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  • Home
    • Paul Rollinson, the train book seller
  • My Books
    • Hamilton's Other Railway
    • Rails to the Lakes
    • Narrow Gauge for Us
    • CP to the East - International of Maine
  • Ontario Railway History
    • Railway Gauges in Ontario
    • Grey and Bruce Counties
    • Haldimand and Norfolk Counties
    • Dufferin County
    • Perth and Huron Counties
    • Peterborough County
    • Simcoe County
    • Victoria and Haliburton Counties
    • Wellington County
    • Buffalo & Lake Huron Railway
    • Georgian Bay & Seaboard Railway
    • Hamilton & North Western/Lake Erie Railways
    • Lake Simcoe Junction Railway
    • Lindsay, Bobcaygeon & Pontypool Railway
    • Northern Railway of Canada Group
    • Portage Flyer
    • Schomberg & Aurora Railway
    • Toronto & Nipissing Railway
    • Cardwell Junction
    • Omemee Junction Ontario ("The Old Road")
    • Victoria Junction, Lindsay, Ont.
  • Ontario Railway Stations - Gallery
    • Image Credit Abbreviations
    • A
    • B
    • C
    • D
    • E F
    • G
    • H
    • I J K
    • L
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • P Q R
    • S
    • T U V
    • W X Y Z
  • Ontario Show and Event Calendar 2023-24
  • Ontario Railway Station Museums
  • Ontario Railway Murals
  • Railway History - Canada
    • Quick Railway Histories and Related Information
    • Carl Riff's Railway History Diaries
    • Rod Clarke's TG&B and T&N Diaries
    • Timetables
    • Glossary of Common Railway Terms
    • "Canadian Rail" (CRHA) - Links to Issues
    • "Branchline" (BRS) - Index to past Issues
    • Upper Canada Railway Society (UCRS) and its publications
    • GTR Locomotives - R&LHS Bulletin #147
    • GTR Buildings & Bridges Inventory 1907
    • GTR Buildings & Bridges Inventory 1903
    • CNR - Stations - Designating Numbers (1924/1927)
    • CPR - Stations - Designating Numbers 1924
    • Railway Stations and distances - by Jim Fergusson
    • CNR - Synoptic History to 1960
    • Intercolonial Railway - report - Sandford Fleming, C.E.
    • Post Cards - a primary research source - by Ralph Beaumont
    • Searching for Antecedents on the Railways
    • Research and Writing a Book
  • What's New In Publications
  • Railway Modelling
    • My 3-Rail Hornby-Dublo layout - and tips and thoughts
    • Prototype Modelling in Ontario
    • Our Friends at the Shows - a Photo Gallery
    • Disposing of model railway and other train stuff
    • The Great British Train Show
    • Aberfoyle Jct. Model Railway
    • The Credible Model
    • Superdetailing Ideas
    • Basic Model Railway Insights
    • More About N Scale
    • My Eagle Lake & Northern Model Railway in N Scale
  • Toy Train and Model Railway Tracks
    • Gallery of Track Images
    • Track Identification
    • Scale, Gauge, and Track Geometry Information
    • Mystery Department
    • Chronology, Toy Train and Model Railway Events
    • Model Railway History
    • Manufacturer Histories
    • Bibliography and Reference
  • Opinion Piece
  • Links
  • Postage Stamps - Railways and Traction
    • Common Terms and Abbreviations
    • North America
    • British Isles and Ireland
    • Europe - Western - Continental
    • Europe - Eastern
    • Caribbean Islands
    • Central America
    • South America
    • Middle East
    • Far East, Asia and Pacific Ocean
    • Australasia
    • Africa
  • Trains on TV and Screen
  • About My Railway Interest
  • Contact Me

Simcoe County

Background

Simcoe County, by virtue of its strategic location in providing access to the Great Lakes, was destined for early participation in the railway construction boom that occurred in the 1850s, a year after the Province of Canada passed the Railway Guarantee Act that guaranteed the loan interest on the construction of railways not less than 75 miles in length.


From 1853 to 1888 - The Years of Development

A portage railway had been coffee house talk when Toronto was still York. The early trails to Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay had defined logical lines of communication; and the availability of wheat and firewood were domestic necessities. So it was that the city fathers, aided by the innovative and energetic Frederick Chase Capreol, brought about, amid flamboyance and some scandal, the first steam railway in Upper Canada.

Incorporated in 1849 as the Toronto, Simcoe & Lake Huron Union Railroad Company, it became the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron Union Railroad in 1852. Its first train reached Machell's Corners (now Aurora) on May 16, 1853, Bradford and Allandale later in 1853, with a spur to Belle Ewart in 1854, and it entered Collingwood in June 1855.

Collingwood (Northern Ry of Canada) ca 1856-1873. Terminus of the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron Union Railroad, predecessor of the NRC. Archives of Ontario.

Collingwood (Northern Ry of Canada) ca 1856-1873. Terminus of the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron Union Railroad, predecessor of the NRC. Archives of Ontario.

Looking south at Collingwood on the Provincial Gauge Northern Railway of Canada. 1860s. Engine house and freight shed. National Archives Canada PA 138976

Looking south at Collingwood on the Provincial Gauge Northern Railway of Canada. 1860s. Engine house and freight shed. National Archives Canada PA 138976

Collingwood station area. 1923. Collingwood Museum

Collingwood station area. 1923. Collingwood Museum

Collingwood, looking north to the elevator. 1978.

Collingwood, looking north to the elevator. 1978.

Stayner. No date. Harold Culham photo

Stayner. No date. Harold Culham photo

New Lowell in the GTR days. School outing?

New Lowell in the GTR days. School outing?

Angus. No date. Dave Spaulding photo

Angus. No date. Dave Spaulding photo

Camp Borden "union" station - GTR and CPR. No date. CFB Borden Museum

Camp Borden "union" station - GTR and CPR. No date. CFB Borden Museum

Colwell Jct.  No date. Photographer and source unknown

Colwell Jct. No date. Photographer and source unknown

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