Names and numbers
GTR 31st District
1905 – 1923
CNR Renfrew Sub
1923 – Abandonment
Locations
- Searsons Siding
- Aylen Lake mile 146
- Barrys Bay mile 155.2
- Wilno mile 161.7
- Killaloe mile 170
- Golden Lake mile 178.9
- Eganville mile 186.8
- Caldwell mile 194.1
- Douglas mile 197.1
- Admaston mile 202.8
- Renfrew Junction mile 207.9
- Renfrew mile 209
- Goshen mile 213.9
- Glasgow mile 217.7
- Arnprior mile 225.4
- Galetta mile 230.4
- Kinburn mile 235
- Carp mile 243.4
- South March mile 249.4
- Graham Bay mile 254.5
- Chadiere Junction mile 261
- Bank Street mile 261.5
- Elgin Street mile 262.1
- Ottawa mile 263.8
- Ottawa East mile 264
History
90 facts
| Date | Statement | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890-03-15 | A number of surveyors are now engaged in locating the line of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway. It is said that the portion between Ottawa and Arnprior will be let to a well known contractor, and work will commence about May 1st. | Ottawa Free Press 1890-03-15(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1890-06-06 | The surveyors are going on steadily with their work on the route of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway. By Tuesday, they had reached Moore's Corners, near Douglas, and had it not been for a creek there, they would have had an almost perfectly straight line between Renfrew and Douglas. They took a second survey back some distance on Tuesday, and will probably take another, locating the line about midway between the first two surveys. | Mercury 1890-06-06(Renfrew Mercury per Churcher's header. Transcribed...) | |
| 1890-09-26 | Messrs. George A. Martin, C.E., and Arthur H.N. Bruce, C.E. have commenced the preliminary survey of that part of the Canada Atlantic extension (the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound railway) lying between Ottawa and Arnprior. The point on the existing line of the C.A.R. from which the extension will be made, for Britannia, has not yet been selected, but upon reaching the village by the lake a bee line will be made for Arnprior. The sections already located are those between Parry Sound and Elmsdale, and between Renfrew and Barrie's Bay, leaving about 100 miles to complete the survey of the entire line once the Arnprior location is made. | Mercury 1890-09-26(Renfrew Mercury per Churcher's header. Transcribed...),Almonte Gazette 1890-10-03(Says the survey of that part of the Ottawa, Arnpri...) | |
| 1890-10-10 | The engineers of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Renfrew Railway went over the country lying between Arnprior and Ottawa, for the purpose of making a preliminary survey, coming up from Graham's Bay via the Torbolton route and returning by way of Kinburn and the Carp. They are now making, by order of the shareholders, a more detailed instrumental survey of both routes, and at an adjourned meeting it will be definitely decided which of the two routes is adopted. | Mercury 1890-10-10(Renfrew Mercury per Churcher's header. Transcribed...) | |
| 1892-01-15 | The survey of the O.A. & P.S. line reached Egan's Farm on the Madawaska. The Ottawa Free Press (Jan 9) put this about twelve miles west of Bark Lake, the country lately passed through being reported unusually fine and admirably suited to railroad building. The Almonte Gazette (Jan 15) said Mr. Mountain's survey party had reached the same point, about twenty miles west of Bark Lake, and that from Renfrew to Egan's Farm the line was one of the most favorable he had travelled over. The two reports give different distances west of Bark Lake (12 vs 20 miles) for what appears to be the same milestone; not reconciled here. | Ottawa Free Press 1892-01-09(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Almonte Gazette 1892-01-15(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1892-04-29≥ | By late April 1892 the surveyors had finished the survey between Shawville and Renfrew, and had brought the two places within fourteen miles of each other. On May 27, ratepayers of Arnprior were to vote on a by-law authorizing the corporation to take $30,000 of stock in the company. | Almonte Gazette 1892-04-29(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Almonte Gazette 1892-05-06(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1892-07 | The first sod in the construction of the line was turned at Carp towards the end of July 1892, by Mr. George Kidd, MPP, then warden of the county. | Ottawa Journal 1896-10-31(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Brockville Recorder 1896-11-06(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1892-07-07 | The contract for the first 40 miles of the line from Ottawa was let to Mr. Fauquier of Toronto, the lowest of twelve tenderers, four of which were very close in price. | Ottawa Journal 1892-07-07(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Mercury 1892-07-15(Renfrew Mercury, quoting the Ottawa Journal, with ...) | |
| 1892-08-23 | The C.A. Railway company were getting out ties for the Ottawa and Parry Sound road, cut down the line of the C.A.R. and shipped to Stittsville for hauling to the construction. It was also rumoured that the C.A.R. would shortly purchase land from Mr. Stewart on which to erect workshops. | Ottawa Journal 1892-08-23(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1892-08-23(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1892-10-10 | Work began on the Ottawa terminus of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound railway at Rochester street, connecting with the C.A.R. line running from the Elgin street depot to the Chaudiere. About thirty-five men began grading a curve near the Rochester street crossing, supplied by ballast trains from Hurdman's Cut; some seventy to eighty men including twenty-one stonecutters worked preparing stone for a high bridge to carry the line over Preston street, about equal in height to the existing Chaudiere-extension bridge. By October 20 more than half the Preston street trestle (to be 1,100 feet long and about twenty-eight feet high, with concrete piers) was complete, and grading had been broken as far west as St. Mary's church in Bayswater. By October 24 the trestle over Preston street and the old St. Lawrence and Ottawa track was nearly finished, with ballast trains emptied every fifteen minutes to fill the dump alongside it. | Ottawa Free Press 1892-10-10(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Free Press 1892-10-24(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Journal 1892-10-20(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1892-11-18 | A dynamite explosion during construction of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound railway, near St. Mary's church in Rochesterville/Nepean township just outside Ottawa, killed Jule(s) Therien and fatally injured Thomas Brown, who died at hospital the same day; windows were smashed and furniture overturned in surrounding buildings in Rochesterville, and the shock was felt as far as New Edinburgh. Two coroner's inquests returned verdicts that the men died of the explosion, with no evidence of its cause and no blame attached to any individual; witnesses suggested a spark or dropped tool may have set off a box of caps near a fire where dynamite cartridges were being thawed. Filed on Middle Subdivision at the operator's instruction; no entity exists for the specific Rochesterville/Nepean-township construction site near St. Mary's church. | Ottawa Citizen 1892-11-19(Detailed report with inquest testimony, published ...),Almonte Gazette 1892-11-25(Shorter account (naming the victim 'Julius Therein...) | |
