South Norfolk Railway

Not to be confused with Norfolk Southern Railway.

South Norfolk Railway
Overview
Owner	Grand Trunk Railway (first owner) Canadian National Railway (final owner)
Locale	Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada
Service
System	Grand Trunk Railway
Services	Simcoe, Walsh, Vittoria, Forestville, Port Rowan
History
Opened	1886
Closed	1965
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The South Norfolk Railway was incorporated in 1886, to construct a railway from Simcoe, Ontario to Port Rowan, Ontario.^[1]

Summary

In 1887, the station was acquired by Grand Trunk Railway and was absorbed into their railway network.^[2]

Simcoe was already connected to the railway system by other railways.^[3] The South Norfolk Railway had intermediate stations at Vittoria, Walsh and Forestville. The proximity of Walsh's railway station to Young's Creek brought extra economical advantages to flour and lumber mills operating in the region. From a geographical perspective, Young's Creek originates about four kilometers northwest of the Walsh and passes through the village along with Vittoria before discharging into Lake Erie, 11 kilometres or 6.8 miles away in Port Ryerse.^[4] The level of industrialization that the South Norfolk Railway brought to Norfolk County would be impossible to replicate today because of the emphasis of railway services on established urban links instead of trying to expand to rural areas that desperately need railway travel.

A lawsuit was initiated in 1888 between the Port Rowan and Lake Shore Railway and the South Norfolk Railway.^[5]

The railway was eventually run by Canadian National Railway, which closed the line in 1965.^[1] Workers from the CNR would eventually remove the railroad tracks; thus reverting it to private property status.

References

1. Ron Brown (2009). "The Lake Erie Shore: Ontario's Forgotten South Coast". Dundurn. pp. 36, 38, 40, 41, 88–90, 91, 126, 127, 128, 153. ISBN 9781554883882. Retrieved 2012-11-23. During the scorched-earth policy of the invading American militia during the War of 1812, all mills along the Erie shore as far as the Grand River were burned to the ground. All, that is, except the mill belonging to John Backhouse, and Tisdale's mill in Vittoria. Speculation has it that he was to related to key people in the United States.
2. Charles Cooper (2012). "Haldimand & Norfolk Counties". Charles Cooper's Railway Pages. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-11-23. The South Norfolk Railway (SNR) was incorporated by local civic interests on June 23, 1887 to build from Port Rowan via the Town of Simcoe to a point on [the] Canada Southern Railway". It was in fact built in 1888 between Port Rowan and Simcoe and was acquired by the Grand Trunk Railway the following year.
3. "Norfolk Trivia, from 1937 to Present Day" (PDF). Eva Brook Donly Museum & Archives. 2011-04-14. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2012-11-23. Since 1888 the South Norfalk Railway connected Simcoe with Port Rowan, with stations in Vittoria, Walsh and Forestville. This line was eventually owned by the CNR. What year were the tracks removed?
4. Young's Creek information at TravelingLuck.com, accessed 20 February 2012
5. Practice Court, Ontario (1888). "Port Rowan and Lake Shore Railway Company versus the South Norfolk Railway Company". Retrieved 2012-11-23.