ViewfromtheLake
New Member
And the cottage trains that ran from Toronto to the Gravenhurst docks to connect to the lake steamers…would there be a market for a GO train to Washago, Gravenhurst and Huntsville? I think so.
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- Thread starter drum118
- Start date
Richard White
Senior Member
A century ago, there used to be trains directly into Algonquin Park. Over the years, the track was ripped up and the Highland Inn burned down. It would be nice to have a train out there again but I doubt the ROW still exists and remains useable.
DatTranzitGuy
Active Member
A lot of the ROW has been converted into walking trails
Richard White
Senior Member
That is an easy fix though Ontario Parks and the Ministry of Natural Resources may veto the idea.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
any word if LSW express trains are due for a comeback in July, or any other notable changes for the upcoming schedule change?
Allandale25
Senior Member
felix123
Active Member
Is Alghabra hinting at a development here?
DirectionNorth
Active Member
The ROW is dead. The line was closed, starting with the 1933 (?) abandonment of the Cache Lake Trestle. The ROW is completely unusable and rebuilding it (and the bridges that are long-gone) would not be worth it.
generalcanada
Senior Member
naw the feds are trying to make a show that theyre the only ones wanting to develop milton line.
the ontario government also wants to but its not like they dont have their hands full.
All we know is the feds commited a billion i think for the line, no plans have been drawn up at all
Allandale25
Senior Member
^ I think they committed 50% of the projected cost which is around $1B. That was the last public figure I saw that was from 2014 and published around 2015.
Richard White
Senior Member
Yea that could be a problem.
Putting a railway station in Algonquin Park would be damn near impossible given the available space for doing so and other requirements. That being said, I am surprised the ROW was left to decline with all the logging in the area.
Allandale25
Senior Member
Speaking of this line, I saw this picture pop up on railpictures.ca today:
Railpictures.ca - Unknown Photographer; Jacob Patterson Collection Photo: The weekend of February 18 & 19, 1978 saw Barry’s Bay busy with activity as the ski train, running for it’s second of three weekends, arrives from Ottawa with folks ready to
Tens of thousands of great Canadian railway photographs, discussions, and much more. Click to view the image or register for your free account. Please share this if you like it.
www.railpictures.ca
nfitz
Superstar
Quite likely in Stanstead, where the town (and even some buildings) straddle the border, and you can simply walk across.
lenaitch
Senior Member
Without the 'next step' infrastructure', like the lake boats of yore, dedicated tourist trains to these communities would really only benefit the townsites themselves (like what do you do when the train dumps you in Washago?). Before it was cancelled, ONR was trying to attract more Muskoka business but the schedule didn't really work. It remains to be seen if a new schedule will be any better.
Maybe GO can get into the tourism business when it has solved the GTA commuter problem.
Not from southern Ontario. The line ran from Ottawa to Parry Sound. It had passenger service, just like every other railway did back then before roads went through.
In spite of the controversy it generates, not a lot of logging goes on inside the park in relation to its total area. This map is a little dated but gives you the idea, and very little is in the area where the railway was (very roughly where the highway is).
What wood that comes out of the area is hauled from cutting areas by truck to local mills. The era of seasonal cutting and hauling, floating logs in water courses and trainloads of raw logs being shipped off to overseas buyers is no longer a thing.
lenaitch
Senior Member
'Could' not "can". 9/11 pretty much ended that. I believe for those buildings that actually straddle the border, one can enter and cross the line inside the building so long as you exit the building in the same country. The days of freely zipping back and forth are done.