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90-610: Passing to the east of Lake Simcoe , the line bypasses the cities of Barrie and Orillia , instead passing through the community of Washago . Cutting west toward Georgian Bay , it parallels the Canadian Pacific Railway 's MacTier Subdivision through Parry Sound country, penetrating into the more rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield . The history of the Bala Subdivision is focused around

180-530: A limited express with only one intermediate stop, at Washago. In 2005, CN and CP negotiated the creation of a directional running zone utilizing both of their lines. Starting at mile 146 (Boyne) just south of Parry Sound, all northbound trains began using the CP Parry Sound Subdivision , while southbound trains, including Via passenger and CP freight trains, began using the Bala Subdivision exclusively. The long-closed CP passenger station

270-601: A connection with the Central Vermont at Palmer, Massachusetts , to the deep-water, all-weather port of Providence, Rhode Island . The company was incorporated on November 10, 1852, as the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada to build a railway line between Montreal and Toronto . The charter was soon extended east to Portland, Maine and west to Sarnia, Canada West . In 1853 the GTR purchased

360-676: A dramatic decline in some fish species, along with an increase in algae blooms and aquatic weed growth. Phosphorus emissions from both urban and rural sources have upset the lake's ecosystem and fostered excessive aquatic plant growth, raising water temperatures, and decreasing oxygen levels, thereby rendering limited breeding grounds inhospitable. Lake Simcoe has been victim to zebra mussel , purple loosestrife , black crappie , spiny water flea , round goby , rusty crayfish and Eurasian milfoil invasions. The zebra mussel, which arrived in North American waters in 1985, originated in

450-607: A freight car, which was destroyed by the CNoR crews with dynamite. Ultimately the two railway companies came to an agreement to terminate the CNoR line at a junction (Rosedale Junction) with the GTR-owned and largely-defunct Toronto Belt Line Railway , and for CNoR trains to use the Belt Line to reach Union Station. The Toronto–Parry Sound segment was completed in 1906, terminating in the south at Rosedale Junction, running northward to

540-476: A hard rock trio from Flint, Michigan , called itself Grand Funk Railroad in 1969. Like the CPR and CNR, the GTR began building and operating hotels during the first two decades of the 20th century. Most of the hotels survived the takeover of the GTR by CNR in 1923 and were operated by Canadian National Hotels : Grand Trunk Railway was built fully a century before major property and highway development took place in

630-564: A new Crown corporation , Via Rail , whose services continued to follow the Newmarket Subdivision rather than the Bala Subdivision south of Washago. Even with the resumption of passenger services along the southern part of the line with the GO Richmond Hill line, the line "suffered from neglect," and services and ridership were slow to grow. From August to October 1996, a special "Casino Rama Express" train ran along

720-615: A new entity, the Canadian Government Railways (CGR), which was known under the slogan The People's Railway , to manage a number of smaller railways it had acquired around this time. In 1917, the federal government effectively took control of the Canadian Northern, and in 1918 the company's board resigned and was replaced with a government-appointed board. Late that year, an Order in Council instructed

810-604: A place "where trees stand in the water". Lake Simcoe contains a large island, Georgina, which along with Snake Island and Fox Island forms the reserve of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation . The lake is dotted with several smaller islands, including Thorah Island (a cottage destination), Strawberry Island , Snake Island, Helmers Island and Fox Island. Pope John Paul II stayed on Strawberry Island for four days just before World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto. Before

900-501: A related translation: "it originated as the Mohawk phrase tkaronto, which means "where there are trees standing in the water". According to several Mohawk speakers and aboriginal language expert John Steckley. Mohawks used the phrase to describe The Narrows, where Hurons and other natives drove stakes into the water to create fish weirs. Since then, many subsequent mapmakers adopted this name for it, though cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli

990-598: A result of the GTPR, and its shareholders, primarily in the United Kingdom, were determined to prevent the company from being nationalized as well. Eventually on July 12, 1920, GTR was placed under control of another federal government Board of Management while legal battles continued for several more years. Finally, on January 20, 1923, GTR was fully absorbed into the CNR on a date when all constituent companies were merged into

