A Faded Glory – Jerseyville – Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway (1895-1954)

If you're a fan of the show Murdoch Mysteries and are a sharp-eyed viewer, then the station featured today will be recognizable, having appeared in the episode The Annoying Red Planet, where the titular character visits the community of Jerseyville. Jerseyville is no work of fiction but is a rural community between Brantford and Hamilton and was only ever served by the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway.

The station is a difficult location to photograph at Westfield, but I had no time to do a proper walk around as a filming crew was inbound.
Graflex Crown Graphic - Nikon Nikkor-W 1:5.6/180 - Ilford HP5+ @ ASA-200 - Pyrocat-HD (1+1+100) 9:00 @ 20C

The Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway saw its original charter in 1884 to construct a second line between the three cities mentioned in the name as an alternative to Grand Trunk, which by 1884 had full control over Buffalo & Lake Huron and Great Western Railway. But the charter put some serious restrictions on the construction of the line. Under the terms of the charter, they would be unable to enter into a traffic sharing agreement with any other railway operator or purchase an incomplete line to integrate into their network. These two reasons were enough to keep the charter on paper only, and it eventually lapsed. In 1892 new investors revised the charter and removed the restrictive sections of the charter to allow the line to be completed. One of the first things the new railway operator did to kick start the construction was absorb the incomplete Brantford, Waterloo & Lake Erie Railway. By 1892 this line had been completed between Waterford and Brantford. Rather than continue that line out to Waterloo, the route was realigned to take the railway to Hamilton, passing through Jerseyville and south towards Fort Erie and the International Railway Bridge. From Hamilton, the line would continue onto Toronto. Hamilton would be reached in 1894 and a year later would hit Welland. Stations would start construction in 1895, communities like Brantford and Hamilton received large ornate stations, especially the one in Hamilton. But for rural communities, simpler stations were completed. And for even more remote stops, little more than a shelter shed saw construction. But by this point, Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo's line saw no further construction. A joint effort between New York Central and Canadian Pacific Railway purchased the entire network jointly. Not an even split but enough that instead of a dedicated Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Line, points to Toronto and Buffalo were completed on either CP or CASO tracks.

The beautiful black & yellow painted station sign board.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8DA bit of a closer and wider look at the station.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8D

The Jerseyville Station is an excellent example of a rural station for Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo. Constructed to the Queen Anne Revival style but far more subdued with little ornamentation or architectural features. Wooden construction using board and batten. The station looks similar to the earliest stations constructed on Ontario railways for Ontario, Simcoe & Huron. Inside, the station features a small general passenger waiting room with large baggage and freight room. A station master's office with a ticket window and telegraph bay separated the two larger areas. The telegrapher bay jutted out onto the platform to keep track of trains coming and going. The station opened to traffic in 1895, sitting on the north side of Jerseyville road, west of the centre of the village. Like many rural villages, Jerseyville remained isolated until the railroad arrived. Trains would allow residents to go into the city, and goods could come in and out by freight trains. And the station remained untouched during the first part of the 20th Century and never saw a replacement. Steam locomotives served the station initially, but Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo were the first to start running diesel-electric locomotives. In the final years of service, diesel-powered trains visited Jerseyville. By 1954, with improved highways and readily available personal automobiles, passenger service through Jerseyville had ceased.

Close up detail of the Telegraph operator bay, inside is plenty of equipment original to the era. Sadly I don't have an interior shot.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8DLocomotive 103 is a far more visible part of the Jerseyville Station display.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8D

The station stayed in place and maintained some railway operations regarding freight services. Still, by the 1960s, Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo were looking to divest themselves of underused stations, Jerseyville among them. A local farmer expressed interest in purchasing the old station for use on his farm. But another group, the Westfield Pioneer Association, purchased historically significant buildings to build a living history museum. Thankfully the Westfield group won the bidding war and moved the station near Rockton as one of the original buildings that formed the Westfield Pioneer village, which opened to the public in 1963. While I'm unsure if Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo ever painted their stations a railroad red, the Jerseyville Station underwent some restoration work to its original appearance at Westfield. The station began home to a large collection of Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo memorabilia. Westfield also acquired a maintenance shed and shelter type station both from Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo. Westfield was the first to take a serious interest in preserving the history of Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo. That station came under threat in the 1980s when financial difficulties forced Westfield to close; thankfully, the interest in film and television production gave the village a second life. In 1985 the station appeared in the CBC Anne of Green Gables TV movie and was also included in Road to Avonlea. Today, the station is one of only a few preserved examples of Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo stations, Hamilton's GO Centre and Smithville. The Brantford Station is still standing but is long abandoned, having been a restaurant in various forms. Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo would come under full Canadian Pacific Control in 1985, and the reporting mark dropped in 1987. The original line from Brantford to Hamilton was torn up in the 1990s, and today is a walking trail and still crosses through Jerseyville. At Westfield, Jerseyville remains a fine example of the early passenger stations for the rail operator and a popular spot for TV and film production. In fact, the day I was photographing the station, I got in before a crew arrived to film a scene.

