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The Central Ontario Railway
Location: As noted within its name, the railway is located in Central Ontario. Originating in Picton on Lake Ontario, the line stretches north through Trenton and Bancroft to a point known as Wallace just south of Whitney.
History: The citizens of the County of Prince Edward, looking for a connection to the rail lines of the mainland for the shipment of locally grown agricultural products, chartered the Prince Edward County Railway Company in March 1873. The line was projected to extend 32 miles (50 km) from Picton to Trenton Junction on the Grand Trunk Railway. As money was difficult to obtain for financing, construction did not begin until early 1879. The line was open for traffic in October of that year. In 1881, the line was purchased by a group of financiers from Ohio who reorganized the company and changed the name to the Central Ontario Railway Company (COR) in March 1882. The group quickly fell out of favour with each other, embroiling the company in lawsuits that would last for the duration of its existence, taking much of the financial resources with it. In spite of the troubles, expansion was initiated in 1883 with the line being extended north from Trenton Junction to Eldorado. Being built to a high standard for the time, the project was opened for traffic in October 1884. In 1889, the line had been extended to Coe Hill. The railway's intention was to eventually connect with the Canada Atlantic Railway line at or near Whitney.
A number of iron ore and other mineral finds had been identified in the area in which the company planned on exploiting. In May 1891, the Ontario, Belmont & Northern Railway Company (OB&NR), a wholly owned subsidiary of the COR, was given authority to construct to iron ore mining properties owned by the syndicate in the Marmora area. A nine mile line from Belmar (Marmora Junction) was opened to the Cordova mines in July 1896. The operation was renamed in 1900 the Marmora Railway & Mining Company (MR&M). A second subsidiary company, named the Bessemer & Barry's Bay Railway Company (B&BR), was created in 1904 by the Canada Iron Mines Limited to construct from Deltor to Barry's Bay on the Canada Atlantic. Only seven miles of the line were ever built, that being from Bessemer Junction to the Child's Mine in 1905. While mine profits never materialized to what the promoters had initially anticipated, they did provide stable traffic for the line for a number of years.
With the dawn of the new century, the COR looked to expanding the main line further north to take advantage of mineral and logging areas to the north. Work commenced in the fall of 1899 on an extension from Ormsby Junction (creating a branch of the Coe Hill line) to Bancroft that was ready by November 1900. This was followed by the construction of sixteen miles of track north from Bancroft to Maynooth, opened for regular service in November 1907. In April 1909, the COR property was purchased by Mackenzie and Mann (Canadian Northern Railway) as a feeder line for their Toronto to Ottawa main line. Later acquisitions by the CNoR included the MR&M in 1910 and the B&BR. Canadian Northern management undertook the construction of sixteen more miles of track that were opened for service north from Maynooth to Wallace in April 1911. This was as far north as the railway would be constructed, the eight mile gap between the end of steel and Whitney never completed. Upon the demise of the CNoR, the company came under the ownership of the Canadian National Railway in 1923.
Approximate Milage: 180 miles.
Current Status: Under Canadian National ownership, the line was known as the Marmora Subdivision. Portions of the line have been abandoned that include the following: From Marmora to Cordova 1941, Belmar to Marmora, Lake St. Peter to Wallace and Bessemer to Childs Mine 1965, Ormsby Junction to Coe Hill 1966, Belmar to Lake St. Peter 1982, and from Trenton Junction to Belmar in 1985. Abandonment for that portion of track extending from Trenton to Picton is pending.
Principle Stations: Picton, Bloomfield, Wellington, Trenton, Frankford, Marmora, Coe Hill, Bancroft and Maynooth.
Remaining Stations:
A total of eleven Central Ontario Railway stations have survived. They are as follows:
1. Picton: Moved to property at 3 Lake Street as a residence (original station).
2. Picton: In original location at 56 Main Street West as a lumber business (second station).
3. Hallowell: Moved to property on Stanley Street in Bloomfield as a children's playhouse.
4. Bloomfield: Moved to property on West Lake as a summer residence.
5. Consecon: In original location, abandoned.
6. Frankford: Moved to property in Stockdale as a restaurant.
7. Marmora: Moved to property off Highway No. 7 in park as a tourist information centre.
8. Coe Hill: Moved to community fair grounds as a concession stand and small museum.
9. Bancroft: In original location on Station Street as an art gallery and museum
10. Maynooth: In original location in community, abandoned.
11. Lake St. Peter: Moved to property nearby, location unconfirmed.
Last Updated: January 1998
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