The Port Hope, Lindsay and Beaverton Railway Line
- Jason Kay and Bruce Williamson
- May 2
- 4 min read
Contributions from Bruce Williamson and Jason Kay Hike references: 6.6 km Canton; 10 km Milbrook; 15 km Ganaraska Trail
Overview
A roughly 5 km stretch of Pine Ridge’s section of the Ganaraska Hiking trail, from the Fourth Line west of County Road 28 to just north of the Sixth Line on Campbell Road, is located on an historic rail right of way.
The line began as the Port Hope, Lindsay and Beaverton Railway Company (with construction beginning in 1854); re-branded in 1869 as the Midland Railway as the expanding venture grew west towards Georgian Bay, and east to Peterborough; was purchased by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1893; and ultimately was folded into the Canadian National Railway system. The Midland main line was last used for passenger trains in the 1950s, and the GHT opened to souls like us in 1969.
Several other hikes in the Pine Ridge catalogue are intertwined with the rail line’s relatively short but storied past. Notably, Port Hope Town Hall is located just west from where The Little Station, a structure linked to the early days of the PHL&B company, now sits on Lent Lane (see blurb below). And our Milbrook Trails’ hike crosses paths with what locals refer to as the “Hole in the Wall”, a Baxter Creek overpass on which the line once ran.
History
What began as a plan in the late 1840s to build a line from Port Hope to Peterborough was thwarted when a competitor, the Cobourg and Peterborough Railway, completed its project first. As a result, the Port Hope venture was re-directed north, then west, to Lindsay, Beaverton and eventually Midland.
Construction on the line began in 1854 and reached Lindsay late in 1857. The venture — named the Port Hope, Lindsay and Beaverton Railway Company (PHL&B) — took advantage when its Cobourg competitor’s business started to falter, and built a Milbrook-to-Peterborough branch in May 1858. The rival’s route featured a long trestle bridge on Rice Lake, which had recurring safety issues, caused primarily by winter ice. PHL&B negotiated a deal to lease the struggling Cobourg operation and shortly thereafter sabotaged the doomed bridge, which reportedly fell into Rice Lake around 1861.
Further expansion was ambitious but slow. Plans to push the line westward towards Georgian Bay prompted the company to change its name in 1869 to the Midland Railway. The station at Beaverton was completed in 1871, with stops in Orillia (1873) and Midland (1879) eventually becoming realities.
In the ensuing years, Midland’s owners fell on hard times and Grand Trunk Railway swooped in with a series of maneuvers, finally purchasing the lines outright in 1893. Ultimately, GTR’s operation was folded into the Canadian National Railway system. The Midland main line was last used for passenger trains in the 1950s and it now forms a significant part of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail, which opened in 1969.
A Personal Recollection
(The following is an excerpt from In and Around Canton, written & published by Ethel F. Bickle).
“The contractors in 1853 advertised for 500 men at 5 shillings ($1) per day. Working hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The kind of implements used in construction is shown in a list of equipment offered for sale at the competition of the contract – “200 wheel barrows, 25 road scrapers, 70 railway earth wagons, along with quantities of picks, shovels, ploughs, ropes, sleighs, saddles, crow-bars and 5 sets of blacksmith tools.”
Quays Station (on the 4th Concession) and Campellcroft Station (on the 7th Concession) provided an outlet for the shipment of cattle and hogs from the Township. New machinery arrived in the spring and would be assembled on the grounds by machinery agents.
The Midland, like most railways, benefited the country which it served, most than it did the stockholders. It opened up the back district, brought great quantities of lumber and produce to market and was the link between pioneer and modern times. When modern transportation made the maintenance of the railroad uneconomical, the CNR closed the line in 1951.
The Midway Railway crossed the 4th Concession. It was a steep slope up each side to cross the tracks, beside one had to be sure there was no train coming. The remains of the old track can still be seen running along the west side of Fred Bamsey’s farm and east of Gordon Austin’s property.
High school students sometimes used the railroad for part of their transportation, e.g., from Campbellcroft. Part of 1938-39, Ruth Mills and I went on the train from Port hope to Quays to meet Jean Hawkins teaching at Pine Grove School, for a ride there either by car or in winter, horse and cutter. We had to leave school one half hour early, run down to meet the train when it stoped (between the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Travel Agency now), it crossed Walton Street, on Ontario Street, to the bridge and on out through what is now the west side of the Ganaraska Park, across 106 Highway and on to Quays Station. It was always fun to ride the train, even if for such a short ride. I think it costs 15 cents to Quays.”
The Little Station at Port Hope
The Little Station is believed to have been built in the 1850s, perhaps as the first actual train station in Port Hope. It may also have been used as a “flag” stop on the PHL&B line, a junction from which passengers would hail, or flag, approaching trains. Whatever the case, it has been situated at various locations around Port Hope over the decades. As recently as 2017, it lived on Hayward Street, used on loan by the yacht club until the Port Hope Area Initiative had it relocated to make way for soil remediation. The Little Station was eventually donated to the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and has been used most recently by a local organization for contemporary arts programming.
