The End of the Line, 1981
When the railway first came to south central Ontario, it literally had the power to reconfigure the landscape. Being a railway hub would virtually guarantee some degree of community development, and several local settlements that were bypassed by the railway became ghost towns. Having a railway was so important economically that both the Village of Fenelon Falls and Haliburton County incorporated so they vote a public subsidy to build a railway.
For the first generation, the Victoria Railway was the fastest and most economical mode of long-distance transportation around. In 1880, travellers could get from Lindsay to Haliburton in 3 hours 45 minutes—it sure beat walking or taking horse and wagon/carriage/sleigh up the deplorable roads of the day. It was only because of the railway that heavy commodities like stone and ice could be sold to distant markets. But everything would change with the advent of the automobile in the early twentieth century.
The first generation of automobiles were notoriously unreliable, and it was not until the 1950s that roads were consistently plowed year-round and sufficiently improved to be comfortable for motorized transportation. Cars were faster than the train, and could go almost anywhere—not just to the nearest train station. Transport trucks had the same advantages of speed and flexibility. By 1960, very few people would take the train and passenger service was discontinued in 1962. Freight was carried on demand until 1978, but then a washout north of Howland Junction cut off the northern end of the route. When the bridge over McLaren’s Creek burned two years later, it was not worth rebuilding.
By the early 1980s, the use of the railway was just recreational. The last trip through Fenelon Falls was on Sunday, August 2, 1981, when the Cherry Street Gang from St. Catherines enjoyed their journey up the line. Soon afterwards the tracks were taken up and sat vacant for a while. Victoria County purchased the right of way in 1991. The Somerville and District Snowmobile Association managed to persuade County Council to turn the former railway into a recreational corridor, as they volunteered to finance the necessary improvements. Today, the Victoria Rail Trail is much loved, and it is used by far more people than ever took the train.