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1080-529: A signal for an open drawbridge on the Richelieu River near the present-day town of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec , plunging onto a passing barge and killing 99 German immigrants. Canadian Rail speculated in 1963 that an independent GTR might have survived had it always used standard gauge. The GTR was a private company headquartered in England that received heavy Canadian government subsidies and

1170-607: A third bay of Simcoe, known as the Bristol Channel; however, the narrows between the two bodies of water separate them enough to consider this to be another lake. The narrows, known as "where trees stand in the water", an interpretation of the word 'Toronto', was an important fishing point for the First Nations peoples who lived in the area, and the Mohawk term toran-ten eventually gave its name to Toronto by way of

1260-547: Is a lake in southern Ontario , Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon , Lac Seul , and Lake Nipissing . At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century, the lake was called Ouentironk ("Beautiful Water") by the native Wendat/Ouendat (Huron) people. It was also known as Lake Taronto until it was renamed by John Graves Simcoe , the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada , in memory of his father, Captain John Simcoe of

1350-551: Is a remnant of a much bigger, prehistoric lake known as Lake Algonquin . This lake's basin also included Lake Huron , Lake Michigan , Lake Superior , Lake Nipigon , and Lake Nipissing . The melting of an ice dam at the close of the last ice age greatly reduced water levels in the region, leaving the lakes of today. The lake is located on Paleozoic limestone of the Ordovician period. However, due to deep deposits of glacial sediments, this bedrock only appears exposed along

1440-521: Is also well known for its scuba diving. The ship J. C. Morrison sank in 1857 and is a great dive site off Centennial Beach. There are also a number of other popular scuba diving entrance points popular among fresh water divers. Kempenfelt Bay is the most popular for scuba divers as it is the deepest. Visibility ranges from over 30 feet to almost zero. Ontario Provincial Police , South Simcoe Police Service , York Regional Police , Durham Regional Police , and Barrie Police have marine units that patrol on

1530-399: Is still an attraction; however, there are also a number of poker runs, jet-skiing, and other boating events. The lake is surrounded with summer cottages leading to heavy recreational and boating use in summer. There are a number of beaches which attract visitors from the greater Toronto area, as Lake Simcoe has a reputation for cleaner and warmer water than nearby Lake Ontario beaches. Many of

1620-498: Is thought to have introduced the more commonly used spelling of Toronto in a map he created in 1695. The name 'Toronto' found its way to the current city through its use in the name for the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail (or Toronto Passage), a portage running between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay , that passed through Lake Toronto, which in turn was used as the name for an early French fort located at

1710-632: Is within Durham Region , where as Strawberry Island and Helmers Island are privately owned but within the boundaries of Ramara in Simcoe County . Grape is within Orillia and Goffatt is within Ramara with both owned privately by residents. The lake is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) long, 25 kilometres (16 mi) wide and 722 square kilometres (279 sq mi) in area. Lake Simcoe

1800-606: The American states of Connecticut , Maine , Michigan , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , and Vermont . The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal , Quebec, with corporate headquarters in London , United Kingdom (4 Warwick House Street). It cost an estimated $ 160 million to build. The Grand Trunk system and the Canadian Government Railways were precursors of today's Canadian National Railway . The original charter

1890-516: The Black Sea and Caspian Sea area and is thought to have been brought to North America in the ballast of foreign freighters. Zebra mussels are particularly harmful to Lake Simcoe because they increase the clarity of the water allowing sunlight to penetrate to the bottom of the lake, where more algae and aquatic weeds can grow, accelerating the eutrophication process. The Rainbow Smelt are another introduced species and they were first observed in

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1980-466: The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to meet British Columbia's conditions for joining Confederation. By the early 20th century, GTR desired to operate in Western Canada , particularly given the virtual monopoly of service that CPR maintained and the lucrative increasing flows of immigrants west of Ontario. The federal government encouraged GTR to co-operate with a local railway company operating on

2070-742: The Central Ontario port town of Parry Sound . In the late 19th century, there were a number of plans to connect the Parry Sound area to the Ottawa Valley (and from there, the Saint Lawrence River ) to the east, Toronto in the south, and James Bay in the north. After a number of disparate efforts in the 1880s by forces such as the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR), the former materialized as

