Thousand Islands Railway
Encyclopedia
The Thousand Islands Railway (originally Gananoque & Rideau Railway was a 8 km (5 mi) long railway running from the town of Gananoque
north to the Grand Trunk Railway
(now CN
) Toronto-Montreal mainline, just south of present-day Cheeseborough. The service ran for 111 years between 1884 and 1995. The rails were removed in October 1997.
over the mouth of the Gananoque River
was constructed in 1894 to provide service to businesses on the east side of the river. The original junction between the Thousand Island Railway and the Grand Trunk Railway was moved 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) east in 1902 to a flatter location. The Thousand Islands Railway was merged into the Canadian National Railway in 1958. Passenger service ended in 1962; freight service ended in 1995. The line was dismantled in 1997.
Gananoque, Ontario
Gananoque is a town in Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,287 year-round residents in the Canada 2006 Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, Gananoque's most...
north to the Grand Trunk Railway
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
(now CN
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
) Toronto-Montreal mainline, just south of present-day Cheeseborough. The service ran for 111 years between 1884 and 1995. The rails were removed in October 1997.
History
The railway was originally incorporated as Gananoque & Rideau Railway on 15 February 1871, but construction did not begin until 1883 due to lack of money. The original 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) line opened 1 January 1884. The company name was changed to Thousand Islands Railway four months later. A swing bridgeSwing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
over the mouth of the Gananoque River
Gananoque River
The Gananoque River is a river in Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario which flows from Gananoque Lake near Delta, Ontario and empties into the Saint Lawrence River at Gananoque, Ontario in the Thousand Islands region....
was constructed in 1894 to provide service to businesses on the east side of the river. The original junction between the Thousand Island Railway and the Grand Trunk Railway was moved 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) east in 1902 to a flatter location. The Thousand Islands Railway was merged into the Canadian National Railway in 1958. Passenger service ended in 1962; freight service ended in 1995. The line was dismantled in 1997.
What remains today
The unique locomotive #500 is preserved at Sculpture Park, where King Street crosses the Gananoque River. The waterfront station became a restaurant after passenger service ended, but was destroyed by fire in 1990; the Arthur Child Heritage Museum was built on the site. The former right-of-way is readily visible on satellite imagery, and is now a hiking trail. The Gananoque Junction station remains on Station Road which is 1.2 kilometre (0.745647283979768 mi) west of Hiscocks Road.External links
- Gananoque trail map, showing part of former railbed (from "Trailhead" to "Lions Loop" and on beyond Hwy 401)
- Photos of Gananoque trails, including former TIR railbed Gananoque Junction station (1902-present)