew Railway Company created 44 1888 Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway Company created 45 1891 Ottawa Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Company created 46 amalgamation of Ottawa Arnprior and Refrew Railway Co and Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway Co 1891 Parry Sound Colonization Railway acquired 1893 to 1896 rail laid from Ottawa to Georgian Bay 1895 Parry Island Depot Harbour land acquired 1896 Ottawa Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Company amalgamation of existing railway and Parry Sound Colonization Railway Co 47 1897 Vermont and Province Line Railroad created in Vermont 48 1897 Vermont and Province Line Railroad section built 1898 through train service established Depot Harbour to Ottawa 1898 Canada Atlantic Transit Company created 49 1899 Canada Atlantic Transit Company of the United States created 50 1899 Canada Atlantic Railway amalgamates with Ottawa Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Co 51 1905 control of CAR the Vermont railroad and the two steamship companies assumed by the Grand Trunk Railway 1 October 1914 sale of CAR to Grand Trunk Railway ratified by Parliament 26 Canada Atlantic Railway Company ceases to exist 1923 bankrupt Grand Trunk Railway absorbed by Canadian National 52 1923 Last through trains between Depot Harbour and Ottawa 53 1923 1959 abandonment of main track sections 1953 closing of Depot Harbour VillageSee also edit nbsp Railways portal nbsp History portal nbsp Canada portal List of Ontario railways History of rail transport in Canada List of defunct Canadian railwaysNotes edit By act of parliament of the Dominion of Canada 42 Victoria chapter 57 Bell states correctly this was in May Some other sources give March in error In 1933 an iron trestle between Lake of Two Rivers and Cache Lake was damaged by flooding and neglect Since the old CAR track had been already abandoned in this area for 10 years CN did not want to repair it nor did the federal government which at the time was heavily subsidizing a road through Algonquin Park parallel to the railway so the line remained physically severed 33 References editCitations edit A complete corporate history of the CAR is given in Hopper amp Kearney 1962 Bell 1991 p 5 Bell 1991 p 8 Bell 1991 pp 10 11 Bell 1991 pp 15 16 Bell 1991 pp 20 21 Bell 1991 pp 22 36 Bell 1991 pp 38 42 Bell 1991 p 42 Bell 1991 pp 43 44 Bell 1991 p 45 Bell 1991 p 51 Bell 1991 pp 63 68 Bell 1991 pp 69 70 MacKay 1981 p 19 Bell 1991 p 83 Canada Census Office Fourth Census of Canada 1901 Ottawa 1902 vol 1 Bell 1991 p 73 Bell 1991 p 81 a b Bell 1991 p 162 Bell 1991 p 165 Bell 1991 p 137 Bell 1991 p 139 Bell 1991 p 142 Bell 1991 pp 143 144 a b Canada 4 5 George V chap 89 27 May 1914 Canada 6 Edward VII chap 73 26 June 1906 Canada 6 7 Edward VII chap 117 27 April 1907 Bell 1991 p 148 Bell 1991 p 120 Bell 1991 pp 120 122 Hopper amp Kearney 1962 MacKay 1981 p 65 Bell 1991 p 149 MacKay 1981 p 77 Bell 1991 pp 73 82 Bell 1991 p 160 MacKay 1981 p 119 Canada 34 Victoria chap 47 14 April 1871 Canada 35 Victoria chap 83 14 June 1872 Canada 42 Victoria chap 57 15 May 1879 Vermont Articles of Association 4 March 1882 Ontario 48 Victoria chap 78 30 March 1885 Ontario 51 Victoria chap 71 23 March 1888 Canada 51 Victoria chap 65 4 May 1888 Canada 54 55 Victoria chap 93 31 July 1891 Canada 60 Victoria chap 8 5 October 1896 Vermont Articles of Association 27 May 1897 Canada 61 Victoria chap 65 13 June 1898 General Laws of the State of Minnesota 30 October 1899 Canada 62 63 Victoria chap 81 11 August 1899 Privy Council of Canada Order 181 30 January 1923 Bell 1991 p 126 Sources edit Private Acts Railways Canada Atlantic Railway Company 18 August 2015 Retrieved April 18 2023 Canada Atlantic Railway Company Library and Archives Canada 25 November 2016 Retrieved April 18 2023 Bell Allan 1991 A Way to the West Barrie Ont privately published Hopper A B Kearney T 1962 Canadian National Railways Synoptical History of Organization Capital Stock Funded Debt and Other General Information as of December 31 1960 Montreal CNR Accounting Dept MacKay Niall 1981 Over the Hills to Georgian Bay Erin Ont Boston Mills Press Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Canada Atlantic Railway amp oldid 1218927127, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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