2160-573: The Continental Divide in North America at Yellowhead Pass . GTR's cost-conscious president Charles Melville Hays was one of the victims on board RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912. His death is speculated to have contributed to poor management of GTR over the ensuing decade, and also contributed to the abandonment of the uncompleted Southern New England Railway to Providence, Rhode Island , begun in 1910. Construction started on

2250-547: The First World War , many Canadian railways encountered severe financial problems. Historically reliant on generous federal loans to support the construction of new lines, one by one, the major railways became insolvent. In 1914, the Canadian Northern's financial problems began to threaten its main creditor, the Canadian Bank of Commerce , and the company appealed for federal aid. The Government of Canada created

2340-685: The Kawartha lakes system and Lake Ontario. From its connection to Lake Couchiching, the Severn River is the only drainage from the lake to Georgian Bay, part of Lake Huron (Simcoe itself is not one of the Great Lakes ). The canal locks of the Trent-Severn Waterway make this connection navigable . A number of creeks and rivers flow into the lake: The lake has little commercial activity, but sees many recreational uses. In

2430-580: The Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway , which bypassed the town to reach a western terminus at Depot Harbour nearby, and connected to the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway which ran from Toronto to Nipissing Junction , where it connected to the Canadian Pacific Railway line. With the increasing attractiveness of Sudbury as a rail destination due to the mining boom in the Sudbury Basin ,

2520-720: The Prairies , the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR), but an agreement was never reached. CNoR decided to build its own transcontinental system at this time, forcing GTR in 1903 to enter into an agreement with Wilfrid Laurier 's government to build a third railway system from the Atlantic to the Pacific. GTR would build (with federal assistance) and operate the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Prince Rupert, British Columbia , while

2610-571: The Royal Navy , dying of pneumonia aboard his ship, HMS Pembroke , on 15 May 1759. Historically, at the time of the first European contact in the 17th century, the lake was called Ouentironk ("Beautiful Water") by the Wyandot (Huron) natives; The Wyandot name for the lake was rendered as Wentaron in European sources up until the 20th century. A 1675 map by Pierre Raffeix referred to

2700-665: The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad from Montreal to the Canada East – Vermont border, and the parent company Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad through to the harbour facilities at Portland. A line was also built to Lévis , via Richmond from Montreal in 1855, part of the much-talked about " Maritime connection" in British North America . In the same year it purchased the Toronto and Guelph Railroad , whose railway

2790-423: The gauge difference , the GTR experimented with a form of variable-gauge axles called "adjustable gauge trucks", but these proved unreliable. The GTR system expanded throughout southern Ontario , western Quebec, and the U.S. state of Michigan over the years by purchasing and absorbing numerous smaller railway companies, as well as building new lines. GTR's largest purchase came on August 12, 1882, when it bought

CN Bala Subdivision - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-611: The 1,371-kilometre (852 mi) Great Western Railway , running from Niagara Falls to Toronto, and connecting to London , Windsor , and communities in the Bruce Peninsula . The company sold the line along the St. Lawrence River between Rivière-du-Loup and Lévis in 1879 to the federal government-owned Intercolonial Railway (IRC), and granted running rights in 1889 to the IRC on trackage between Lévis and Montreal (via Richmond); however,

2970-569: The CAR in 1905, although the purchase was not ratified by Parliament until 1914. The routing of these systems was extremely speculative, as GTPR's main line was located farther north than the profitable CPR main line in the Prairies, and NTR was located even farther north of populous centres in Ontario and Quebec. Construction costs on the GTPR escalated, despite having the most favourable crossing of

3060-796: The CGR and CNoR to merge operations under a new name, the Canadian National Railway . By 1920, Canada's great eastern railway conglomerate, the Grand Trunk Railway , had become entirely bankrupt and was nationalized under the Canadian National Railway, though legal action from shareholders delayed this until 1923. The integration of the Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk systems resulted in two parallel north-south mainlines in Central Ontario for

