Canadian Railways 2-Book Bundle. David R.P. Guay
closed for the winter, operating only in the high tourist season of summer. The line followed a path nearly parallel with Stanley Street in present-day Niagara Falls.
In 1852 the charter was revised to allow the line to be rebuilt and equipped with steam locomotives as motive power (Provincial Statutes of Canada, 15 Victoria, chapter 50, assent date November 10, 1852). In addition, the line was extended to Niagara-on-the-Lake, this section being opened on July 3, 1854.
The Erie and Ontario only owned one locomotive, Niagara, an inside-connected 4-4-0 with sixteen-by-twenty-inch cylinders and sixty-inch-diameter driving wheels. It was built in 1854 by Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, New Hampshire. In all likelihood, this locomotive was the Clifton (Amoskeag construction number 169), built for Zimmerman and Balch, contractors. It was disposed of early in 1860 and replaced by the leased locomotive to be next described. Niagara (2nd) was an outside-connected 4-4-0 with eighteen-by-twenty-inch cylinders and sixty-six-inch-diameter driving wheels (Amoskeag 1854, construction number unknown). The identity of the locomotive’s owner is unknown.
In addition, the rolling stock of the road as of December 31, 1860, was as follows:
four first-class passenger coaches (six-wheeled trucks)
one baggage car (four-wheeled trucks)
one boxcar (four-wheeled trucks)
eight flatcars (four-wheeled trucks)
ten gravel cars (four-wheeled)
two handcars
The ever-present Samuel Zimmerman was involved in the rebuilding process of the railway, as well as in the ordering of the only locomotive on the railway’s roster (see above). Zimmerman took over the railway in 1854, but his ownership was cut short by his death at the Desjardins Canal disaster on the Great Western Railway on March 12, 1857 (see chapter 6). During the rebuilding process, the line was relocated closer to the villages of Clifton and Elgin and bypassed Queenston and its heavy grades.
In 1857 the Fort Erie Railway Company was formed to construct a line from Fort Erie to Chippewa (completed in 1860) (Provincial Statutes of Canada, 20 Victoria, chapter 151, assent date June 10, 1857). In 1862 the town of Niagara, which had previously acquired all of the assets of the Erie and Ontario Railroad, sold them to William A. Thomson of Fort Erie.
Legislation introduced in 1863 was to change the Erie and Ontario forever. This act empowered the Fort Erie Railway Company to build a line from “some point at or above the wharf of Samuel Cowtherd” (Fort Erie) to Chippewa and acquire the line of the Erie and Ontario Railroad, ending at Niagara-on-the-Lake. In addition, the name of the resulting railway was to be changed to the Erie and Niagara Railway Company. This railway was now capitalized at $2 million and could amalgamate with or engage in leasing arrangements with any other railway. The Erie and Niagara could likewise buy the Erie and Ontario from William Thomson. Branch lines were permitted to the Buffalo (New York) Railway Depot and to Port Robinson on the Welland Canal (as well as a junction with the Welland Railway). An optimistic completion date of October 15, 1865, was set. Lastly, provision was made for incorporating very broad-gauge track (six feet) with the normal Erie and Niagara broad gauge of five feet six inches, such that the Erie and Atlantic and Great Western Railways would be able to run trains over the Erie and Niagara (Provincial Statutes of Canada, 26 Victoria, chapter 59, assent date October 15, 1863).
At the London (U.K.) Great Western Railway shareholders meeting in April 1865, President Thomas Dakin announced that a twenty-one-year-long agreement had been concluded with the Erie and Niagara even before its thirty-one-mile line had been completed. The road would be operated by the Great Western. The advantage of this agreement for the Great Western lay in its provision of a direct line into Buffalo, and direct connections with the Erie and Atlantic and Great Western lines. This line would shorten the Buffalo-to-Detroit distance by twelve miles.
In the fall of 1867 the Great Western closed down the Erie and Niagara, bringing about legal action to reopen the line. The judge ruled in favour of the Erie and Niagara in 1868, forcing the Great Western to reopen the line, allow connections with other railways in the spirit of the agreement, run the line continuously, and give W.A. Thomson of Queenston his proper place as joint comptroller of the Erie and Niagara. If the Great Western failed to perform any of these required actions, the contract would be rescinded. Damages were also awarded to the railway for past Great Western misdeeds.
In 1872 the Great Western board of directors suggested that the Erie and Niagara be purchased, hopefully for a price of £75,000 ($365,250). The board wanted to join the eastern end of the main line to the Glencoe Loop Line using the Erie and Niagara. However, negotiations were to bog down due to the multiple “owners” of the Erie and Niagara. Finally, the Great Western achieved its aims by another means; that is, by negotiating an agreement with the Welland Railway instead (see Welland Railway monograph in this chapter). It was not long before the Canada Southern Railway would approach the Erie and Niagara to complete the “Great Southern Route.” The incident that concludes this section illustrates just how low railway companies would stoop to outcompete each other.
In April 1872, along the line of the Erie and Niagara Railway, it appeared as though the Great Western and Canada Southern Railways were at war. Early in the morning of April 22 William A. Thomson and N. Kingsmill, with an accompanying gang of men, took possession of all stations from Fort Erie downstream, locking the drawbridge at Chippewa open to prevent Great Western trains from passing. Arriving at Niagara at 0500 hours, they ran a Great Western freight car off the rails and took possession of the station. The scheduled train from Fort Erie arrived at 1030 hours, Great Western officials having broken the locks on the drawbridge at Chippewa and having repatriated the stations at Fort Erie and Chippewa along the way. The train brought a gang of Great Western employees who attempted to regain possession of the station. However, Thomson’s gang prevented this from happening and the Great Western men returned to the Suspension Bridge. Thomson’s gang now began to lift rails in several places to prevent passage of Great Western trains. Fortunately, it appears that cooler heads prevailed and that there was no escalation in tensions or violent confrontations. The Canada Southern would win the Erie and Niagara in the end, amalgamation occurring in 1875.
In an ironic twist, the last Great Western cars to undergo gauge conversion (broad to standard) were the nineteen reserved in 1871 for use on the Erie and Niagara.
Galt and Guelph Railway
The act incorporating the Galt and Guelph Railway gained assent on November 10, 1852 (Provincial Statutes of Canada, 15 Victoria, chapter 42). Its promoters included some of the wealthiest men in the area, including Absalom Shade, Andrew Elliott, William Dickson Jr., and Jacob Hespeler. It provided for the construction of a railway from the terminus of the Great Western Harrisburg-Galt branch line to Guelph. Capital stock would be a maximum of £140,000 ($681,800 U.S.) and the maximum borrowing capacity was £50,000 ($243,500 U.S.). Promoters planned to lease it to the Great Western once completed.
Investors were initially reluctant to participate based, in part, on the results seen in other railway promotions in the area. Several public meetings were held to bolster support and encourage investment in the line.
Soon a dispute broke out between the Galt and Preston factions regarding the best route for the line. This, of course, was based upon the self-interest of the combatants. The Galt faction wished the line to proceed through Hespeler to Guelph, while the Preston faction wanted the line to proceed through Preston then Hespeler to Guelph. Eventually, the Preston faction won out because it seated more individuals on the board of directors by less than transparent and ethical means.
A contract was signed in January 1854 to build the line, with the official sod turning being done by President Grange (who was also the sheriff) on May 12, 1854. From the start, financial woes plagued the project. Finally, in spring 1855, the Great Western stepped in and agreed to complete the line.
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