Old Time Trains

Dick George/Paterson-George Collection

Chuffing slowly across the 2,141 foot Hog Bay trestle at Port McNicoll, N2b No. 3722, a heavy 2-8-0-bound for Orillia, maintains the mandatory 5 m.p.h. speed limit. This photograph was taken on April 22,1960, just eight days prior to the final steam run on this line, also hauled by this locomotive. In fact this was the last regularly scheduled steam operation on the C.P.R. in Ontario.

The Port McNicoll line was originally built in 1908 as the Georgian Bay and Seaboard Railway between Coldwater Junction on the C.P.R. main line and the docks on Victoria Harbour (formerly Hogg's Bay), where the town of Port McNicoll was founded in 1909. Later the line was extended southeast through Orillia and Lindsay connecting with the Havelock Subdivision at Bethany Junction (later called Dranoel), and the line was leased to the C.P.R. from January 1, 1910 for 999 years. The entire line was opened to traffic on May 4,1912 and regular freight and passenger service was inaugurated on July 2 of the same year. This route was primarily built to handle the heavy grain traffic from Georgian Bay to the ocean port of St. John, New Brunswick bypassing Toronto Terminals.

To expedite grain movement, the C.P.R. placed in service in October 1911, 200 specially equipped 60 ton, 40'6" box cars with hopper bottoms. These cars worked out so well that orders were placed in early 1920 for 3,500 similar cars numbered in the 230000 series. In late 1919, a single covered hopper car, No. 240000, of 75 tons capacity was built at Angus for grain service and was probably the first covered hopper on the system. Rolling on 6X11 Vulcan type trucks which looked more like present day designs than the arch bar type of the period, it gave satisfactory performance and was stencilled "Assigned to grain service between Port McNicoll and West St. John".

Passenger service over the line was provided daily except Sunday, initially by Trains Nos. 610 and 611 between Port McNicoll and Lindsay. By 1914 the trains had become Nos. 605 and 606 and ran through to Peterborough and Havelock, this service lasting until 1933. The power for these trains consisted of 4-4-0's and later, 4-6-0's. To my knowledge, the last 4-4-0 used was No. 63 which made its final trip on Train No. 605 on November 18,1925. Two E3a's, Nos. 2013 and 2014 were in use for a while but these gave way to D10's. The summer boat train service used the line from Medonte to the Port, making it the last passenger service to use the trestle.

The line went into decline in the mid-1930's and the section from Orillia to Lindsay was abandoned, although the track from the Port to Orillia and Lindsay to Dranoel still sees service. The Hog Bay trestle became obsolete by 1971 and the C.P.R. built a connecting track from Port McNicoll to the C.N.R. Midland Subdivision at McMillan. The C.P.R. trains now operate over the C.N.R. to Coldwater, bypassing the trestle line. The last train over the famous trestle ran on March 4, 1971 consisting of 40 cars, 38 of which were export wheat for St. John, and it was hauled by two 8100 series DRS-12 diesels with engineer Jim Fortier at the throttle. The trestle stood abandoned for several years and was finally demolished in 1978.

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Old Time Trains © 2009

Dick George/Paterson-George Collection

Chuffing slowly across the 2,141 foot Hog Bay trestle at Port McNicoll, N2b No. 3722, a heavy 2-8-0-bound for Orillia, maintains the mandatory 5 m.p.h. speed limit. This photograph was taken on April 22,1960, just eight days prior to the final steam run on this line, also hauled by this locomotive. In fact this was the last regularly scheduled steam operation on the C.P.R. in Ontario.

The Port McNicoll line was originally built in 1908 as the Georgian Bay and Seaboard Railway between Coldwater Junction on the C.P.R. main line and the docks on Victoria Harbour (formerly Hogg's Bay), where the town of Port McNicoll was founded in 1909. Later the line was extended southeast through Orillia and Lindsay connecting with the Havelock Subdivision at Bethany Junction (later called Dranoel), and the line was leased to the C.P.R. from January 1, 1910 for 999 years. The entire line was opened to traffic on May 4,1912 and regular freight and passenger service was inaugurated on July 2 of the same year. This route was primarily built to handle the heavy grain traffic from Georgian Bay to the ocean port of St. John, New Brunswick bypassing Toronto Terminals.

To expedite grain movement, the C.P.R. placed in service in October 1911, 200 specially equipped 60 ton, 40'6" box cars with hopper bottoms. These cars worked out so well that orders were placed in early 1920 for 3,500 similar cars numbered in the 230000 series. In late 1919, a single covered hopper car, No. 240000, of 75 tons capacity was built at Angus for grain service and was probably the first covered hopper on the system. Rolling on 6X11 Vulcan type trucks which looked more like present day designs than the arch bar type of the period, it gave satisfactory performance and was stencilled "Assigned to grain service between Port McNicoll and West St. John".

Passenger service over the line was provided daily except Sunday, initially by Trains Nos. 610 and 611 between Port McNicoll and Lindsay. By 1914 the trains had become Nos. 605 and 606 and ran through to Peterborough and Havelock, this service lasting until 1933. The power for these trains consisted of 4-4-0's and later, 4-6-0's. To my knowledge, the last 4-4-0 used was No. 63 which made its final trip on Train No. 605 on November 18,1925. Two E3a's, Nos. 2013 and 2014 were in use for a while but these gave way to D10's. The summer boat train service used the line from Medonte to the Port, making it the last passenger service to use the trestle.

The line went into decline in the mid-1930's and the section from Orillia to Lindsay was abandoned, although the track from the Port to Orillia and Lindsay to Dranoel still sees service. The Hog Bay trestle became obsolete by 1971 and the C.P.R. built a connecting track from Port McNicoll to the C.N.R. Midland Subdivision at McMillan. The C.P.R. trains now operate over the C.N.R. to Coldwater, bypassing the trestle line. The last train over the famous trestle ran on March 4, 1971 consisting of 40 cars, 38 of which were export wheat for St. John, and it was hauled by two 8100 series DRS-12 diesels with engineer Jim Fortier at the throttle. The trestle stood abandoned for several years and was finally demolished in 1978.