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A Brief History of the Railway in Canada – Part III – The Drive West (1880 – 1900)

In about three decades, the railway in Ontario had grown from a small collection of operators to the principal means of moving people and cargo around the Province and, by extension, Canada. But the one thing that it still lacked was a complete link across the entire length of British North America. While some efforts had been made in 1873, the resulting scandal ousted the MacDonald conservatives, and the new Liberal Government made some efforts to start the construction in 1875. Despite completing 1,000 kilometres of track by the time they were voted out in 1878, not enough had been done. MacDonald returned to power, and rather than see the Government continue to fund the entire network, a new private corporation, the Canadian Pacific Railway, got its charter in 1881.

Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial in Toronto, is a memorial to the thousands who worked on the Canadian Pacific Project for pennies and often gave their lives.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8DWhile the grain trade in the west was a primary driver, the extension of the CPR line was accelerated to move Canadian militia and Mounted Police west to counter an uprising by Louis Reil.
Sony a6000 + Sony E PZ 16-50mm 1:3.5-5.6 OSSWhile originally chartered to build the transcontinental line, Canadian Pacific gained a foothold in Ontario through the Ontario & Quebec Railway.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8D

The power of private investment, funds, and further Ottawa's government support kicked the construction into high gear. While a line running from the western terminus at Port Moody in British Columbia, Winnipeg rushed west to meet it. Thunder Bay headed towards Callendar Station (today Bonfield, Ontario), where a ceremonial first spike marked the official start of the construction. Depending on where the building took place determined the amount of danger posed to the workers. The most dangerous work took place through the surveyed route in the Rocky Mountains, done by immigrant labour. Mainly Chinese who had already faced a great deal of racism at the hands of the Canadian Government in arriving in Canada worked for pennies a day—and often paid with their lives building bridges and digging tunnels. But Canadian Pacific realised that to be an actual transcontinental line, they needed access into southern Ontario, namely the major urban centres of Toronto and Hamilton. Their first step was acquiring through the lease of the entire Canada Central Railway, which included the Brockville & Ottawa line. To do this, they revived a small railway charter, Ontario & Quebec, with mainly Canadian Pacific investors with some minor private investments to support the work. However, they did open up construction on a line running from Perth to Toronto. Southern Ontario proved a significant battleground for railway operators. Grand Trunk paid out a large sum of money to be the top dog in the region but still faced their biggest competitor, Great Western. Great Western would finally start to profit, thanks mainly to strict austerity measures and a great deal of cutting of services. But the wolves were already at the door, and their name was Grand Trunk. Initially, Grand Trunk offered to lease the entire line, but after that proved illegal, they outright purchased the whole network in 1882. The move also netted them the Wellington, Grey & Bruce network. Seeing this, the Government, who was tired of supporting the ageing Toronto, Grey & Bruce line, offered up control to Grand Trunk. Who could not afford to replace the crumbling infrastructure and regauge the entire line from narrow to standard and turned it down? In 1883 the whole Canadian Southern Network landed in a lease to Michigan Central Railway, another Vanderbilt owned network. Ontario & Quebec took the opportunity to secure two more rail networks a year later, gaining 999-year leases on Toronto, Grey & Bruce and Credit Valley, and in 1884 the entire Ontario & Quebec line saw a lease for 999-Years to Canadian Pacific Railway. Canadian Pacific now had access into Toronto and rolled their trains into Union Station. While Grand Trunk would now control whole sections of railways through the Province, not everyone was happy with their service. Grand Trunk did what they wanted and often paid little attention to their customers. Two small operators gained their charters to build alternative lines; in Guelph, the Guelph Junction Railroad aimed to complete a line from the city's downtown out to the Canadian Pacific (formerly Credit Valley) mainline at the village of Campbellville and turn it over to Canadian Pacific. And a group of investors chartered the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway. While Guelph Junction saw completion, strict limits in the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo charter proved impossible even to get shovels in the ground.

