Guelph Junction Railway
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The Guelph Junction Railway is a
shortline railway :''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that oper ...
owned by the City of
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, and serves the city's northwest industrial park. The railway was the first federally chartered railway in the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
to be owned by a municipality, and is among few remaining in Canada (e.g. the
Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway The Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway is a industrial railway from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Waugh on Shoal Lake near Manitoba's eastern boundary. The railway was built between 1914 and 1916 to assist in the construction and maintenance of the ...
and the
Capital Railway The Trillium Line (french: Ligne Trillium), also called O-Train Line 2 (french: Ligne 2 de l'O-Train), is a diesel light rail transit (DLRT) service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The line has been closed since May 2020 f ...
).


History

The railway was incorporated in 1884 by Guelph merchants because of the indifference of the
Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...
, which was the only choice for freight since 1856. Competition was the only answer to high rates. These plans were expanded in 1887, when authorization was obtained to lay down a further line to the northwest of Guelph, originally with the intention of going to Goderich but eventually ending at
Linwood Linwood may refer to: Places Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia *Linwood, South Australia * Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales Canada * Linwood, Ontario * Linwood, ...
. The intention was to build tracks south to the CPR main line in Campbellville, Ontario. Construction began in May that year, and it opened on 20 August 1888. Rather than operate the link themselves, they leased it to the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
who offered twice daily passenger service as well as freight service. The City of Guelph was a majority (70 percent) owner and in November 1910 it acquired the rest of the stock from the merchants for sole ownership. The
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
erected a passenger station and freight shed at Priory Square in Guelph, a location which is now the River Run Centre. In 1904, the Railway obtained authorization to construct branch lines from Linwood by way of Stratford to St. Marys and Clinton, and from Linwood to
Listowel Listowel ( ; , IPA: ˆlʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuÉ™hÉ™lʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the Central Statistics Of ...
. The Stratford branch was never constructed, while the Listowel branch opened in 1908. In December 1997, the Canadian Pacific Railway did not renew the lease with Guelph Junction Railway. Undeterred, the city decided it would continue Guelph Junction Railway as an independent railway and contracted with
Ontario Southland Railway The Ontario Southland Railway Inc. is an independently held short line operator. The company was founded in 1992 to purchase of track between Tillsonburg and Ingersoll, Ontario from the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 2009, a second line was added, ...
(OSR) to provide the freight movement services, effective January 1, 1998. The Guelph Junction Railway, via OSR, provides customers with dual access service to the two major railways (CNR and CPR), which, along with good locally managed service, has increased traffic considerably. Much of the cargo is grain, plastics, chemicals, lumber, aggregates and other industrial products. Several other companies have expressed interest in operating the Guelph Junction Railway after the OSR's lease expires in July 2020. The Goderich-Exeter Railway will operate GJR when OSR's contract expires.


Guelph and Goderich Railway

The Railway promoted an expansion of its operations through the incorporation of the
Guelph and Goderich Railway The Guelph and Goderich Railway was a railway in southern Ontario, Canada. It came about from a desire for a connection from Guelph to the harbour at Goderich on Lake Huron. History The city of Guelph owned the Guelph Junction Railway (GJR, inc ...
in 1901, which added a line extending from Guelph to Goderich that was completed in August 1907. The GJR was authorized to transfer its present northwest line to either the CPR or the G&G in order to further the project. The whole line was leased to the CPR, which had also incurred the cost of building it, and it was vested in the CPR, and the company dissolved, in 1956. It was in use until 1988 when it was abandoned by the CPR.


Guelph Junction Express

From Summer 2008 to August 2011, a 4.5 hour passenger tour service travelled the entire Guelph Junction Railway track as the Guelph Junction Express with its own 1950's vintage stainless steel cars. The service was owned by private individuals operating as Destiny Tours International.


See also

*
List of Ontario railways The following railways operate in the Canadian province of Ontario. Common freight carriers * Barrie Collingwood Railway (BCRY) * Canadian National Railway (CN) including subsidiaries Algoma Central Railway (AC), Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GT ...


References


External links


GJR Operators
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guelph Junction Railway Ontario railways Rail transport in Wellington County, Ontario Rail transport in Guelph Rail transport in Milton, Ontario 1885 establishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 1885