The Parry Sound Colonization Railway Company (PSCR) is a historic Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 railway that operated in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

.

History

The PSCR was formed in 1884 by the citizens of Parry Sound

Parry Sound, Ontario

Parry Sound is a town in Central Ontario, Canada, located on Parry Sound on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. Parry Sound is located south of Sudbury and north of Toronto. It is the seat of Parry Sound District, a popular cottage country region for Southern Ontario residents. It is also the...

 with the intention of encouraging a railway line to be built to the community.

On January 16, 1886 a public meeting was called in Parry Sound regarding a proposed railway line.

On February 5, 1886, a deputation waited upon the Ontario Government

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 to ask for a subsidy to aid in construction of a line to Parry Sound. The Parry Sound line was described as being an important feeder for the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway

Northern and Pacific Junction Railway

The Northern and Pacific Junction Railway is a historic Canadian railway located in northern Ontario.It was constructed in the 1880s to connect the railways of Southern Ontario to the new transcontinental line of the Canadian Pacific Railway , from the Northern Railway of Canada, at Gravenhurst,...

 (N&PJR), which was under construction at that time from Gravenhurst

Gravenhurst, Ontario

Gravenhurst is a town in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located approximately south of Bracebridge, Ontario. The mayor is Paisley Donaldson...

 to Callander

Callander, Ontario

The Municipality of Callander is a township in central Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast end of Lake Nipissing in the District of Parry Sound...

. The PSCR was to be built from Parry Sound in an easterly direction to connect with the N&PJR near Burks Falls. Beginning at Scotia Junction some work was done as far as Bear Lake before construction was halted due to lack of funds.

In 1892 the PSCR was acquired by Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 lumberman J.R. Booth

John Rudolphus Booth

John Rudolphus Booth was a Canadian lumber and railway baron. He controlled logging rights for large tracts of forest land in central Ontario, and built a railway to extract his logs; and from Ottawa through to Vermont to export lumber and grain to the United States and...

 and merged with his Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway which was being built from Ottawa to Georgian Bay

Georgian Bay

Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...

. When Booth selected Depot Harbour

Depot Harbour, Ontario

Depot Harbour is a ghost town in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was once the western terminus of the Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway and a busy port on Georgian Bay.J.R...

 as the western terminus of his railway, the citizens of Parry Sound felt betrayed.

Following acquisition of the PSCR by Booth, the locomotive from his Nosbonsing & Nipissing Railway was used for construction of this line, west of Bear Lake, during the winter months when that line was shut down for the season.