| 1892-12-03≥ | A contract was reported given out for building the Parry Sound railway from Eganville to Barrington's Bay (Barry's Bay), with cutting of the right of way to be done that winter. By December 3, Mr. Bruce and a company of O.A. & P.S. surveyors were in Eganville locating the company's line above the village. | Ottawa Citizen 1892-11-30(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1892-12-03(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1892-12-16 | Grading of the roadbed between Ottawa and Arnprior was completed, and track-laying was being pushed ahead: the iron had been put down to a point four miles outside Ottawa, and two miles of track were laid from the old St. Lawrence and Ottawa crossing. Once the trestle over the C.P.R. was completed, rail-laying was to proceed with vigour. In the last week of December, the engineering staff began the survey from Arnprior to Renfrew; Mr. Mountain found the route would be easy to construct, over level country, crossing the C.P.R. a short distance west of Arnprior and taking a direct line to Renfrew via New Glasgow. | Mercury 1892-12-16(Renfrew Mercury. Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher ...),Ottawa Citizen 1892-12-09("Two miles of track is now laid from the old St. L...),Mercury 1892-12-30(Renfrew Mercury, quoting the (Arnprior) Chronicle,...) | |
| 1893-01-13 | About twenty miles of track were laid westward on the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway (most of the ties being taken from along the Central Counties branch of the C.A.R.), with track reaching March Corners, 15 miles out, by mid-January. Station sites between Ottawa and Arnprior were selected: March Corners, Carp, Kinburn, Galetta and Arnprior, with several flag stations also planned between Ottawa and March Corners; the stations were to be neat frame buildings similar to those on the C.A.R., with work to begin in spring. Mr. Booth said he could have trains running to Arnprior in 20 days but for the Mississippi bridge at Galetta (280 feet, riveted lattice, two 140-foot spans, one then going up); the first train was expected to run from Ottawa to Arnprior by February 12. Two hundred men were then employed on the road. | Ottawa Citizen 1893-01-12(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1893-01-17(Ironwork for the Galetta bridge arrived and was ta...),Ottawa Journal 1893-01-13(Also in the Renfrew Mercury of 20 January and Shaw...) | |
| 1893-03-04 | The first passenger coach over the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway ran from Ottawa to Arnprior as a special inspection trip carrying J.R. Booth, chief engineer Geo. A. Mountain and other officials, averaging 25 mph despite the road being unballasted. Leaving Elgin Street station at 8.30 a.m. and crossing the Preston Street trestlework, the train passed Carp (10 miles out, already busy with farmers loading grain cars, station grounds located), Kinburn (described as the straightest 8 miles of railroad in America, with a grain shed already active), and Galetta (crossed by a new steel-truss bridge over the Mississippi on stone abutments), reaching Arnprior — a town of 3,000 people and home to the McLachlin Brothers' sawmills (700 men, 83,000,000 feet of lumber annually) — a few minutes after 10 a.m. The rails were 72-lb Sheffield steel, laid at 3,000 ties to the mile (350 more per mile than any other Canadian railway) for extra solidity. That same morning the first through freight left for Arnprior: the engine "Nellie Bly" (driver J. King) with ten cars of merchandise and four empty boxcars, conductor A.O. Boyle. | Ottawa Journal 1893-03-04(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-01-02 | Today the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway will have their track completed as far as Indian Point on Golden Lake, a distance of eighty-five miles from this city, but the trains will run only as far as Eganville this winter. | Ottawa Free Press 1894-01-02(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-01-12 | Mr. M.J. O'Brien, contractor of Renfrew, has been awarded the contract for constructing the third ten mile section west of Eganville on the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway. | Almonte Gazette 1894-01-12(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-02-01 | Mail service between Ottawa and Eganville, and intervening points, on the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, commenced on Thursday, February 1st. The mail from Ottawa, etc., will arrive by the train due here at 10 a.m.; and from Eganville by the train due at 2.49 p.m. The service will be a great accommodation to merchants and others all along the line. | Mercury 1894-02-02(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Almonte Gazette 1894-02-02(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-02-03 | Mr. M.J. O'Brien of Renfrew will commence work next week on his contract west of Killaloe on the O.A. & P.S. He will employ about 60 men for the present, and will increase the number considerably in the spring time. | Ottawa Journal 1894-02-03(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-03-24 | The contract for next summer's work on the O.A. & P.S.R. construction was let this morning. It went to E.F. Fauquier. He will construct thirty-five miles of road from Barry's Bay, the present terminus of the line, one hundred and seven miles distant from Ottawa, to Long Lake, 142 miles from this city. This is considered the heaviest part of the construction between here and Parry Sound. | Ottawa Journal 1894-03-24(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Free Press 1894-03-30(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Mercury 1894-03-30(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-03-30 | Work on the construction of the O.A. & P.S. Railway above Golden Lake is being pushed ahead, and much progress has been made during the past few weeks. Should the weather continue fine Mr. Heald expects to have his contract completed a month ahead of the time allotted to him. Mr. Booth has decided to immediately let the contract for another 35 mile section, which will bring the road to the Eganville Estate. This portion will be built this summer, and next year the remainder of the line through to Elmsdale (the point where the O.A. & P.S. will make connection with the Parry Sound Colonization Railway) will be finished. Then through traffic will be commenced from Georgian Bay to the seaboard. | Mercury 1894-03-30(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-04-05 | Owing to the spring floods having damaged the roadway of the O.A. & P.S. line in several places between Eganville and Golden Lake, the carriage of freight west of Eganville has been stopped. They are now busily repairing damages. Mr. J.R. Booth passed over the line last week as far as Golden Lake and inspected some of the new work. He was accompanied by Mr. Chamberlain, manager of the company. The construction of the line from Barry's Bay to Long Lake, a distance of thirty-five miles, will be pushed through rapidly. It is said the contractors are bound to have it completed by the first of November so as to be ready to ship lumber from the mills being erected by the American company which purchased the Perley and Pattee limits. It is said by some who think they ought to know that the division station between Ottawa and Parry Sound will be at Long Lake. The division station speculation is clarified in the 1894-04-06 Mercury item as 'Long Lake (now Whitney)'. The Mercury item also notes lumber traffic was going through 'to Albany and Boston.' | Ottawa Journal 1894-04-05(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Eastern Ontario Review 1894-04-13(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Mercury 1894-04-06(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-05-14 | Mr. G.A. Mountain, chief engineer of the Canada Atlantic and Ottawa and Parry Sound railway, returned from the far end of the latter line this morning. In conversation with the Free Press he said that the construction of the Parry Sound road is advancing rapidly. The contract to Killaloe is winding up and the track from Eganville to Golden Lake has been thoroughly ballasted. This part of the road will be ready for government inspection in a few days and when this is over the O.A. & P.S. will be in operation