3150-650: The Canadian Northern's James Bay Railway was rechartered as the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway and rerouted through Sudbury. Construction was hindered as the company attempted to penetrate through Toronto's crowded railway network to Union Station in the south, and a small railway battle occurred when the CNoR's construction crews attempted to build a level crossing with the Grand Trunk Railway tracks at Rosedale . The GTR, in preparation for this, had blocked their path with

3240-750: The Château Laurier in Ottawa. Hays blundered in 1903 by building a subsidiary, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Company some 4,800 kilometres (3,000 mi) long; it reached Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia in 1914. The government built and the Grand Trunk was to operate the National Transcontinental to link the main Grand Trunk with its Pacific subsidiary. The very expensive subsidiary

3330-545: The Conservative party. Carlos and Lewis (1995) show that it managed to survive because its British investors accurately assessed the corporation's value and prospects, which included the likelihood that the Canadian government would bail out the railway should it ever default on its bonds. The government had guaranteed a very large loan and had enacted legislation authorizing debt restructuring . These arrangements allowed

3420-607: The Crown corporation. At the time that the GTR was fully merged into CNR, approximately 125 smaller railway companies comprised the Grand Trunk system, totalling 12,800 kilometres (8,000 mi) in Canada and 1,873 kilometres (1,164 mi) in the United States. Canada's worst railway accident based on loss of life happened on the GTR, occurring on June 29, 1864, when a passenger train operating between Lévis and Montreal missed

3510-459: The GTPR and the limited financial returns being realized, GTR defaulted on loan payments to the federal government in 1919. GTPR was nationalized on March 7 of that year, being operated under a federal government Board of Management until finally being placed under the control of the Crown corporation Canadian National Railways (CNR) on July 20, 1920. GTR underwent serious financial difficulties as

3600-524: The GTPR/NTR in 1905, and the GTPR opened to traffic in 1914, followed by the NTR in 1915. It was a transcontinental system, with the only exception being the NTR's ill-fated Quebec Bridge , which would not be completed for several more years. The first indication the arrangement with the government was faltering came when GTR refused to operate the NTR, citing economic reasons. With the enormous cost of building

3690-659: The Grand Trunk Corporation as a Class I railroad . The Portland, Maine-Chicago, Illinois mainline of the Grand Trunk is or was known by the following names: The Montreal-Toronto segment had been known by the following names: The Grand Trunk Railway Building on Warwick House Street in London continues to stand. Built by Aston Webb , the 7 storey building was built in 1907 with the banner The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada on 4 Warwick House Street and Canadian National Railway on Cockspur Street. CN no longer owns

CN Bala Subdivision - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-686: The Great Western Railway routing instead. CN continues to use the "Grand Trunk" name for its holding company the Grand Trunk Corporation . The corporation was created in 1971 to provide autonomy in operation for CN's US subsidiaries: Grand Trunk Western Railroad ; Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Railway ; and the Central Vermont Railway . The main goal of the corporation, headquartered in Detroit ,

3870-708: The Holland River in Cook's Bay. This plant's purpose is to support intensification of development in the Lake Simcoe watershed. A number of southern Ontario rivers flow, generally north, into the lake, draining 2,581 km (997 sq mi) of land. From the east, the Talbot River , part of the Trent–Severn Waterway , is the most important river draining into Lake Simcoe, connecting the lake with

3960-407: The IRC's construction of a more direct line from Lévis to Saint-Hyacinthe in 1899 saw most of this traffic transferred to that line. As the dominant railway in British North America, GTR was reportedly asked by the federal government soon after Confederation to consider building a rail line to the Pacific coast at British Columbia but refused, forcing the government to enact legislation creating

4050-420: The Lake , are using the $ 250,000 they raised from the sale of a nude picture calendar to rally government, business, the school system, and the local citizenry to rescue the lake. Several towns and communities on the lakeshore depend on Lake Simcoe for their drinking water. The Region of York is currently finalizing plans for a sewage treatment plant to be constructed on the shores of Lake Simcoe to be located on

4140-402: The Maritimes demanded that a railway link the entire geopolitical region. During this time the GTR extended its line to Lévis further east to Rivière-du-Loup . By 1860, the Grand Trunk was on the verge of bankruptcy and in no position to expand further east to Halifax . On the eve of the American Civil War , it stretched from Sarnia in the west to Rivière-du-Loup in the east and Portland in

