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The Chatham, Wallaceburg & Lake Erie Railway
Location: The railway was constructed in Southern Ontario between Wallaceburg, south through Chatham, to the Lake Erie port of Erie Beach.
History: The Chatham, Wallaceburg & Lake Erie Railway Company (CW&LER) was incorporated in 1903 by a group of Chatham investors with the hope of accomplishing two things: to draw trade south from the isolated community of Wallaceburg, and to create a direct connection to the lake for Chatham residents and businesses. Construction was initiated a year later with the first section of the line from Chatham to Wallaceburg open for traffic in November 1905. Work on the remainder of the railway from Chatham to Erie Beach progressed slowly, not being open until August 1908. A branch line was also built in 1909 from a point on the line north of Chatham west to the village of Paincourt. The CW&LER was constructed for the most part adjacent to the highway and on city streets through the urban area of Chatham. A heavy reliance was placed by the company on the interchange of both freight and passenger traffic in connecting with the numerous east-west steam roads that pass either through or close to Chatham. As well, the volume of people using the line swelled during the hot summer months with those choosing to visit the beach and cottages on Lake Erie.
In 1913, the line passed into the control of Mackenzie and Mann for a brief period of time before being transferred to other interests. For most of its life, the railway had been fighting a battle with Chatham Council members over relocating the tracks off city streets onto a belt line. The railway was hesitant given the costs involved while merchants preferred the line remain as it was good for business. To resolve the situation, the CW&LER offered to sell the railway to either the municipality or Ontario Hydro. Both, however, declined to accept the offer. It was at this point that the financial affairs of the company began to decline, a matter partly brought on by local competing bus lines. In response, all passenger operations were suspended in 1927. Freight operations continued for a short time afterward until being forced to shut down when the Thames River bridge became impassable. Surprisingly, the structure was fixed and by the end of the year, trains were once again running. The company was still fighting the city over the belt line scheme. Seeing no resolution to the issue, the railway's franchise was cancelled by the municipality in March 1930 and all rail movement stopped. Shortly thereafter, all tracks in the city were removed. Attempts were made by the CW&LER to sell portions of what remained outside of the urban area to the steam lines but these efforts proved unsuccessful. As a result, all infrastructure was dismantles and the right-of-way abandoned.
Approximate Milage: The main line was 33 miles while the branch into Paincourt was six miles.
Current Status: The line was abandoned as of March 30, 1930. Little trace remains of the railway today.
Principle Stations: Erie Beach, Charing Cross, Chatham, Paincourt and Wallaceburg.
Remaining Stations: There are no remaining stations along the Chatham, Wallaceburg & Lake Erie Railway.
Additional information on the Chatham, Wallaceburg & Lake Erie Railway can be obtained from the following site:
Electric Lines in Southern Ontario
Last Updated: December 02, 2000
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