for 84 miles from Ottawa. The work is well advanced to Haggerty pass, 109 miles from here. And from that point to the 129th mile the ground has been broken. From the latter point up to the 142nd mile the right of way is being cleared. Frost is still to be found in many of the swamps. The company expects to have track laid this year from Ottawa 250 miles westward. Mr. Mountain leaves in a day or two for the Parry Sound Colonization railway, which is now within ten miles of its destination, Parry Sound. When the year's construction is completed there will be a gap of 65 miles between the work which started from Ottawa and the Colonization road which is working in the opposite direction. | Ottawa Free Press 1894-05-14(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Free Press 1894-05-15(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-05-15 | Steel for the new Parry Sound railway is arriving in this city at the rate of about twenty-five car loads a day. The rails are taken up at once to the far end of the road where they are distributed ready for laying later in the season. | Ottawa Free Press 1894-05-15(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-05-16 | The ten mile section of the O.A. & P.S. Ry. above Golden Lake has been sub-let by the contractor Mr. Fauquier to J.C. O'Neil of Kemptville. | Ottawa Journal 1894-05-16(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-05-18 | Messrs. Jos. Boucher, (Almonte) James Wilson and Arthur Beggs, stone masons, have taken a contract for all the stonework required on twenty-five miles of the O.A. & P.S. R. beyond Eganville. There will be about 4,000 square yards in all, costing in the neighbourhood of $40,000, and it has to be completed in 1894. | Mercury 1894-05-18(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-05-18 | For the present the railway company have abandoned the gravel pit lying between Arnprior and Galetta. The sidings having been taken up. | Mercury 1894-05-18(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-05-21 | The streets at night seem deserted since the opening of the boarding cars on the O.A. & P.S. Railway. Until very recently the hotel accommodation was taxed to the utmost and many private dwellings were filled with men working on the construction. Work on this line is now in full swing and the line is completed for some miles beyond Golden Lake. It is expected that regular train service will be opened to that point in the near future. | Ottawa Journal 1894-05-21(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-05-25 | Mr. Fauquier, contractor on the O.A. & P.S. Railway, has sub-contracted ten miles of his recent contract of thirty-five miles to Mr. J.C. O'Neil, of Kemptville. Mr. George Ferguson, son of the M.P., has the lower end and Mr. Heald has ten miles at the west end. The bridge contractor on the O.A. & P.S. Ry. has purchased from Mr. Oliver Menard the right to quarry stone on his land in Grattan for five years. A switch is now being placed into the quarry. It is expected that about fifteen men will be employed and that the stone for the new Roman Catholic church in Eganville will also be taken from Mr. Menard's land. | Mercury 1894-05-25(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-06-01 | On Wednesday evening after the arrival of the C.P.R. train, the engine with the baggage car attached, returned to Renfrew and during the night returned with a car loaded with dynamite for use on the O.A. & P.S. Ry. construction west of Eganville. | Mercury 1894-06-01(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-06-08 | Laying of steel started from Golden Lake to the west. One hundred and seventy-five ballast cars are loaded every day. Work from Parry Sound to the east is going well, and now they are on the 4th ten-mile contract. George Richardson is the OA & PS contractor beyond Eganville. | Mercury 1894-06-08(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-06-08 | The new Booth railway between Eganville and Golden Lake, a distance of eight miles, has passed the government inspector and passenger trains will be put on at once. | Almonte Gazette 1894-06-08(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-06-08 | The work of laying steel for the new Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway from Golden Lake station westward was commenced on Tuesday. Several miles will be finished at this stretch and rails will be laid as far as the ties are ready. One hundred and seventy-five cars are loaded with ballast every day at the Eganville pit for distribution along the far end of the road. The work is also progressing well from Parry Sound towards Ottawa, where the construction gang are now engaged on the fourth ten mile contract. There were shipped from the Elgin street depot yesterday three carloads of material for the construction of a station house nineteen miles on this side of Parry Sound. There were also shipped today three carloads of material containing everything necessary for the building of a very large water tank on the far end of the Parry Sound road. The tank and station house were all purchased in this city. The tank, which will contain 60,000 gallons of water, will be put up by men who will go west for the work next week under the direction of Mr. George Tomlinson. | Mercury 1894-06-08(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-06-26 | The steel of the O.A. & P.S. is now laid to Killaloe, about fifteen miles beyond Eganville, and the work of construction well advanced over that distance. The O.A. & P.S. Ry. has been surveyed by the government engineer for ten miles west of Eganville to enable the company to draw the bonus for that distance. | Ottawa Journal 1894-06-26(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),The Equity, Shawville 1894-06-28(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-06-28 | The boys who have been in the habit of throwing stones at passenger trains on the C.A.R. between the Chaudiere and Elgin Street station, are to be prosecuted. The police know their names. | Ottawa Journal 1894-06-28(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-07-13≤ | The new railway will reach 20 miles west of Eganville by the end of the present month. | Almonte Gazette 1894-07-13(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-07-21 | Over 2000 men at work. Yesterday, Chief Engineer Mountain and some of his assistants came down from the scene of active operations between Eganville and Killaloe, and report all going on lively. There are now 35 miles under contract above Killaloe, to which point the iron horse now travels regularly, all of which it is proposed to finish this fall. That being accomplished there will then remain 70 miles to finish the road to the Soo. The scheme will be completed next season. THE CONTRACTORS: the following are the different contractors for the seven sections into which the levelling and grading, and making the road ready for the rails, is now going on: No. 1 - R.N. Slater; 2 - J. O'Brien; 3 - W. Heald; 4 - O'Neil and Ferguson; 5 - E. Fauquier; 6 - W. Heald; 7 - Burford, all being sub-contractors under Mr. Fauquier. It is proposed to put all available help on the work so that the 35 mile division now in hand may be completed early in December. | Ottawa Journal 1894-07-21(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-07-27 | A long train of steel rails for the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway arrived at the Elgin street depot last evening, and was immediately taken up to the far end of Mr. Booth's new road. A large force of men have been laying steel for a couple of months, but the supply ran out last week, and as a result the work had to be closed down for a few days. | Ottawa Free Press 1894-07-27(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-08-01 | Mr. Donaldson, superintendent of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway has returned from a trip to the far end of the Parry Sound road where construction is being pushed. Five