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Nipissing, Unorganized, South Part

Cache Lake Abandonded Railway

Abandoned Railway in Nipissing, Unorganized, South Part, Ontario, Canada

Apr 13 2011

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Recent status Abandoned
Location # 2589

J.R. Booth was Canada(a)s lumber baron at the turn of the 20th century. He had the rights to logging in a large section of what is now Algonquin Park. To move his lumber to Ottawa he built a railway through the park. This railway was eventually completed from Ottawa to Parry Sound and was known as the Ottawa Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway. It was completed in 1896.
In 1933 the Cache - Two Rivers trestle was closed. This cut off the western end of the railway and meant that trains no longer went past the Highland Inn. There is a long stretch of trestle that has been left abandonded and is rotting into Cache Lake. The photos presented here were taken in May 1998. There could be much less left above water now that an additional 13 winters have passed. We investigated the old trestle by canoe and when we got too close I used my paddle to push away. The wood was so badly rotted that the paddle just cut right in like a hot knife through butter. Remains of the Railway can be found in other places in the park.

Comments

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11 years ago

The railway at Cache Lake was part of the grain route from Georgian Bay and lost traffic as a result of 1932 improvements to the Welland Canal. CNR cited the condition of the Cache Lake trestles as an excuse to close through service on the track. An Ottawa newspaper reporter sarcastically reported the line closed as the result of a washout caused by a broken beaver dam.

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11 years ago

Cutting rights to the timber around Cache and Rock lakes belonged to Perley and Pattee Lumber Co. and was sold to St. Anthony Lumber Co. before the railway was built. J. R. Booth was big, but he didn't get it all.

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12 years ago

just perfect

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12 years ago

Love it..If u look under some of the other locations I added a photo of this railway being built. man did they work hard back then..there was also a wooden fire tower at cache lake..The activity in Agonquin back then is surprising to most..