Post by Steve on Jun 18, 2007 20:43:37 GMT -5
The first railway to be completed in Lambton County was the Great Western Railway in December 1858. This line had its origins in the London & Port Sarnia Railway Company, which was incorporated in 1853 by businessmen associated with the GWR, in order to meet the challange of the planned Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) mainline from Stratford to Point Edward. The line originated at a junction with the GWR's mainline, in Komoka, entered the county east of Watford and ran due west to terminate along the St. Clair River in Sarnia, at the foot of Cromwell St. The railway managed to open their line one year before the rival GTR reached Point Edward.
However, the GWR was taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1882 which, in turn, became part of Canadian National Railways (CNR)...
The original GWR had one branch line in Lambton, which ran south from the mainline, about one mile west of Wyoming to Petrolia. This line was built in 1866 by private interests in Petrolia when the GWR refused to build it for fear that the oil boom would end too soon to make it viable. The line turned out to be hugely profitable and the railway soon bought it from it's original builders.
Later, after the GWR was aquired by the Grand Trunk, another branch was built, called the Kingscourt Cut-off or Glencoe and Kingscourt Loop Line. Built in 1893, it ran from Kingscourt in Warwick Twp., southeast across the county, through Alvinston and on to Glencoe, to connect with the GTR mainline and Canada Air Line to Fort Erie.
More detailed info on the Great Western Railway and the London & Port Sarnia branch can be found on The Ontario Railway History Pages, hosted on TrainWeb.org. (Scroll down for London & Port Sarnia Railway info...)
However, the GWR was taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1882 which, in turn, became part of Canadian National Railways (CNR)...
The original GWR had one branch line in Lambton, which ran south from the mainline, about one mile west of Wyoming to Petrolia. This line was built in 1866 by private interests in Petrolia when the GWR refused to build it for fear that the oil boom would end too soon to make it viable. The line turned out to be hugely profitable and the railway soon bought it from it's original builders.
Later, after the GWR was aquired by the Grand Trunk, another branch was built, called the Kingscourt Cut-off or Glencoe and Kingscourt Loop Line. Built in 1893, it ran from Kingscourt in Warwick Twp., southeast across the county, through Alvinston and on to Glencoe, to connect with the GTR mainline and Canada Air Line to Fort Erie.
More detailed info on the Great Western Railway and the London & Port Sarnia branch can be found on The Ontario Railway History Pages, hosted on TrainWeb.org. (Scroll down for London & Port Sarnia Railway info...)