hundred and sixty men are hard at work, and steel is being laid steadily. There are something like 600 men working on the Parry Sound construction above Eganville. Steel is being laid above Killaloe. The location of the next station has not been fully decided upon yet. The contractors preparing the roadbed through the woods have now more than a thousand navvies employed and more are being taken on every week. The reported strike among these navvies seems to have been incorrect, for with the exception of a very few Frenchmen from Hull, these navvies are all steady at work. | Ottawa Free Press 1894-08-01(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-08-14 | Four car loads of horses and one hundred men passed up the O.A. & P.S. Ry. this morning for the St. Anthony Lumber Co.'s limits beyond Barrys Bay. It was this company that bought the old Perley limits in this locality and this is the first season that the company will work them. The company are erecting a sawmill about sixty miles beyond Killaloe where their logs will be cut and the lumber shipped over the O.A. & P.S. Ry. and C.A.R. to the States. | Canada Lumberman 1894-09-01(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Journal 1894-08-14(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-08-17 | Government inspection of the latest section of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway from Golden Lake to Killaloe was performed on Friday, Mr. Thomas Ridout, C.E., acting for the Dominion government and Mr. McCallum, C.E., for the provincial. There were on board the special train Mr. John R. Booth, Mr. Mountain, chief engineer, and Mr. Morley Donaldson. The latest part of the new road is getting pretty well beyond the bounds of settlement; the country is for the most part hilly and wooded, and will no doubt be used for grazing in a few years. It was ten o'clock at night when the party returned to Ottawa. Trains will be run as far as Killaloe in a short space of time, the station house and yard at that place being about ready for occupation. The next section will bring the line into the famous Haggarty Pass, on which men have been engaged blasting a rock cutting since early spring. | Ottawa Free Press 1894-08-18(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Almonte Gazette 1894-08-24(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-08-17 | Heald, the contractor, has moved his men from Killaloe to his upper contract at Long Lake. Contractor O'Brien will be finished soon; all the rock cuts are completed. | Mercury 1894-08-17(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),The Equity, Shawville 1894-08-23(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-08-17≤ | The Ottawa and Parry Sound R.R. will be completed to Long Lake, 120 miles from Ottawa, this fall. There are 40 miles built at the Parry Sound end of the line, which leaves only 40 miles to be built to complete the through road from the Georgian Bay to Ottawa. | Almonte Gazette 1894-08-17(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-08-31 | Rushing The O.P.& S. Work. General Manager E.J. Chamberlain, of the O.A. & P.S. Railway, returned to Ottawa last week after making a trip up the line of the Parry Sound railway. He says the construction is going on rapidly, over two thousand men being employed on the works. This summer ten miles of the west end of the line - that is, between the Northern Pacific Junction Railway tracks and the Sound - have been built, which leaves about eight miles more to be constructed to connect Parry Sound Town with the Northern Junction line. These eight miles will be built next summer. In the meantime the line from the east is being rushed along, and it is expected that the road between Ottawa clean through to the town of Parry Sound will be finished about the first of November of next year. | Almonte Gazette 1894-08-31(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-09-07 | Last week we paid a visit to the quarry on Mr. Oliver Menard's land about five miles west of Eganville, on the O.A. & P.S. Ry. We were shown over the work by Mr. Wilson, the genial foreman. The work has been going on since the beginning of May, and for the small gang of men kept employed they have got out and dressed a large quantity of stone, over 400 cords. Mr. Wilson, with his partners, have the contract of building all the bridges on the O.A. & P.S. Ry., six in number, four of which will be built this fall and for which enough stone has already been got out. On Friday the men will stop work for about a month and then return and get out the material for the other two bridges which will be built next summer. None of the stone has been shipped out as yet, but will be next month. | Mercury 1894-09-07(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-09-21≤ | The contract of Mr. M.J. O'Brien, on the O.A. & P.S. Ry. line will, it is expected, be completed by the end of this week. This will enable the rails to be laid to some distance beyond Barry's Bay. The work west of this on the Fauquier contract, on which there is a number of subcontractors, is being pushed rapidly forward to completion. | Mercury 1894-09-21(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-10-12 | The rails on the O.A. & P.S. Ry. have now reached Carson's Lake, five miles from Barrys Bay. The work along the whole line to Long Lake is being pushed vigorously and long stretches are ready for the ties and rails. | Ottawa Journal 1894-10-12(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Mercury 1894-10-19(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Brockville Recorder 1894-10-19(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1894-11-18 | Ten miles of the O.A. & P.S. railway between Barry's Bay and the Opeongo Forks passed under Government inspection on Monday. Mr. Lynch, government engineer, made a thorough examination of this new portion of the road and found everything satisfactory. The rails have been laid for a distance of twelve miles beyond the point of inspection. | Mercury 1894-11-18(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...),Huntsville Forester 1894-11-30(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1894-11-23 | Navvies are coming down now, off the Barry's Bay and Long Lake (now Galeairy Lake) job. Winter operations will be limited to clearing and blasting mostly. | Ottawa Journal 1894-11-23(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1894-11-27 | General cessation of work among the construction gangs of the O.A. & P.S. road has now commenced and by this time next week will have been completed. Mr. M. Delaney, construction foreman for Mr. Wm. Heald, the furthest western contractor, arrived down last night with his gang of men. He said that the road was now graded up to the end of the contracts at Longlake and the steel will be laid to that point by Saturday, or at latest on Monday next. The work has been carried on with great dispatch and satisfaction to all, each of the half dozen contractors having been fortunate in securing excellent staffs of steady men. Mr. Delaney says it is one of the finest and most substantial roads built in Canada or anywhere else. As there is a large amount of trestle work on the last section there are a number of men at work in that department, but otherwise the road is deserted of men who are now making their way towards Ottawa to winter in the city and environs. | Ottawa Free Press 1894-11-27(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1894-11-30 | Work on the O.A. & P.S.R. This week the season's work on the O.A. & P.S. railway will reach an end. The line will then be completed to Long Lake, a distance of 144 miles from Ottawa, leaving only 60 miles to be built next season to complete the line to Parry Sound. Rails are now laid to 149 miles from Ottawa. By the end of the week the fifteen hundred men who are still engaged on the work will be discharged. More than two thousand men were employed all season on the work. The trains coming eastward are to