4230-499: The Newmarket Subdivision south of Washago, including the Super Continental , which had a scheduled travel time from Toronto to Parry Sound of 4 hours and 5 minutes. A GO Transit Richmond Hill line was initially proposed in 1969, but the proposal was scrapped in 1970 in favour of a bus service. The Richmond Hill line would ultimately only begin service in 1978, almost a decade after it was proposed. Around this time, CN divested itself of its passenger services, which were handed over to

4320-436: The Newmarket Subdivision. This forced the remaining through passenger services along the Newmarket Subdivision south of Washago to relocate to the Bala Subdivision, namely the Ontario Northland Railway 's Northlander and the Via Rail Canadian , the latter of which subsequently adopted a route similar to the pre-1960s Super Continental , and initially had a scheduled travel time of 4 hours and 15 minutes to Parry Sound as

4410-481: The Royal Navy. In Anishinaabemowin , the historical language of the First Nations living around this lake, namely Anishinaabek of Rama and Georgina Island First Nations, the lake is called Zhooniyaang-zaaga'igan , meaning "Silver Lake". Lake Simcoe's name was given by John Graves Simcoe in 1793 in memory of his father, Captain John Simcoe. Captain Simcoe was born on 28 November 1710, in Staindrop , in County Durham , northeast England, and served as an officer in

4500-405: The St. Lawrence River on August 25, 1860, with the opening of the first Victoria Bridge at Montreal (replaced by the present structure in 1898); the bridging of the Niagara River between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York ; and the construction of a tunnel beneath the St. Clair River, connecting Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Michigan. The latter work opened in August 1890 and replaced

4590-426: The St. Lawrence River was frozen, and the only railway for British reinforcements to use would be the Grand Trunk connection at Portland, in the United States. Many citizens thought that the only way to finish the Grand Trunk – and protect the country – would be to unite all the colonies into a federation so that they could share the costs of an expanded railway system. Thus the British North America Act, 1867 included

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4680-481: The basin. Isostatic rebound from the retreat of the last glaciers results in a steady rise of Lake Simcoe, particularly at its south end, and is further responsible for the deep organic sediments that have accumulated in its one-time shallow southern arm, known as the Holland Marsh. Here, organic deposits created by vegetation have largely kept pace with the steady rise in water level, and today supports extensive market gardening. All rivers, and most streams, flowing into

4770-434: The beaches are used for kite surfing as well. Willow Beach in Georgina on the south shore is one of the largest and most popular public beaches on Lake Simcoe. There are seven yacht clubs (sailing) around the lake, which host a number of regattas, and an active sailing community exists on the lake. The lake also forms part of the Trent–Severn Waterway system that links Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay/Lake Huron. Lake Simcoe

4860-462: The company to float new bond issues to replace existing debt and to issue securities in lieu of interest. Charles Melville Hays joined the Grand Trunk in 1895 as general manager (and in 1909, president, based in Montreal). Hays was the architect of the great expansion during a colourful and free-spending era. He upgraded the tracks, bridges, shops and rolling stock, but was best known for building huge grain elevators and elaborate tourist hotels such as

4950-486: The completion of the Trent Severn Waterway , the water level on Lake Simcoe was quite low enabling residents to cross in wagons or walk in ankle deep water to the mainland. However, when it was completed, the water table increased by several feet. Grape Island on the north end the lake is located off of Orillia. To the east of Grape Island is Goffatt Island , a small and private island located within Ramara . Georgina, Snake and Fox Islands are within York Region , Thorah

5040-461: The downtown Railway Lands , freeing that land up for redevelopment. This would be accomplished with a new east–west line, the CN York Subdivision , which would intersect with the Bala Subdivision just south of Richmond Hill at Doncaster Junction . Both were completed in 1965. Centralized traffic control (CTC) had been installed along the line from Don to Richmond Hill in the previous year. By 1966, passenger services were being entirely routed through

5130-432: The early 1960s. They were believed to compete with native Lake Whitefish and be somewhat responsible for a decline in their populations. Several initiatives, such as the Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy (LSEMS), the Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation, and the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority , are making efforts to rectify some of the lake's environmental woes. A local activist group, The Ladies of

