C.P.R. to tear up line from Port McNicollLindsay to Medonte

According to information received in Lindsay, the C.P.R. Port McNicoll line running through Lindsay to Medonte, will be torn up, starting April 1st. This track, about 60 miles, was built in 1911, just prior to the removal of the C.P.R. steamship headquarters from Owen Sound to Port McNicoll. It was designed to give the C.P.R. a direct short haul between Port McNicoll and Montréal, connecting with the C.P.R. main line at Bethany Junction.

The line from Lindsay to Medonte has not been in use for three or four years. Traffic from Montréal has been handled on the main line to Toronto and thence via the Sudbury line to the Port.

The line has ceased to be useful to the C.P.R. because of the new trend of through traffic. For years the line was used largely in handling grain and flour from the west through Port McNicoll and direct to the seaboard. The traffic was very heavy, and huge movements of freight were carried each year, particularly during the war, and for a few years afterwards.

In recent years a large proportion of this traffic has been handled via the all-winter route. Apparently, this loss of traffic has been so heavy that the railway company has found it unprofitable to maintain this shortcut route.

The removal of this line, however, should not be taken as an indication that the Canadian Pacific has any intention of abandoning Port McNicoll. The company has a good level haul from the Port to Medonte and thence to Toronto, over which the all freight traffic has been handled for a number of years. It does not change the situation at all, as the Lindsay to Medonte end of the line has been in operation for several years.

Railways: C.P.Ry.

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