100 



THE RAILROADS OF CANADA. 



[1852. 



Great Western Railroad on behalf of the Desjardines Canal Com- 

 pany, for certain improvements in said Canal." Such " improve- 

 ments " were rendered necessary, in fact unavoidable, by the 

 unsuccessful attempts of the Great Western Company to construct 

 a bridge across the present Canal, at the Burlington Heights, 

 ■where, after expending a large amount of money, it vcas found 

 advisable to abandon the works and change the couree of 

 the Canal — this change is considered, to a certain extent, an im- 

 provement of that navigation. 



" An Act to incorporate the Main Trunk Railway of Canada," 

 is the most impoi-tant Railway Act of the session, and demands 

 more extended notice than we are now prepared to give it. 

 The Company will be entitled to the Government guarantee 

 of £3,000 sterling, per mile. With the political movements 

 which accompanied its passage through the Legislature, we have 

 nothing to do — but we may be pei mitted to express our satisfac- 

 tion at the fair prospects opened by it for the early construction 

 of a main line of communication through the whole length 

 of Canada, and our hope that its final location will be determined, 

 as well with a view to the economical construction and subse- 

 quent working of the road, as to conserve the broadest interests of 

 the whole Province. At present, we believe, no more is known 

 in reference to its route than that it is intended to extend from 

 Montreal to Kingston, and thence to Toronto — below Montreal 

 the Atlantic and St. Lawrence road, as far as Richmond, already 

 in operation, and the Richmond and Quebec road, now under 

 construction, will connect the Main Trunk with Quebec — below 

 Quebec the Trois Pistoles road will carry it on to that point, and 

 thence it is expected a road vnW be constructed to Miramichi, 

 thus uniting with the roads projected and in progi'ess in Nova 

 Scotia and New Brunswick. 



Westward of Toronto, the Toronto and Guelph road, now 

 under contract as far as Guelph, and its recently chartered exten- 

 sion to Port Sarnia, will connect the Main Trunk with the waters 

 of Lake Huron, at the head of the river St. Clair, and with the 

 most fertile region of the Canadian Peninsula; beyond that 

 point a short road in Michigan, (we believe now under con- 

 struction to Port Huron, immediately opjsosite and within one- 

 fourth of a mile of Port Sarnia,) will connect through Detroit, 

 and by the Michigan Central Railroad, with Chicago and all the 

 roads west and south-west of that point. From Port Huron, 

 another road, partly constructed, extends through the heart of 

 Michigan to Grand PLaven, opposite Milwaukie, while Port Sarnia 

 being at the foot of Lake Huron, will command a large poition of 

 the north-western trade, borne over Lakes Michigan and Huron. 

 The importance of sucli a chain of communication through the 

 Provinces and extending into the adjoining Republic can hai-dly 

 be over-rated, .ind the connexion which the Main Tiunk has with 

 the lines we have named, can not fail to make it a profitable specu- 

 lation. These are not, however, all the sources from which it wUl 

 derive support. It will be connected by a line from Toronto to 

 Hamilton, with tlio Great Western road, which also connects via 

 Detroit with most of the linos above named westward of that 

 point, and though the larger portion of the Gro.at Western's Trade 

 may reasonably he cvppcted to pass over its extension tn tlie 



Niagara Frontier into the adjoining State — still it must, to a cer- 

 tain extent, be a feeder to the Grand Trunk. Many branch roads 

 will doubtless be constructed, stretching into the iiterior of the 

 countr}', of which some are already projected, and will become 

 valuable contributors to the trade of the Main Line. 



The distances from Trois Pistoles to Detroit, by this system of 

 roads, will be nearly as follow : — 



Trois Pistoles to Quebec, say 145 miles. 



Quebec to Richmond 90 



Richmond to Montreal 70 



Montreal to Kingston 170 



Kingston to Toronto 165 



Via Port Sarnia: — 640 



From Toronto to Guelph 47 miles. 



Guelph to Sarnia 115 



Sarnia to Detroit, (in Michigan) 52 



Via Hamilton: — 214 



From Toronto to Hamilton 40 miles. 



" Hamilton to Detroit 180 



220 miles. 



The Main Trunk, therefore, with its extensions, will consist of 

 1074 miles in Canada, of which 387 miles are under contract 

 and in a forward state, and about 90 miles in operation. 



" An Act to amend the Erie and Ontario Railroad Company," 

 relates to a Company chartered in 1835, for the construction of 

 a Raih'oad between the mouth of the Niagara River and Chip- 

 pawa, thus connecting the navigation of Lakes Erie and Ontario 

 by Railroad on the Canada side. This road will of course be in 

 direct competition with the one already commenced on the oppo- 

 site side of the river to extend from Buffalo to Youngstown. 



Two Acts were passed in relation to the Bytown and Prescott 

 Railroad, one granting certain lauds in Bytown, the other amend- 

 ing a former charter. The Bytown and Prescott road connects 

 the heart of the Ottawa country at Bytown, with the St. Law- 

 rence at Prescott, immedisitely opposite the terminus of the 

 Ogdensburgh road — a distance of about 54 miles. The grading 

 of this road is in a forward state, and it is confidently assei-ted 

 that it win be opened for business next season. 



"Au Act to incorporate the Toronto and Guelph Railway 

 Company." This title hardly expresses the object of the Act, 

 which empowers the Compa: ly previously chartered to ext«nd 

 their line to the waters of Lake Huron at Sarnia. We have al- 

 ready alluded to this in connexion with the Grand Trunk line; 

 it will compete witii the Great Western for the trade of the 

 far w&?t, and will undoubtedly obtain that portion of it which 

 is destined to pass through Canada, on the other hand, the 

 Great Western must always counnand sucli of the western 

 business as will find a more profitable channel to market over the 

 roads of New York. 



Tlio " Toronto aixf Saniia" road, ns it may more correctly bo 