The last spike on display at the Museum of Canadian History in Gatineau, Quebec.
Sony a6000 - Sony E PZ 16-50mm 1:3.5-5.6 OSSPalmerston quickly became a major rail hub especially with the presence of a vaccine farm producing the Smallpox vaccine.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Rollei Supergrain (1+15) 7:30 @ 20CAs part of the modernisation Program for Canadian Pacific, a series of uniform stations were constructed to replace older ones.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8D

North & North-Western continued to drive north towards Callendar Station, hitting Huntsville by 1885. Still, already the cracks were starting to show as the two companies, though merged, conducted themselves differently, causing a great deal of friction—unrest in Saskatchewan that year by Indigenous People over the lack of action by the Government. The only action taken was to force children to attend Residential Schools (a systemic means of removing the cultural identity from Indigenous Peoples) stoked the fire of rebellion. He was returning from Exile, Metis leader Louis Riel. Construction on the Canadian Pacific line hit a fever pitch to get the line extended into Saskatchewan. Not to bring much-needed supplies but rather the Canadian Militia and North-West Mounted Police. The railway allowed the troops to move quickly across Canada, resulting in what history knows as the North-West Rebellion. It also allowed the last spike on the Canadian Pacific line to hit home that same year. However, the first train would not run from Montreal to Port Moody until 1886; it extended the line and the western terminus to Vancouver. While North & North-Western completed their line, Grand Trunk was already waiting for them and in 1888 bought out the entire company gaining their link to the Canadian Pacific line at Callandar Station. While Canadian Pacific had gained some serious inroads into Ontario, Grand Trunk remained the Province's powerhouse. They operated tens of thousands of rolling stock, running on thousands of kilometres of track and owned acres of properties. One of the biggest innovations completed by Grand Trunk in 1891, the St. Clair Tunnel. Built over the course of a year, the tunnel dug by hand connected Sarnia and Port Huron. The opening of the tunnel removed the need for slow rail ferries. But at Toronto's Union Station faced a great deal of overcrowding by 1892. Rather than build a new station, they decided to expand the existing one. The plans called for several new platforms, and a proper train shed over three of the tracks. Additionally, a seven-storey office tower in the Romanesque style of red brick and stone. New investors rechartered the defunct Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo line in 1894. But this time around, they managed to remove several criteria from the charter and started purchasing the incomplete Brantford, Waterloo & Lake Erie line. They realigned the right-of-way extending it to Hamilton and building south, hitting Welland a year later. In 1895, seeing a chance to develop their network, Canadian Southern purchased a majority share with Canadian Pacific securing a minority share. While the line would never be completed, Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo trains could reach Buffalo and Hamilton using a mix of Canadian Southern and Canadian Pacific tracks.

Grand Trunk would also conduct a modernision program, but took a different approach using wood to replace many stations it still maintained from older operators.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8DThe former Jerseyville Station was a part of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo line from 1895 to 1954 today it is one of a few stations from the line that survive.
Rolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Rollei Ortho 25 @ ASA-25 - Kodak D-76 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CA surviving section of track from Canadian Northern Railway, in Claybank, SK, which formed in 1899.
Sony a6000 - Sony E PZ 16-50mm 1:3.5-5.6 OSS

Grand Trunk opened their Union Station expansion in 1896, but passengers quickly realised that the growth did little to help and only worsened matters. One railway publication described Union Station as one of the most incontinent stations in North America. And their decade long move to gobble up their competition had left them strapped for cash. The board brought on Charles M. Hayes as President to help turn things around. Hayes having a reputation for helping out struggling American railway operators quickly began cutting duplicate lines and uniting all the former operators under one banner. Almost overnight, Great Western, Buffalo & Lake Huron, North & North-Western and Wellington, Grey & Bruce were cut and reporting marks dropped. Canadian Pacific, who for the longest time needed to send their westbound trains above the city and turn them east through Parkdale, opened up a direct line along the Don River from Leaside, allowing for a faster and safer route for their trains coming in from the east and also those heading out in that direction. In Manitoba, two investors Sir William Mackenzie and Sir Donald Mann, took control of the Lake Manitoba Railway & Canal Company began constructing a line from the Canadian Pacific mainline to points north and south. They quickly purchased other lines, and by 1897 Mackenzie and Mann had added a few different charters with plans to expand into Ontario. By 1898, Canadian Pacific seeing a surge in traffic, began the long process of adding a second rail line to their mainline. Mann and MacKenzie rechartered themselves in 1899 to Canadian Northern Railways. By 1900 the only choice for a transcontinental railway was the Canadian Pacific; like Grand Trunk, Canadian Pacific could do as they pleased and charge whatever they liked. Both Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk began making plans for their transcontinental line in direct competition with Canadian Pacific, which would reshape rail in Canada going into the new century.

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