be seen crowded every day with returning laborers, principally Italians. During the winter nothing will be done besides survey work. One party has now set out from Long Lake and another from Elmsdale, at the western end of the line, to rectify the hurried survey made during the summer of the sixty miles of the line unconstructed. | Almonte Gazette 1894-11-30(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...),Huntsville Forester 1894-12-14(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1895-03-08 | Mr. Wm. Heald has sub-let a contract for the construction of the O.A. & P.S. from the Parry Sound end eastward and has left for the west to begin work on his contract. | Ottawa Journal 1895-03-08(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1895-04-22 | Two new gangs of workmen have just been despatched to begin operations on the far end of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway; there were two locomotives and a long train of flats, together with one of the steam shovels, which has wintered in the Elgin street yards. A second shovel, which has not left the city, will be sent up the line in a few days to begin work in one of the gravel pits. The frost seems to be pretty well out of the ground and it is anticipated that one of the shovels will be able to operate without difficulty. | Ottawa Free Press 1895-04-22(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1895-04-26 | Four hundred men are already at work on the O.A. & P.S.R. Three hundred are engaged on the first section west of the eastern terminus and one hundred on the second section. The principal work at present is rock-cutting and clearing the right of way. Three hundred men are now at the end of the iron ready to go to work. | Almonte Gazette 1895-04-26(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...),Ottawa Journal 1895-04-29(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1895-05-10 | Track laying will likely begin on the O.A. & P.S. Ry. by the end of next week. The grading is going along rapidly and two gravel pits are being worked. | Ottawa Journal 1895-05-10(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1895-06-07 | There are 1,800 men at work on the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound railway. | Almonte Gazette 1895-06-07(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1895-06-14 | O.A. & P.S. NOTES. About 150 men are at work between Opeongo Forks and Whitney on 'the lift' and on ballast trains. Messrs. D. McDonald's and McMartin, sub-contractors for the first ten miles above Whitney, have about 400 men employed grading, rock-cutting, etc. Messrs. Breuder & McNaughton have two miles of trestle work on the first ten miles; there will thus be about 500 men employed. Large numbers of men are coming in every week looking for work, many returning without finding it. The railway is being constructed on the north shore of Long and Rock lakes, then crosses the Madawaska at the foot of Whitefish lake to the south side. Messrs. O'Neill & Ferguson have the contract for the second ten miles and have about 300 men at work, 100 of whom are Italians. The contract for the third ten has not been let, as the government have not given a bonus for construction past Whitefish lake. Whitney is one hundred and forty three miles from Ottawa, the present terminus of the O.A.& P.S., situated on the eastern end of Long lake in the southern portion of the District of Nipissing, named for Mr. Whitney, manager of the St. Anthony Lumber Co., who is erecting a large sawmill there. Construction work is being pushed and already the steel has been laid for a short distance up the newly graded roadway. | Almonte Gazette 1895-06-14(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1895-07-14 | Mr. Geo. Mountain has returned from a trip over the line. The ten mile sections of Mr. Fauquier and O'Neil and Ferguson are well under way. The Mud Creek bridge on the Fauquier contract is now finished; at first it was thought a pile structure 1,500 feet long would be needed, but the creek has been crossed with a bridge 230 feet long, with the long trestle work on the approaches being filled in. The trestle work on MacDonald and Brodeur Bays is well under way. The Fauquier contract will be finished by August 1, and O'Neil and Ferguson's by September; it is expected that trains will be running to 164 miles distant from Ottawa by the 1st of October. Two thousand men are now on the work, and the contractors are beginning to reduce their staff. | Ottawa Journal 1895-07-15(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1895-07-27 | FAR END OF THE O.A. & P.S. How the 20 Mile Contract is Being Put Through. The twenty miles of construction work west of Whitney was let in two ten-mile contracts, to be ready for steel laying by 1 August and 1 September respectively. The first ten miles was secured by Mr. E.J. Fauquier of Toronto, who sub-let the grading and rockcutting to Messrs. McDonald & McMartin and the trestle building and pile driving to Messrs. Breauder & McNaughton. O'Neil & Ferguson were awarded the second ten miles and are superintending it personally. The railway's interests are looked after by Chief Engineer Geo. E. Mountain, assisted by Arthur Bruce, C.E., on the first ten miles, and W.C. Cranston, C.E., on the second. McDonald & McMartin have already discharged a number of their men, putting finishing touches on a few rock cuts and fills — the largest amount of rock cutting yet done on the O.A. & P.S. within the same distance. O'Neil & Ferguson have the first five miles almost ready for the steel, ahead of their specified time; an alteration to the survey by Mr. Cranston removed a quarter-mile of heavy rock cutting through a hill, saving the railway company about $10,000 but leaving the contractors with blasting material on their hands, and bush fires have also cost them time and men fighting them for a couple of weeks. | Ottawa Journal 1895-07-27(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1895-09-27 | Inspection of a ten mile section of the Parry Sound line one mile west of Whitney took place last week. This makes the completed portion of the railway 154 miles. | Mercury 1895-10-04(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher, Ottawa Railway H...) | |
| 1938-09-02 | Delegations from points on the Ottawa-Madawaska line of the Canadian National Railways "are meeting the Board of Transport Commissioners this afternoon in protest against the C.N.R. proposal to cancel the evening train on the line in question." The Post Office Department also protested: letters, parcels and newspapers mailed in Ottawa after 7 a.m. would have to be kept a day until the morning train, leaving at 7.45. Filed on the Middle Subdivision at the operator's direction; the item names the Ottawa-Madawaska line. | Ottawa Citizen 1938-09-02(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1939-04-07≥ | By 7 April 1939 (the issue date), the paper reported: "Abandonment of the 39-mile stretch of C.N.R. line between Arnprior and Eganville has been agreed to by a joint committee of the Canadian and Pacific Railways, subject to approval of the Board of Transport Commissioners." Abandonment "means that the railway service from Arnprior to Glasgow Station, Goshen, Renfrew Junction, Douglas and Caldwell would be discontinued"; C.N.R. westbound trains would cross to C.P.R. tracks at Arnprior and cross back at Eganville, where a short piece of new track would have to be laid. Filed on the Middle Subdivision on the assumption that the Arnprior-Eganville stretch lies on it, since Arnprior, Galetta and Golden Lake are on it (inference). The Canadian Pacific "joint committee" is the item's wording. | Eganville Leader 1939-04-07(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1939-09-16≥ | By 16 September 1939 (the issue date), the paper reported: "Any concentrated effort by municipalities affected to fight the proposed abandonment of the 37 mile stretch of C.N.R. line between Arnprior and Eganville