"Credit Valley Railway History VIII"

VIII. Cars and Track

In the December 31, 1879 Annual Report of the C.V.R., it was noted that the company now “owns 9 engines and 100 cars and is expected to add in March 1880 an additional 6 engines, 350 freight cars and 18 passenger cars... In the meantime, the company will lease all rolling stock required”. Reference to the volume of traffic is found in the Brampton “Conservator”, April 9, 1880: “since the new passenger coaches and box cars have been placed upon the road, the passenger and freight traffic has increased very much; sometimes seats in the coaches are not available and the sterner sex must take the smoking car”. An article on May 21, 1880 says “They (the C.V.R.) are lately put on some new passenger coaches, which for beauty and elegance compare favourably with any other road”.

The cost of equipment is hard to ascertain. the only direct reference to equipment is contained in a short paragraph by Miles Pennington in his book Railways and Other Ways (1894). He states that the cost of a box car was about $900 and its average life about eight years. With the ornate design of passenger cars of the 80's it is extremely difficult to come up with an accurate cost. However, in 'Scientific American' of 1876 the average American passenger car is said to have cost $4,423.13.

By October 1, 1880 a through train was running from Orangeville direct to Toronto and was aptly named 'The Orangeville Express' making the trip in under three hours. The Brampton “Conservator” detailed the effectiveness of the railroad on that date and on November 11, 1881, says “In the meantime the Business of the road is constantly increasing and taxing the carrying capacity to the utmost. New cars are being added to the rolling stock at the rate of from fifteen to twenty per week, but the employment could be found for fully four hundred more”.

In the official company statement of December 31, 1879 Shanley gave a lengthy report on the trackage of the entire line, including the branches He said that radius of curvature on the main line was 1910 feet with a ratio of straight track to curved track of 9 to 16 over 96 miles. On the branches the radius of curvature was 850 feet with a ratio of straight to curve of two to three over 35 miles on the Orangeville Branch and over 27 miles on the Elora Branch.

Steepest gradients on the mainline have an inclination of one in 100 or 53 feet to the mile on the branches the maximum gradient is one is 130 feet or 70 feet to the mile. Rail, as reported by Shanley, is 56 pound per yard for all trackage.

None of this rail has been found by the author during his research and so it is safe to say that all had been replaced by the C.P.R. after the 1884 take over. Rail at Cataract leading to the spur (originally the lead track to the old turntable) is dated 1890 and is the oldest found on this particular section of the railway.

The company, in attempting to promote passenger traffic utilized the beauty of the countryside adjacent to the railway and in 1880 the Brampton “Conservator” of April 9 reports that “During the past few days C J Wheelock and a staff of engineers has been engaged In laying out a park and a pleasure grounds between the falls (Church's Falls) and the Forks which will embrace some very fine scenery said to excel the White mountains of Vermont or any in Canada Tourists will be much gratified with the view of the Forks Bridge Picture Rocks Devil's Pulpit and the Falls We strongly urge Sunday Schools and others planning excursions to patronize the Credit Valley and see the finest scenery in Canada, unexcelled by anything on the American Continent. We are informed that the railway company will offer very liberal rates to the new park”. It is noteworthy that Laidlaw was able to plan a park in 1880 that encompassed all theater presently being developed, almost one hundred years later, by the Ontario Government as a Provincial Park, opening up the area once again for tourists to enjoy the same beautiful countryside and local landmarks dormant such a long time. It is indeed a shame that the area cannot be served by a train rather than automobiles.

The railways of the day were always trying to attract passengers in one way or another, local papers advertising 'up and coming' excursions to local parks for picnics or parties. Typical of these is an advertisement from the July 27, 1883 Brampton “Conservator” under the heading “Excursion on Civic Holiday. August 8th:”; “An excursion to Niagara Falls and return will be given under the auspices of the P. M. church choir of Brampton. A special train both ways on the Credit Valley Railway and a steamer from Toronto. The special train will leave Brampton Station at 6 a.m. returning at 9 p.m. giving six hours to view the beauties of Niagara Falls and surrounding attractions. The train will run alongside the steamer at Brock St. thus eliminating all dangers and delays crossing the tracks, etc. Tickets for the round trip only $1.50, children under twelve $0.75.” The C.V.R. was anxious to promote passenger traffic, local traffic to other areas as well as Toronto traffic to the country. The excursion train was always popular, even up until the late thirties, when the use of the automobile forecast the downfall of the passenger train. The C.P.R., having taken over from the Credit Valley, continued to sponsor excursions; records indicate that excursion trains into the area served by the Credit Valley, were being run as late as 1945. One of the highlights of the C.P.R. era was the Company picnic held at Fairy Lake in Erin, with special excursion trains bringing employees and their families from all over the division.

Alfred Price, in Credit Valley Memoirs, tells of two antiquated parlour cars being bought from the New York Central and placed on the run from St. Thomas to Toronto. The rear ends of the cars were rounded and painted and renamed 'Victoria' and 'Humber'. No record is available to indicate to what trains these cars were attached, but it can be imagined that they would constitute the ultimate in travel advantages for the newly-founded C.V.R.

The following is the Credit Valley Locomotive Roster as recorded at the time of the take-over by the Canadian Pacific Railway. 1884.

CVR#	CPR #	Type	Drive Wheel	Cylinder Size	Builder	Builder #	Year	Addenda
1	178	4-4-0	69	17x24	Portland	296	1874	Renumbered in 1905 - 103, 1912 - 7016, Scrap - 1913
2	179	4-4-0	69	17x24	Brooks		1874	Renumbered in 1905 - 104, Scrap – 1911
3	191	4-4-0	62	17x24	Brooks	--	1873	Renumbered in 1905 - 16, Scrap - 1909
4	192	4-4-0	62	17x24	Brooks	--	1873	Sold 07-1904
5	193	4-4-0	62	17x24	Brooks	--	1873	Renumbered in 1905 - 17, Scrap - 1910
6	194	4-4-0	63	15x24	Unknown	--	--	Scrap - 1898
7	180	4-4-0	62	17x24	Kingston	199	1879	Scrap - 1897
12	189	4-4-0	69	16x24	Manchester	836	1880	Scrap - 1899
13	190	4-4-0	69	16x24	Manchester	837	1880	Scrap - 1899
14	181	4-4-0	62	17x24	Kingston	237	1881	Scrap - 1897
15	182	4-4-0	62	17x24	Kingston	220	1881	Scrap - 1897
16	183	4-4-0	62	17x24	Kingston	225	1882	Scrap - 1899
17	184	4-4-0	62	17x24	Kingston	226	1882	Renumbered in 1905 - 43, Scrap - 1909
18	185	4-4-0	69	16x24	Kingston	233	1882	Scrap - 1896
19	186	4-4-0	69	16x24	Kingston	234	1880	Renumbered in 1905 - 13, Scrap - 1908
20	187	4-4-0	69	16x24	Kingston	235	1882	Renumbered in 1905 - 14, Scrap - 1910
21	188	4-4-0	69	16x24	Kingston	236	1882	Renumbered in 1905 - 15, Scrap - 1910
266	194	4-4-0	63	16x24	Unknown		--	Scrap - 1898
584	196	4-4-0	50	16x24	Danforth	--	--	Scrap - 1888

It is interesting to note that locomotive #1 of the C.V.R. was the last engine to be scrapped by the C.P.R. in 1913.

Back Next