5220-430: The east of Lake Simcoe before crossing over the former Northern Railway of Canada (NRC) line to North Bay, which would later become known as the CN Newmarket Subdivision . At the time, this new line was known as the Parry Sound Section of the Canadian Northern, but by 1914 it was being referred to as the Parry Sound Subdivision of the Toronto Division, and later the Muskoka Subdivision of the Nipissing Division. During

5310-404: The entire south shore of Lake Simcoe and consists of smaller residential towns and communities, including Keswick on Cook's Bay , Sutton , Jackson's Point , Pefferlaw , and Udora . The town of Innisfil occupies the western shore south of Barrie and north of Bradford. Eastside Simcoe includes the towns of Beaverton, Brechin and Lagoon City. Lake Couchiching was at one time thought of as

5400-431: The foot of the Toronto Passage, on Lake Ontario. The Severn River , its outlet stream, was once called 'Rivière de Toronto' which flows into Georgian Bay's Severn Sound, then called the 'Baie de Toronto'. Later French traders referred to it as Lac aux Claies , meaning "Lake of Grids (or Trellises)" in reference to the Huron fishing weirs in the lake. It was known by this name until the beginnings of Upper Canada, when it

5490-413: The government would build and own the National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) from Winnipeg to Moncton , New Brunswick via Quebec City , which the GTR would also operate. As part of this program, the federal government encouraged the GTR to purchase the Canada Atlantic Railway (CAR) with lines southeast from Ottawa to Vermont, and west from Ottawa to Georgian Bay . The GTR took effective control of

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5580-491: The lake have wide, deep, navigable mouths as a consequence of the rising waters drowning the river channels. 2017 data for the year prior from the NOAA shows the lake has a yearly average surface temperature of 2.5 degrees Celsius . When a lake is healthy, cold-water fish such as lake trout, herring, and whitefish are abundant and active. It is sometimes known as Canada's ice fishing capital. Lake Simcoe has been victim to significant eutrophication . Lake Simcoe has seen

5670-458: The lake with the French term Lac Taronto and a 1687 map by Lahontan called it Lake Taronto , while the name Tarontos Lac appeared on a 1678 map of New France by cartographer Jean-Baptiste-Louis Franquelin . The term Taranto refers to an Iroquoian expression meaning gateway or pass. Taronto had originally referred to The Narrows, a channel of water through which Lake Simcoe discharges into Lake Couchiching . (Natural Resources Canada gives

5760-440: The lake. This is unlike its one-time smaller sister-lake of 'Lake Minesing' to the west, being a remnant of Lake Algonquin, and, later the Nipissing stage of Lake Huron. This lake's outlet was founded on sediments located near Edenvale, which have largely been cut through, draining most of the lake. Today 'Lake Minesing' exists as the Minesing Swamp, but it re-establishes itself for a short period each spring when spring run-off floods

5850-424: The lakeshore on Georgina Island. This rock, however, also appears along the shore of Lake Couchiching, where sediments are thinner. The outlet of the lake at the north end of Lake Couchiching is controlled by Precambrian bedrock which first makes its appearance about mid-way along this lake. As a result, the lake has persisted to the present, with the outlet-flow unable to cut down through the rock, and thereby draining

5940-408: The line and continued on to Washago, where they doubled back southbound onto the Newmarket Subdivision before reaching a purpose-built station near the casino. Despite marketing efforts, the service was not heavily utilized, and its final run occurred on 2 October 1996. The Bala Subdivision's operations changed significantly after 1996, when CN registered a series of applications to abandon sections of

6030-429: The line terminate at Toronto Union Station . Activity along the line is governed using centralized traffic control (CTC) by a rail traffic controller (RTC) in Toronto. Wilson, Ian (2006). "Chapter 1: The Bala Subdivision". Steam in Northern Ontario: CNR operations from Toronto to Lake Superior in the 1950s . Canadian Branchline Miniatures. ISBN   0-9683815-5-3 . Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe

