Traveling
the abandoned railways
of Ontario
Article & Photographs by Tom Petrov
Turn of the century pride This bridge overpass was built in 1901 by the Canadian Bridge Company located in Walkerville Ontario.
    I was thinking of Will Wheaton’s character Gordie as he turns around for a second time on a long trestle bridge in the film Stand By Me when he yells towards his friends “traaaaaaaaain” only to look back and see that there is no train coming up from the rear, no group of childhood friends, no search for a dead body and no track along all the way. It’s a hot afternoon in early July as I travel the path of an abandoned railway line near Paisley, Ontario, there is a dead silence in the air as I come across a one hundred foot abandoned railway  trestle bridge crossing a small gorge. Stripped bare of all track and rail, the bridge stands quietly in the summer heat. The  wooden rail ties are all that remain on the bridge as two parralel dark lines mark where the original track once laid. As I begin to cross the bridge I can hear the creaks and moans as the ties begin to absorb my body weight. As I get closer to the midpoint of the crossing I can begin to hear the Saugeen river underneath. It is at this point where I begin to question as to why did this railway line cut through Paisley? Why was the line abandoned? Why is this bridge still standing? and who still uses the bridge today? It is here in Paisley Ontario where I take the first step into what would be a long summer of traveling the abandoned railways of Ontario.
Stripped bare. The first of two bridges crossing Pailsey Ontario. All that remain are the wooden railway ties. Once part of the Bruce County Rail Trail the bridges are now closed to the public.
Not included on local maps, the Paisley bridges mark a number of abandoned railway lines scattered across South Western Ontario. The railway line crossing through Paisley was once part of the Grey Bruce railway. First conceived in the mid 1800’s under the then name Grand Trunk Railway. The purpose of the Grey Bruce was to connect South Hampton and the ports on Lake Huron to the southern cities of Toronto, Burlington and the Hamilton area. Long before modern highway networks the primarly method of travel and moving goods was throught the connected railway networks. Passenger stations and railway stops were located in many small rural communities such as Elora, Harriston, Paisley, Port Elgin and served as the main method of transit to the major hubs and cities. Along with moving the passengers, the railways also allowed local businessmen to move freight throught vast interconnected railway system of North America. If something needed to be shipped somewhere, it was 
Crossing the Grand. Abandoned in Cayuga Ontario. The Cayuga bridge has been sitting idle for more that 20 years. Along the line is a abandoned feed mill and fueling station which once was served by the railway.
Dear Madeline.  Lost love...broken hearts....young lovers. The Madeline message remains on the side of the Chesley maintenence crossing in Chesley Ontario. The site also includes the remains of 1900 saw mill. Various grain farms and a closed feed mill scatter the area.
The second of two wooden trestle bridges crossing the Saugeen river in Paisley Ontario. Now part of the Bruce County Rail Trail the crossing is closed to trail riders. Recently there has been a movement by local atv riders to raise enough money to keep the bridge as a crossing for ATVriders.
through rail. Many smaller local communities relied on the railway for theit goods. CO-OP products, grains, cereals, heavy machinery, furniture, manufacturing chemicals where all goods that were moved through rail. When the railway left these small local towns, so too did the manufacturing industry. In Cayuga Ontario, an abandoned feed mill sits adjacent to the once busy rail line. Just south of the feed mill sits an old petroleum sub station which which served the local fuel stations and farms in the area.
The decision to close the underpeforming railway lines occurred in the late 1980's due to lack of performance and under capacity. Towns that were once served by the railway would now rely on trucks to delivery there goods.

Stone Pillars of West Monstrose
The structures of the abandoned bridges differ from region to region. The Paisley trestle bridges are a mix of wooden and metal testles. In Elora, the bridge crossing the beautiful gorge has three giant concrete pilars. The Cayuga twins use stone blocks to build the support pilars while the crossing in Durham uses only wooden trestles and is now considered a historic landmark.
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