Village Squire, 1980-08, Page 28power in 1905 is demonstrated by an anecdote recalled by a local
resident. The local residents were not fools and knowing the
snow problem in the winter asked the promoters how the railway
intended to operate during this season. They were told that.
since the mode of power was electricity which produced heat, the
train in passing over the tracks would melt the snow that had
accumulated.
It must be remembered that travel facilities were extremely
limited and the promise of a railway with frequent service was
enticing.As well .the trains were to run often enough to transport
children to and from school with special rates being offered to
students. Around 1905-6, Ashfield council received a petition
Port Albert's 1900 flood.
torn up and abuttments smashed during the night. As the
railway company had planned to lay tracks on the road, residents
said that trains were a hazard to traffic. Also, the people said it
would be impossible to see the southbound trains at Dunlop;
therefore the southbound trains were required to stop at the
corner and sound a bell before proceeding.
The railway started in 1908 and continued until the fall of 1911.
A man and his team were paid S3.50 per day. A trestle near
Port Albert was built over the Nine Mile River and the hills cut to
decrease the incline. A spur was to be built into the village of
Port Albert. However the line was only built as far as Kintail.
Engine #999 pulled two flat cars in addition to its tender.
A $920.000 railway that was never completed
signed by 64 freeholders in the western division requesting that
the council guarantee the bonds of the Ontario West Shore
Electric Railway to the amount of $125,000. By 1908. the
company under the presidency of John W. Moyes had managed
to procure guarantees for $400,000. of their bonds from
Goderich, Ashfield, Huron and Kincardine. The proposed route
of the railway involved building through Colborne Twp., but no
bonds were ever guaranteed by them. Ironically it was the only
township not to want the railroad but was the only one to have
the tracks completely laid through it. Apparently residents were
less than enthusiastic about the railway being situated along
their roads. Stories are told of the tracks being systematically
PG. 28 VILLAGE SQUIRE/ AUGUST 1980
Cargoes of grain were taken to Goderich and on the return trip
coal and even a load of cement were carried. A less glorious
means of transportation along the track was provided by jiggers
used by the men to move between the work sites. They also
provided illicit entertainment in the evening for local children
who pumped them up and down the line.
NO ENTRIES IN THE LEDGER
By January 1912, the municipalities' worst fears were
confirmed when they learned after a hearing that Moyes had
made no entries in the Company's ledger books for the years
1909, 1910, and 1911 when most of the expenditures for
construction had taken place. It was also learned that Moyes had
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