6120-465: The line to provide a direct rail connection between downtown Toronto and Casino Rama . The service operated daily, leaving northbound from Toronto in the morning after southbound commuter trains had been cleared from the line, and returning to Union Station in the evening or sometimes late at night. Paid for by the casino, it used GO Transit trainsets and was operated by CN crews. Despite its name, trains made stops at all GO Transit commuter stations along

6210-406: The line. A significant milestone in this was the inclusion of the segment of the line from Rosedale Valley Road north through the Don Valley to Doncaster Junction in a CA$ 310.5 million combined purchase of track from CN in 2012, which also included a portion of the Oakville Subdivision . In 2016, for the first time since the launch of GO train service along the line, regular GO Transit revenue service

6300-418: The new Canadian National Railway: one passing to the west of Lake Simcoe through Newmarket , Barrie , and Orillia on its way to Nipissing Junction, and another passing to the east of Lake Simcoe on its way to Parry Sound; the two lines crossed each other at Washago . In 1923, with the reorganization of the lines, the latter became known as the Bala Subdivision . Around the same time, the Washago Connection

6390-488: The portage route running south from that point, the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. Radiocarbon dating of surviving stakes reveals that the weirs at The Narrows were in use more than 4,000 years ago. The meaning of "where trees stand in the water", is likely to have originated from Huron practice of driving stakes into the channel sediments to corral fish. Fresh-cut saplings placed in the water and sediments would have sprouted branches and leaves, persisting for some time, leading to

6480-647: The provision for an Intercolonial Railway to link with the Grand Trunk at Rivière-du-Loup. The end of the American Civil War saw British North America on the verge of uniting in a single federation, and the GTR's financial prospects improved as the railway was well-positioned to take advantage of increased population and economic growth. By 1867, it had become the largest railroad system in the world by accumulating more than 2,055 km (1,277 mi) of track that connected locations between its ocean port at Portland, Maine , its river port at Rivière-du-Loup,

6570-461: The railcar ferry at the same location. Common during 19th century railway construction in British colonies, GTR built to a broad gauge ( Provincial Gauge ) of 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ); however, this was changed to the standard gauge of 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) between 1872 and 1885 to facilitate interchange with U.S. railroads. To overcome

6660-404: The railway industry in Canada and the United States, CN has abandoned or sold many former GTR and GTW branch lines in recent decades, including the former Portland–Montreal main line which had instigated the development of the system to a large degree. As well, a part of the original Toronto–Sarnia routing via St. Mary's Junction and Forest to Point Edward, Ontario , was sold or abandoned, using

6750-605: The southeast. Colonists in the United Province of Canada, some of whom had experienced their territory being attacked by the United States fifty years earlier (in the War of 1812 ), were uncomfortably close to the giant Union Army and faced terrorist attacks during the mid-19th century in the form of Fenian raids . Such security concerns led to demands for a year-round transportation system that British reinforcements could use should their territory be attacked during winter when

6840-550: The three northern New England states, and much of the southern areas of the new provinces of Quebec and Ontario. By 1880, the Grand Trunk Railway system stretched all the way from Portland in the east to Chicago, Illinois, in the west (by means of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad between Port Huron and Chicago). Several impressive construction feats were associated with the GTR: the first successful bridging of

6930-562: The time, the Super Continental had a scheduled travel time from Toronto to Parry Sound of 4 hours and 3 minutes. This would soon change, however, as CN's operations around Toronto were significantly reorganized in the 1960s. CN had made far-reaching plans to relocate much of its freight operations to the north end of Toronto, centred on a new freight yard the MacMillan Yard , and to abandon the century-old waterfront yard in

7020-521: The various jurisdictions it crossed and as such had the choice of geography in selecting the most direct routes. As a result, significant sections of GTR mainlines in Canada and Grand Trunk Western routes in the U.S. are still in active use by Canadian National (CN) today, particularly the Quebec City–Chicago corridor by way of Drummondville , Montreal , Kingston , Toronto, London, Sarnia /Port Huron, and Battle Creek . Following deregulation of

7110-528: The waters of the lake. Georgina Island Police patrol on Georgina, Fox and Snake Islands with some capability to respond to marine needs off these islands. As part of Orillia, Grape Island is policed by the OPP. Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (( reporting mark GT ); French : Grand Tronc ) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in

