Barrie Collingwood Railway

The Barrie-Collingwood Railway (reporting mark CCGX) is a shortline railway operating between the towns of Innisfil and Utopia in south central Ontario, Canada. The line was started in 1998 and runs on abandoned Canadian National (CN) trackage which was collectively purchased by the railway's namesake municipalities. The operator of the line is Cando Contracting Limited, based out of Brandon, Manitoba.^[1]

Barrie Collingwood Railway
Legend Collingwood Stayner New Lowell Angus Utopia CP MacTier Sub North Simcoe Railtrail Lorena St spur Barrie former CN Newmarket Sub now GO Transit, to Bradford ind. spurs Tarpin spur Innisfil track end Thornton-Cookstown Trans Canada Trail

History

In 1996, CN abandoned its Newmarket Subdivision from Barrie, Ontario to Washago, as well as its entire Meaford Subdivision which runs from Barrie to Collingwood (both parts of the former Northern Railway of Canada). CN had plans to rip up its tracks, however the City of Barrie and the Town of Collingwood stepped in to purchase the lines to maintain their rail infrastructures. Barrie purchased the remainder of the Newmarket Subdivision, the Meaford Subdivision from Barrie to Utopia in Essa Township and the remainder of the abandoned Beeton Subdivision (originally the Hamilton and North-Western Railway) which runs south from Barrie to Innisfil and connects with the other two subs at the site of the former Allandale Yard in Barrie. Collingwood purchased the rest of the Meaford Sub from Utopia westward.

In 1998, the BCRY was created to service various customers in Innisfil, Barrie, Colwell, Angus, Stayner and Collingwood along the Beeton and Meaford Subdivisions. The line crosses the Canadian Pacific (CP) Mactier Subdivision at Utopia, where a small interchange yard was subsequently built. This was necessary as the abandonment of the Newmarket Subdivision north and south of Barrie effectively isolated the line from the North American rail network.^[2] The yard is also where Maintenance Of Way (MOW) equipment and the locomotive is stored when not in use. Transloading facilities are also located here for customers not directly rail served. The yard has a storage capacity of 60 cars.^[3] The Newmarket Subdivision is not used by the BCRY; it was purchased to preserve future GO Transit expansion north from Bradford, which re-opened in late 2007. It has since been sold to Metrolinx, the operators of GO Transit.

BCRY yard in Utopia, Ontario in June 2006.

Decommissioning of Collingwood Portion of Line

As of July 15, 2011, the Town of Collingwood has decided to decommission its portion of the line for financial reasons. It was costing taxpayers up to $425,000 annually to keep providing regular rail service to essentially one customer, the Canadian Mist distillery, while Amaizeingly Green in the same industrial lot used it only sporadically. The only other user was a farm supply company in Stayer that was well served by Ontario Highway 26. The trackage between Utopia and Collingwood will most likely be ripped up and sold for scrap, ending over 150 years of rail service to the town. The line continues to operate east of the Utopia yard, serving Barrie and Innisfil.^[4]

Current Status

Today the railway services only four customers. They include Tag Environmental and Western Mechanical in Barrie, and Tarpin Lumber and Comet Chemical in Innisfil. The line's future could be in jeopardy unless new customers can be attracted, as operating costs consistently exceed revenues.^[5] As of January 2016, unused stretches of track are being leased for empty tank car storage, due to the slow down in the oil industry.^[6] This has led to community backlash, citing safety concerns and impact on property values.^[7]

Equipment and Track

Currently, the BCRY has only one locomotive, an EMD Phase III GP9, #1001, which was formerly Ohio Central (OHCR) #94 and Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) #6594. Another GP9, #1000, was in service as well, but has since been transferred to the Orangeville-Brampton Railway (OBRY), another shortline operated by Cando. BCRY also possesses various MOW equipment and a road railer.

The track is over a century old and thus, is in very poor condition. Due to this fact, the speed limit along the line is 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). Efforts are being made to improve the right of way, including tie and rail replacement and signal upgrades.^[8] Between 2011 and 2013, the level crossing at Mapleview Avenue was removed during the street's widening and replaced with an overpass.^[9]

References

External links

• BCRY website
• Cando Contracting
• Trainweb.org
• A history of the BCRY