despite the large number of cars that were needed due to gauge conversion, plans to enlarge the Hamilton car shops, even temporarily, were never acted upon. The car shops were easier to move than the locomotive shops for two major reasons. First, the tools, jigs, patterns, etc., were much larger for locomotive construction/maintenance than for car construction/maintenance. Second, the car shops were housed in inexpensive frame buildings as compared with the massive stone buildings housing the locomotive shops.
A dividend of 6 percent was declared for the last six months of 1872. Traffic had increased to such an extent during this period that consideration was being given to double-tracking the main line from Windsor to its junction with the loop line at Glencoe (eighty miles) and creating more and larger sidings.
The Wellington, Grey, and Bruce was completed and opened for business on November 29, 1872, from Guelph to Southampton on Lake Huron (102.25 miles). The Great Western worked this line from its opening. The same arrangement was pursued for the South Bruce division of the line from Palmerston to Kincardine (sixty-seven miles), which was expected to be completed and opened in the fall of 1873. A new line, the London, Huron and Bruce Railway, was under construction from near London to Wingham, a station on the Wellington, Grey, and Bruce (seventy miles) (see chapter 3 regarding all of these affiliated roads). On the Welland Railway, laying of a third rail to create a standard-gauge line was completed on the section between the Great Western main and loop lines.
In late 1872 rumours began circulating regarding the integrity of the Suspension Bridge built twenty years previously. Passenger traffic was interrupted until the rumour could be refuted or corroborated. The Great Western undertook a critical investigation of the bridge to reassure the public of its safety. Competent, independent engineers were chosen to carry this out. Inspection of the caps on the towers revealed no untoward findings. The cable anchorages were thoroughly inspected and, in fact, twelve feet of the masonry over one of these anchorages was removed, which was below the point where the wires were attached to anchor chains. This portion of the cable had been embedded in water lime cement. The exposed wires were “as bright and perfect as the day that they were installed.” These findings were widely disseminated and served to reassure an anxious public. Passenger traffic over the bridge recommenced immediately.
The Detroit Tunnel project was abandoned toward the end of 1872, owing to tremendous water and sand leakage at several points. The tunnel had progressed 1,200 feet from the Detroit side and 350 feet from the Windsor side when the project was stopped. A rail tunnel below the Detroit River would not be successfully pursued until the Michigan Central Railroad opened its tunnel in 1910.
A 4.5 percent dividend was announced for the first six months of 1873. The year 1873 was marked by two important events. First, the outer line of rail for the broad gauge between Komoka and Hamilton was gradually taken up when the use of broad-gauge locomotives ceased, the last rail being removed at the end of June. Second, the rapid replacement of iron rails with steel ones meant that by June 30 only thirty miles of main line still had iron rails, and by the end of 1873 the entire main line had been laid with steel rails. In addition, the Hamilton-to-Toronto branch was converted to all steel rails by the end of 1873.
It was unfortunate for the Great Western that its gauge conversion took some seven years to accomplish when other railways of comparable length managed to complete theirs in much shorter periods of time. The third-rail method was the only course available to the company as it was completely unprepared with standard-gauge locomotives and rolling stock when the quick decision to change the gauge was made in 1866. It was fortunate that broad-gauge locomotives could easily haul American standard-gauge cars. An expensive, gut-wrenching experience had been precipitated by a colossal government blunder!
The wooden bridge at Oakville, approximately 575 feet long and sixty feet high, caught on fire and burned in its entirety on May 29, 1873. As a result, the Great Western Hamilton-to-Toronto branch was severed and somehow service had to be maintained while the bridge was rebuilt. Stairways were built up and down the embankments with adjoining chutes to handle baggage transfer. Omnibuses were provided for first-class passengers. Freight was sent from Hamilton to Toronto via steamships. It took approximately one month to build the replacement bridge.
On May 27, 1873, a government inspector went over the Glencoe loop line as far as it had been completed (Welland Junction, 128 miles) and was pleased with what he saw. An attempt was made to use it under unballasted conditions but that was soon given up. Why the company would even attempt this after the experience of 1853–54 is beyond comprehension. The full value of the line could not be realized until the Buffalo International Bridge was opened and a direct connection was made with the Suspension Bridge. In order to permit “immediate” use of the loop line for through-freight service via the Suspension Bridge and at the same time utilize that bridge for interchange traffic with the New York Central and Erie Railroads, a short branch, nine miles in length, was built. It ran from the main-line terminus at Suspension Bridge to the town of Allanburg on the Welland Railway. By this branch a through connection was formed from the loop line to the Suspension Bridge, making the distance to Detroit as short as that from the International Bridge in Buffalo and five miles shorter than the previous main-line route between those points. This branch benefitted the company greatly by facilitating through traffic along a line of much easier gradients than the main line east of London and the avoidance of tolls levied at the International Bridge at Buffalo. However, it was still recognized that the latter bridge was important for local and stockcar (cattle) traffic. Construction of the Allanburg branch was commenced on August 19 and the branch was opened to traffic on November 3, 1873.
The last section of the loop line from Welland Junction to the International Bridge at Buffalo was opened to traffic on December 15, 1873.
Old iron rails taken up on the main line were used, where possible, on branch lines and sidings. In 1873, 15.25 miles of new sidings were built, seven miles of which were at the Windsor and Suspension Bridge terminals.
During the winter of 1873–74, the easy gradients of the loop line enabled the company to run trains of twenty-seven loaded cars from Windsor to the Suspension Bridge via the Allanburg branch with only one locomotive. The previous “record” for the main line was twenty-four cars with the assistance of a helper locomotive at some locations. This additional three cars per train translated into a saving of 152 trains, or nearly two trains per day, during the period of observation.
An agreement was concluded with the London city council regarding the London and Port Stanley Railway on March 24, 1874, allowing the Great Western to lease the twenty-seven-mile north-south road for twenty-one years. Immediately upon taking possession of the property on September 1, 1874, the conversion to standard gauge was begun, a task completed by October (see chapter 3).
By mid-1874 the infrastructure of the railway had matured as evidenced by the following:
Rail joints: along the main line, were strong fish plates, well-bolted and secured by lock washers and supported by a wrought-iron chair under each end. Along branches/sidings, were the same except for the absence of chairs.
Ties: along main line, were white oak, eight inches wide by six inches thick by eight feet long, two feet centre-on-centre (no longer two and a half feet centre-to-centre). Along branch lines/sidings, were the same except could use additional species of wood.
Bridges: all principal ones had been rebuilt in recent years, many in iron and stone. Only a small number (mainly west of Chatham) required heavy repairs or renewal in the near future (all were low structures).
Toronto branch: with few exceptions were masonry piers/abutments
Galt and Guelph branch: half had been renewed, including all principal ones but one
Sarnia branch: majority needed rebuilding but some had already been done and it was planned to do the rest before safety