will receive the support of Arnprior", the council decided in regular session "last night", after receiving the formal application from the C.N.R. to abandon its Arnprior-Eganville division. "It was pointed out that the line gave employment to some ten Arnprior residents." Filed on the Middle Subdivision (see the 7 April 1939 fact). | Ottawa Citizen 1939-09-16(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1939-11-28 | A hearing by the Board of Transport Commissioners "of an application to abandon the 37-mile line between Arnprior and Eganville was begun in Renfrew this morning." C.N.R. solicitor A. D. McDonald submitted statistics "purporting to show that a net saving of $104,000 per annum could be attained by abandoning the line"; Murray Chown argued for the affected municipalities that abandonment was not in the interest of the public, that two bridges on the C.P.R. alternative route were unfit for heavier traffic, and that the C.N.R. had asked to abandon the Golden Lake-Pembroke line two years earlier yet now asked to spend about $100,000 improving it. Filed on the Middle Subdivision (see the 7 April 1939 fact). | Eganville Leader 1939-12-03(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1940-03-15≥ | By 15 March 1940 (the issue date), the paper reported: "Judgement of the Board of Transport Commissioners has been issued granting the application of the Canadian National Railway for leave to abandon the operation of a portion of the Renfrew sub-division, between Arnprior and Eganville, 37.91 miles." The Board found a decrease in traffic on the C.N.R. line and a joint yearly saving of $104,000; "at present there is one train each way over the line daily", Ottawa to Barry's Bay in the morning and back in the afternoon. Filed on the Middle Subdivision (see the 1939 abandonment facts); the item calls it the Renfrew sub-division. | Eganville Leader 1940-03-15(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1940-05-03≤ | From 3 May 1940 (the issue date), the paper announced: The municipalities appealing against the Board of Transport Commissioners' decision granting the C.N.R. abandonment of the Arnprior-Eganville line "have received word from the Clerk of the Privy Council that the appeal will be heard in Ottawa on June 21", where "both the railway Co. and those opposing the abandonment through Dr. McCann and S. M. Chown, counsel for the municipalities" would present their arguments. Filed on the Middle Subdivision. An announcement of a hearing to come. | Eganville Leader 1940-05-03(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1940-06-17≥ | By 17 June 1940 (the issue date), the paper reported: "Appeal against the decision of the Board of Transport Commissioners granting the CNR an order to abandon their line from Arnprior to Eganville, a distance of 49 miles, has been postponed until some time in the Fall, it was announced today." The appeal set for 21 June was postponed owing to pressure of business at the Privy Council; "in the meantime the line will continue in operation." Filed on the Middle Subdivision (see the 1939 abandonment facts). | Ottawa Journal 1940-06-17(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1943-11-18≥ | By 18 November 1943 (the issue date), the paper reported: "Discontinuance of the C.N.R. line between Arnprior and Eganville will be opposed by the towns, villages and townships affected by the plan. A plan to oppose the scheme was approved at a meeting of mayors and reeves of the municipalities concerned held last week in Renfrew." The Almonte Gazette editorial argued that the application would not have seemed strange a few years earlier, when motor trucks and cars took the traffic, but that "conditions have changed". Filed on the Middle Subdivision (see the 1939-40 abandonment facts). | Ottawa Citizen 1943-11-18(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1958-10-23≤ | From 23 October 1958 (the issue date), the paper announced: The C.N.R. passenger trains Nos. 89 and 90 between Ottawa and Barry's Bay were to stop with the change of time on October 26, "the last trip" on Saturday, October 25; mail would go by truck, and the Board of Transport Commissioners would hear the C.N.R.'s application to discontinue the service at Pembroke on November 18. On 19 November the hearing was "adjourned indefinitely" after counsel for the municipalities complained of lack of detailed information, and on 20 November the Journal reported "Ottawa Barrys Bay line continues for a year" and the Arnprior Chronicle "CNR line remains". Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 and 1939-40 items). Several reports over five weeks of one proceeding, filed as one fact; the dates of the October announcement and the November hearing are as reported. | Ottawa Citizen 1958-10-15(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1958-10-23(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1958-11-19(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Journal 1958-11-20(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Arnprior Chronicle 1958-11-20(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1959-02-12 | J. W. G. MacDougall, C.N.R. commission counsel, told a meeting at Arnprior of Ottawa Valley municipalities that "the railway was ready to inaugurate a new, modern train service between Ottawa and Barry's Bay"; if the public did not patronize it, the C.N.R. would ask the Board of Transport Commissioners for discontinuance. J. J. Greene, Arnprior, representing the municipalities, said railways "can be sold, just like soap chips". The meeting decided the new service would begin on March 1, leaving Barry's Bay at 5.30 a.m. and reaching Ottawa at 8.30, returning at 5.30 p.m., on a trial of at least six months, with a self-propelled diesel railiner over the 112-mile run. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 and 1939-40 items). | Ottawa Citizen 1959-02-12(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Eganville Leader 1959-02-13(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1959-02-26≤ | From 26 February 1959 (the issue date), the paper announced: The C.N.R.'s new dayliner service between Ottawa and Barry's Bay would make its inaugural run on Monday morning; "the present conventional train No. 89 and No. 90 will make its final run on Saturday". The dayliner, a self-propelled diesel car, would operate on a reversed schedule, leaving Barry's Bay at 5.30 a.m. and Ottawa at 5.30 p.m., calling at Killaloe, Eganville, Renfrew, Arnprior and Carp. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 and 1939-40 items). An announcement of the service to come. | Eganville Leader 1959-02-26(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1959-03-02 | More than 40 persons, including a number of Ottawa Valley reeves, boarded the C.N.R.'s streamlined dayliner on Monday morning for "the inaugural run of the new trial service between Ottawa and Barry's Bay"; on Tuesday 16 travelled. The self-propelled diesel, with room for 49 passengers and for express and baggage, was to run on trial for at least six months. By 12 March the C.N.R. reported 240 revenue passengers in the first six days, an average of 20 a trip, and by 9 April a record 426 in the fifth week, 35 a trip. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 and 1939-40 items). The 6/10/1959 item dates the start of the trial to March 2nd. | Eganville Leader 1959-03-05(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Eganville Leader 1959-03-12(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Eganville Leader 1959-04-09(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1959-04-26≥ | By 26 April 1959 (the issue date), the paper reported: The last full conventional train ran from Ottawa to Barry's Bay "last Saturday": "69 years of passenger trains on the Ottawa-Barry's Bay passenger service" ended as a gleaming new rail diesel car replaced three old C.N.R. coaches, Diesel No. 1302 running Train No. 89, which at Barry's Bay became No. 90. Conductor Albert Seguin reported 35 passengers westbound and 30 eastbound; "Stripped off two years ago from passenger service was the Pembroke branch", and "where once there was a train a full 263 miles to Depot Harbor, now there is none." Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 and 1939-40 items). Date discrepancy: Churcher files this under 26 April 1959, but the Eganville Leader of 26 February says the conventional trains made their final run on the Saturday before the dayliner began on Monday 2 March, so the item may belong to about the end of February; dated as Churcher has it. | Ottawa Citizen 1959-04-26(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1959-06-10 | James Baskin, M.P. for Renfrew South, proposed that the railiner leave Barry's Bay at 7 a.m. for a 10 a.m. arrival in Ottawa and leave Ottawa at 6.15 p.m.; the railiner, in trial service since 2 March, "has been in operation 13 weeks, and is handling an average of 20 revenue passengers a trip". After eight weeks in July and August averaging 27 passengers per train, the figure fell to 18 over six weeks (30 October item). On 20 November the C.N.R. announced a Sunday evening dayliner, leaving Barry's Bay at 7 p.m. and Ottawa at 11 p.m.; on 25 November it said the service would continue "until next spring" on a further trial basis, the lack of increased patronage "a distinct disappointment", and from 16 December the daily train would leave Barry's Bay at 7 a.m. and Ottawa at 6 p.m. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 and 1939-40 items). Several items over six months of one trial service, filed as one fact. | Eganville Leader 1959-06-10(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Eganville Leader 1959-10-30(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Eganville Leader 1959-11-20(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1959-11-25(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1959-12-16(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1960-02-08 | On the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service "an average of 22.7 revenue passengers per trip was handled" by the C.N.R. since the change of 16 December: 3,491 revenue passengers on 154 trips in 11 weeks; the 22 trips since the Sunday service began in mid-December carried 601, an average of 27 per Sunday trip. On 17 May the C.N.R. said it would continue the service for the summer, extending the trial two months before any application for withdrawal; on 15 July the running time was cut by 30 minutes and a 91-passenger railiner, the largest type on the system, was to be placed in service the following Monday, June passenger averages being 18, 19, 20 and 35. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 and 1939-40 items). Several items of one trial service, filed as one fact. | Eganville Leader 1960-02-08(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Eganville Leader 1960-05-17(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1960-07-15(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1960-11-04 | The C.N.R. asked the Board of Transport Commissioners for permission to discontinue the Ottawa-Barry's Bay passenger service, "despite various improvements made in passenger service during the past 18 months": "The last of the changes was effected in July of this year when 30 minutes was cut off the running time. The expected increase in passengers, however, did not materialize." Passengers and municipalities protested; many said dropping the Sunday service instead of the express would have let the line pay. A single Budd car leaves Barry's Bay at 7.15 a.m. for Ottawa at 9.45 and the Arnprior agent does about $300 a week passenger and $3,000 express business. By 30 November the Board had briefs from Barry's Bay and Renfrew against the plan. On 12 December the Barry's Bay-Ottawa coach was frozen and 24 passengers had to be thawed in the baggage car, said M.P. James Baskin. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 and 1939-40 items). Several items of one proceeding, filed as one fact. | Eganville Leader 1960-11-01(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1960-11-04(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1960-11-30(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Eganville Leader 1960-12-16(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1961-02-10≥ | By 10 February 1961 (the issue date), the paper reported: The Board of Transport Commissioners "on Thursday deferred a decision on whether to discontinue the Ottawa-Barry's Bay train service", at the completion of a two-day hearing. D.F. Mills of the C.N.R. said discontinuing the run "would mean an annual betterment of $97,105", quoting revenue of $87,775 and expenses of $159,985 from August 1959 to July, "a net loss to the C.N.R. of $72,210". James Baskin, M.P. for South Renfrew, said the C.N.R. attitude "was encouraging many lumbermen to ship by truck rather than by train." Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1960 items). | Eganville Leader 1961-02-10(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1961-07-03≥ | By 3 July 1961 (the issue date), the paper reported: "The CNR passenger train between Ottawa and Barrys Bay made its last run Friday. It left Ottawa Union Station at 5:40 p.m., DST, and arrived at Barrys Bay at 8:10 p.m." The Board of Transport Commissioners had approved the C.N.R.'s application to discontinue the passenger run; "the railroad will continue to handle freight and express services on this line, Monday through Friday." Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1960 items). Churcher notes on the item: "the BTC gave discontinuance authority on Friday 30 June - the last run would have been later." | Ottawa Citizen 1961-07-03(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1973-03-07≥ | By 7 March 1973 (the issue date), the paper reported: Len Hopkins, M.P. for Renfrew North-Nipissing East, "wants the National Capital Commission to revive a passenger service from Ottawa up the Valley to Whitney as a tourist attraction", a train "modelled after those of the pioneer days"; the Citizen of 4 April adds that the line, "78-year-old", "has been used exclusively for freight" and that old stations on the line could be rejuvenated or rebuilt as attractions. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1962 items). | Eganville Leader 1973-03-07(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1973-04-04(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1978-02-13≥ | By 13 February 1978 (the issue date), the paper reported: The Ottawa Valley Snow Train, organized by Dick Howey for the Nepean-Aylmer Transit Committee, "made its first two runs to Barrys Bay on the weekend": the Journal calls it "the first passenger train along that line in more than 20 years", taking 4 1/2 hours, at about 30 mph and 5 mph over the bridges, with fewer than 200 passengers. The Citizen says the first weekend train pulled in "some 40 minutes late" with about 160 tickets sold, and that the first-weekend trip planned for 4-5 February had been postponed for poor ticket sales. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1962 items). The train was a C.N.R. special hired for four February weekends at $35,000. | Ottawa Citizen 1978-02-13(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Journal 1978-02-13(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1978-02-03(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1978-02-20≥ | By 20 February 1978 (the issue date), the paper reported: The Snow Train, hired from the C.N.R. and run to Renfrew and Barrys Bay, "lives to run another day": "bailed out at the 11th hour Sunday by a trio of township councils" and the Nepean senior citizens council after organizer Dick Howey, who "had to come up with $5,000 for the CNR", was about $1,500 short. The Citizen of 23 February called the weekend of 25-26 February the third and last run of the season; on 11 April Nepean council declared the venture "a successful pilot project and worth repeating". Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1962 items). Several items about one season of excursions, filed as one fact. | Ottawa Journal 1978-02-20(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1978-02-23(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1978-04-11(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1978-09-13≤ | From 13 September 1978 (the issue date), the paper announced: "The Canadian National Railway plans to make formal application to the Board of Transport Commissioners for approval cease rail operations on the Renfrew to Barry's Bay branch line." Regional manager of operations Jacques Gauthier said "there is no urgency to halt rail traffic" and "the tracks won't be pulled tomorrow"; CN was applying to cease operation where revenues were lower than expenses. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1962 items). The item names the Renfrew to Barry's Bay branch. | Eganville Leader 1978-09-13(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1979-01-22≥ | By 22 January 1979 (the issue date), the paper reported: The Ottawa-Barry's Bay Snow Train "has probably come to the end of the line... at least for this winter": "Only 150 fun-seekers showed up on the weekend for the up to 900 seats offered on three runs to Barry's Bay." The train, a diesel engine, four passenger cars and a baggage car, cost $12,000 to rent for one weekend against a $10,000 National Capital Commission grant. The Citizen of 10 January had said the first run on 19 January might be its last if ticket sales did not improve. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Ottawa-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1962 items). Several items about one winter's excursions, filed as one fact. | Ottawa Citizen 1979-01-22(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1979-01-10(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Ottawa Citizen 1978-11-27(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1982-01-27≥ | By 27 January 1982 (the issue date), the paper reported: "Rail service on the local Canadian National Railway line has been abandoned for the remainder of the winter months and unless there is an upswing in the economy of the area, the line between Renfrew and Barry's Bay will remain closed in the winter months in coming years." On Thursday afternoon "the red and black CN locomotive, pulling a lone boxcar and caboose, pushed eastwards back to Ottawa signalling an end to the use of the line until the spring season arrives." Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Renfrew-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1979 items). The item names the line between Renfrew and Barry's Bay. The August 1983 items say there had been no train service to Barry's Bay since January 1, 1982. | Eganville Leader 1982-01-27(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1983-08-02 | The Canadian Transport Commission "has decided to allow Canadian National to abandon an 85-year-old stretch of historic railway linking Renfrew with Whitney, near Algonquin Park." "In an order dated August 2, the Railway Transport Committee agreed with CN's contention that the 90.26 mile line was not feasible financially to keep in operation any longer", concluding that the "branch line is uneconomic and is likely to continue to be uneconomic and the operation thereof should be abandoned"; CN had three months to shut down the line. Commissioner Anne-Marie Trahan's report found the Whitney section "poor" and impassable due to washouts, that there had been no train service to Barry's Bay since Jan. 1, 1982, and that service between Barry's Bay and Whitney was discontinued in 1974. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Renfrew-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1979 items). The order is dated August 2, from the Leader; the Citizen reports it on 8 August. | Ottawa Citizen 1983-08-08(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...),Eganville Leader 1983-08-10(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1983-11-09≥ | By 9 November 1983 (the issue date), the paper reported: "Madawaska Wood Products Ltd. has won a delay in the end of service by CN's Renfrew Subdivision, the rail line serving the town." The route "was to have been abandoned by the beginning of November, but that has been put off until the federal transportation commission completes a review of the move requested by Madawaska." Company vice-president Peter Gonzalez said "for the past two years, goods have been trucked to and from the rail depot in Pembroke at CN's expense because no trains have run on the line to Barry's Bay." Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Renfrew-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1979 items). | Ottawa Citizen 1983-11-09(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1987-06-10≥ | By 10 June 1987 (the issue date), the paper reported: "Canadian National Railways is willing to part with its right-of-way along the abandoned Renfrew subdivision line at a cost of $1,000 per municipality", the offer extended to Grattan, Horton, Admaston, Bromley, North and South Algona, Hagarty and Richards, Sherwood, Jones and Burns, Dickens, Murchison and Airy townships, the Village of Killaloe and the Algonkian Indian Band, but not Barry's Bay. Grattan council confirmed its interest in purchasing "the right-of-way, the Eganville Station and other pertinent accessories situated within its boundaries" at that price. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Renfrew-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1979 items). The item names the abandoned Renfrew subdivision. | Eganville Leader 1987-06-10(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1988-12-31≥ | By 31 December 1988 (the issue date), the paper reported: "The National Transportation Agency announced Friday it has granted permission for CN to abandon its operation between Nepean and Renfrew." The agency said that "from 1984 to 1986 the 70-kilometre branch line lost more than $780,000" with no prospect of profit. BASF at Arnprior, which "uses the CN line to ship tanker cars of a petrochemical", asked Canadian Pacific to build a spur; "CN trains now make weekly trips to the Arnprior plant". Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the line the Renfrew-Barry's Bay service ran over (inference, as with the 1938 to 1979 items). The item names the CN branch between Nepean and Renfrew; its Canadian Pacific paragraph is not part of this fact. | Ottawa Citizen 1988-12-31(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 1992-10-09≥ | By 9 October 1992 (the issue date), the paper reported: "The Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton has got into the shortline operating business by purchasing 43 kilometres of CN track between Arnprior and Nepean, which CN had received permission to abandon." The region bought the railway for $550,000 and leased it to BASF under a 20-year agreement; BASF bought CN Rail's equipment for $1.3 million. "After special provincial legislation was passed, the Arnprior-Nepean Railway Co. Inc. was born." Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the Renfrew Subdivision line (inference, as with the 1938 to 1988 items). The item names the CN track between Arnprior and Nepean. | Ottawa Citizen 1992-10-09(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) | |
| 2008-08-22≤ | From 22 August 2008 (the issue date), the paper announced: "On Oct. 5, the mayors of Bristol, Que., Arnprior and Renfrew will join other area politicians and Ottawa Central Railway staff on a test run of the train from the Walkley railyard to Pembroke along existing OCR tracks. The run is intended to expose riders to the route and duration of the trip", part of a regional commuter rail idea. Filed on the Middle Subdivision as the Ottawa-Pembroke line over which the Ottawa Central Railway runs (inference). | Ottawa Citizen 2008-08-22(Transcribed by Colin J. Churcher in 'Local Railway...) |