The Hamilton, Grimsby and Beamsville Electric Railway (HG&B) was an

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that operated between Hamilton and

Vineland ''Vineland'' is a 1990 novel by Thomas Pynchon, a postmodern fiction set in California, United States in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan's reelection.Knabb 2002 Through flashbacks by its characters, who have lived the sixties in their youth, th ...

in the Niagara Peninsula in

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 C ...

, Canada. It was incorporated in 1894. Hamilton, Grimsby and Beamsville's interurban line ran for 22 miles along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. The HG&B interchanged freight cars with other lines in the Hamilton Radial System, with the TH&B Kinnear_Yard.html"_;"title="CPR_Kinnear_Yard.html"_;"title="nowiki/>CPR_Kinnear_Yard">Kinnear_Yard">CPR_Kinnear_Yard.html"_;"title="nowiki/>CPR_Kinnear_Yard">Kinnear_Yardand_with_the_Grand_Trunk_[Winona,_Ontario.html" ;"title="CPR_Kinnear_Yard">Kinnear_Yard.html" ;"title="CPR_Kinnear_Yard.html" ;"title="nowiki/>CPR Kinnear Yard">Kinnear Yard">CPR_Kinnear_Yard.html" ;"title="nowiki/>CPR Kinnear Yard">Kinnear Yardand with the Grand Trunk [Winona, Ontario">Winona]. Spur lines were constructed to Grimsby Park and the canning factories. The HG&B derived a large amount of revenue by hauling fruit grown in the northern section of the Niagara Peninsula. It built a car shop in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...

and a coal-fired steam-electric DC generator at Stoney Creek. In 1904 the HG&B began using AC power from Hamilton Cataract's hydro-electric generator at Decew Falls, two miles south of St. Catharines, It then converted its Stoney Creek DC station to an AC substation. A extension from

Beamsville Beamsville ( 2021 Urban area estimated population 13,323) is a community that is part of the town of Lincoln, Ontario, Canada. It is located along the southern shore of Lake Ontario and lies within the fruit belt of the Niagara Peninsula. It co ...

to Vineland opened in 1904 with the hope of a connection to St. Catharines. The connection was never made as bridging the Twenty Mile Creek ravine was economically unfeasible. The Vineland extension was abandoned in 1905 when local revenue was insufficient to cover operating costs, but its streetcar service was expanded to Oakville, with future plans to connect to the

Toronto streetcar system The Toronto streetcar system is a network of nine streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is the busiest light-rail system in North America. The network is concentrated primarily in D ...

Port Credit Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road ...

. This failed to happen, and service was cut back to

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

in 1925. In 1927, street car service stopped entirely. The company ended in 1931 when its line was abandoned and torn up.

References

* Hydro-Electric Railways Defunct Ontario railways Passenger rail transport in Hamilton, Ontario Interurban railways in Ontario Electric railways in Canada 1931 disestablishments in Ontario 1894 establishments in Ontario Railway companies established in 1894 Railway companies disestablished in 1931 Canadian companies established in 1894 Standard gauge railways in Canada {{Ontario-transport-stub

See also

References