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james t kirk · 01-24-2006, 07:01 PM

Portage du fort is close.

Portage Du fort is mile 60.10 of the Beachburg Subdivision.

This bridge is Mile 37.80 of the Beachburg, so closer to Ottawa since railway mileages always increase from East to West.

This bridge is located just outside Fitzroy Harbour.

It is crossing the Ottawa River, so you were all very close.

The line runs from Ottawa to Pembroke Ontario. It was originally built by the "Canadian Northern Ontario Railway", which was somehow related to the "Canadian Northern Railway". Eventually, when the government formed CNR out of several failed railways (Grand Trunk, Canadian Northern, Intercolonial to name a few). So, the track shown used to be owned by CNR, and ran from Ottawa to North Bay. It was used to ferry freight traffic from Montreal to North Bay where it could hook up with CN's main line track and go all the way to Vancouver.

It effectively bypassed Toronto and saved about 1 day for the freight train.

When CN was privatized in 96, they did a lot of rationalizing.

Essentially you had two tracks doing the same thing. The beachburg sub was the northern route, and although it was quicker, it didn't have a lot of stops along the way to pick up freight.

The Kingston sub which is CN's southern track runs from Montreal to Toronto basically paralleling Lake Ontario. When the track gets to Pickering, it branches northward across the 401 (where that big Truss bridge that is squared off on the ends is) then goes north to MacMillan Yard located at Keele Street and Highway No. 7. From there, it goes north along the Bala sub to Capreole outside of sudbury I believe. Or for that matter just about anywhere in Toronto along CN's lines since MacMillan yard is a hub.

Anyway, CN had two tracks doing the same thing essentially, so they closed the Beachburg sub from Pembroke that ran westward through Algonquin Park to North Bay. (The track bed is still in the northern part of Algonquin, but the track has been pulled up.)

Then the line from Ottawa to Pembroke was sold to the Ottawa Central Railway.

The bridge in the photo was built in 1914 by the Canadian Foundry Corporation I believe and is about 1/4 of a mile long. She's a beauty.

01-24-2006, 07:01 PM	#537 (permalink)
james t kirk Junkie Location: Toronto	Portage du fort is close. Portage Du fort is mile 60.10 of the Beachburg Subdivision. This bridge is Mile 37.80 of the Beachburg, so closer to Ottawa since railway mileages always increase from East to West. This bridge is located just outside Fitzroy Harbour. It is crossing the Ottawa River, so you were all very close. The line runs from Ottawa to Pembroke Ontario. It was originally built by the "Canadian Northern Ontario Railway", which was somehow related to the "Canadian Northern Railway". Eventually, when the government formed CNR out of several failed railways (Grand Trunk, Canadian Northern, Intercolonial to name a few). So, the track shown used to be owned by CNR, and ran from Ottawa to North Bay. It was used to ferry freight traffic from Montreal to North Bay where it could hook up with CN's main line track and go all the way to Vancouver. It effectively bypassed Toronto and saved about 1 day for the freight train. When CN was privatized in 96, they did a lot of rationalizing. Essentially you had two tracks doing the same thing. The beachburg sub was the northern route, and although it was quicker, it didn't have a lot of stops along the way to pick up freight. The Kingston sub which is CN's southern track runs from Montreal to Toronto basically paralleling Lake Ontario. When the track gets to Pickering, it branches northward across the 401 (where that big Truss bridge that is squared off on the ends is) then goes north to MacMillan Yard located at Keele Street and Highway No. 7. From there, it goes north along the Bala sub to Capreole outside of sudbury I believe. Or for that matter just about anywhere in Toronto along CN's lines since MacMillan yard is a hub. Anyway, CN had two tracks doing the same thing essentially, so they closed the Beachburg sub from Pembroke that ran westward through Algonquin Park to North Bay. (The track bed is still in the northern part of Algonquin, but the track has been pulled up.) Then the line from Ottawa to Pembroke was sold to the Ottawa Central Railway. The bridge in the photo was built in 1914 by the Canadian Foundry Corporation I believe and is about 1/4 of a mile long. She's a beauty. Last edited by james t kirk; 01-24-2006 at 08:41 PM..