Town of Georgina
The Railroad Reached Sutton in 1877
By Jeanne Hopkins
On March 29, 1873, the Lake Simcoe Junction Railway Company was incorporated to build a branch line from Stouffville, on the Toronto and Nipissing Railway, north to Sutton and Jackson's Point and the shores of Lake Simcoe
The narrow gauge was adopted, with the Toronto and Nipissing Company agreeing to provide rolling stock and to operate the rail line for 25 years. Narrow gauge was adopted because it was cheaper to build and rolling stock was lighter, making for less wear and tear on the wheels and tracks. The railway's box cars were so light that a man could easily push one along the track with one hand!
The parent line, form Toronto northwards to Coboconck, was built to the narrow gauge of three feet, six inches and laid with 40 pound rails, imported from England. While the right of way was being cleared, and many trees downed, scrap lumber was burned in great piles along with the track paths. The workmen would roast crows on the hot rails, then eat them for meals.
In 1875, Francis Shanly surveyed the line and agreed to build it for $290 000.00, with a clause included to say that no work be done on Sundays "except in case of an emergency". After much bickering over surveys and contracts, the line finally opened from Stouffville to Jackson's Point on October 1, 1877.
Most welcomed the coming of the railway, but others along the route weren't so sure of the advantages. Many farmers felt that such a line would destroy their peace and lower property values, there were many accidents, most involving livestock. One such incident killed a cow on a grade near Stouffville. When the railway company refused to make an adequate settlement, the frustrated owner poured a few pails of lard onto the tracks then watched in amusement as the engine tried to make it up the hill.
There were no "fancy" stations on the original line. Some were no more than lean-to's. Engineers slowed down when approaching the stops - a green flag, lantern, or even a handkerchief was enough to stop a train.
The Lake Simcoe Junction Railway's principle objective was the "short routing of the Upper Lakes traffic across Ontario" and, built a large wharf at Jackson's Point in 1879, large enough to hold four eight-wheeled freight cars. The railway also purchased the steamer "Enterprise". The coming of the railway helped both Jackson's Point's major attractions - resort traffic in summer and ice fishing and ice harvesting in winter. Ice from Lake Simcoe was transported to the city in boxcars, up to eight per train.
The arrival of the radial railway at the Point in 1906 provided a more convenient two and a half hour ride north from Toronto and, along with the advent of the motor car and refrigeration, spelling the demise of the ice industry at Jackson's Point, the trains were losing business.
When the Midland Railway Company opened its line to Sudbury by way of Pefferlaw, the need for a a station at Jackson's Point virtually disappeared. Train service between Sutton and the Point was discontinued on September 24, 1927 and the rails lifted the same year. Freight and passenger service was eventually discontinued to the area in 1928.
But, three years later, the rail line came "back to life". A spur line was built from the Sutton station to a gravel pit on Catering Road. When Conn Smythe built his "hockey castle", Maple Leaf Gardens during the summer of 1931, he brought gravel from the pit to College Street by way of the rail line.
But, it soon virtually disappeared; like the radial railway, giving in to the improvements of roads and the coming of automobiles.
Source: Georgina Advocate - Our History December 1992. Reproduced with permission