7200-402: The winter, it freezes over completely and hosts a number of ice fishing competitions, making it one of the most intensely fished lakes in Ontario. However, claims that it is one of the world's largest lakes that freeze over completely in winter are pure speculation, and, in fact, spurious; Canada alone has a large number of lakes of the same size or larger that do the same. In the summer, fishing

7290-644: Was already under construction. But the Grand Trunk Railway Company changed the original route of the T&;G and extended the line to Sarnia, a hub for Chicago -bound traffic. In October of 1856, the section from Montreal to Toronto opened, while the line from Toronto to Sarnia was finished in November of 1859. Also in 1859, a ferry service was established across the St. Clair River to Fort Gratiot (now Port Huron, Michigan ). The Grand Trunk

7380-465: Was constructed, which replaced the level crossing of the two lines with two junctions and a short joint section. By the late 1950s, the bulk of CN's regional passenger services for the two lines ran along the Newmarket Subdivision, while the Bala Subdivision was used for transcontinental services such as the Continental and Super Continental , with mostly express operations until Washago; at

7470-620: Was extended north of Richmond Hill station to a new station at Gormley , complementing a new train depot which had been constructed in 2014. This was followed by plans for a Bloomington station , construction on which began in 2017. Operations along the line include a mix of CN freight along with Via Rail and GO passenger trains. Via Rail traffic normally consists of two Canadian trains northbound and southbound per week, while services on Go's Richmond Hill line consist of weekday southbound morning peak period trains with afternoon and early evening returns. All southbound passenger trains on

7560-545: Was far north of major population centres and had too little traffic. Nearing bankruptcy in 1919, the entire system was nationalized: the government merged the Grand Trunk, the Grand Trunk Pacific, and the National Transcontinental lines into the new Canadian National Railways. The process was completed in 1923. The Grand Trunk lines in the United States, however, kept their distinctive name. The Grand Trunk legacy seeped into late 20th century popular culture, when

7650-421: Was for a line running from Montreal to Toronto mostly along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River . It quickly expanded its charter eastward to Portland, Maine , and westward to Sarnia , Ontario. Over time it added many subsidiary lines and branches, including four important subsidiaries: A fifth subsidiary was the never-completed Southern New England Railway , chartered in 1910, which would have run from

7740-545: Was never profitable because of competition from shipping and American railways. (In 1880 40% of the Grand Trunk traffic was from one or another American city to and from Chicago, taking a shortcut across Ontario.) Inflated construction costs, overestimated revenues, and an inadequate initial capitalization threatened bankruptcy for the Grand Trunk. Sir Joseph Hickson was a key executive from 1874 to 1890 based in Montreal who kept it afloat financially and formed an alliance with

7830-526: Was one of the main factors that pushed British North America towards Confederation . The original colonial economy structured along the water route from the Maritimes up the St. Lawrence River and the lower Great Lakes was greatly expanded by the duplicate route of the Grand Trunk. The explosive growth in trade during the 1850s within the United Province of Canada and further east by water to

7920-595: Was reactivated, creating an unusual situation where the unified Via passenger services used both of the historic CN and CP stations in a single community. As of 2019, the Via Rail Canadian continues to use the CP station for northbound trains and the CN station for southbound ones. Starting in the early 2010s, Metrolinx , the provincial Crown agency which oversees GO Transit operations, began to invest more heavily in

8010-492: Was renamed to Lake Simcoe. The lake is bordered by Simcoe County , Durham Region , and York Region . The city of Barrie is located on Kempenfelt Bay , and Orillia is located at the entrance to Lake Couchiching . The watershed draining into the lake contains a population of roughly half a million people, including the northern portion of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The town of Georgina lies along

8100-549: Was to make GTW profitable and keep parent CN from having to subsidize GTW's losses. CN sold off the Central Vermont in 1995 when CN became a public traded company instead of a crown corporation. CN continued to place its US acquisitions as subsidiaries under the Grand Trunk Corporation which includes Illinois Central , Wisconsin Central , and Great Lakes Transportation . The Association of American Railroads considers

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