Save the Date
Our group will be presenting to the Town Council at the Tuesday February 4th regular council meeting 5 -9pm at the Town Hall, 2nd Floor. Please attend and show your support.
We have a limited number of Save Our King Street Pedestrian Bridge lawn signs; please contact us if you would like to have one for your property. Window posters are also available.
In the News:
In this circa 1900 photo, a sailing schooner is tied up at Skinner Company on the Gananoque River. Behind it, you can see the lower dam and the 1883 vintage train bridge belonging to the TIR (Thousand Island Railway).
The Little Railway That Helped Build Gananoque
Take a walk down Mill Street, cross the swing bridge across the mouth of the Gananoque River, and imagine what this area looked and sounded like 175 years ago. The 1851 census showed a population of 800 people, with three foundries and numerous manufacturers. The town’s geography created two waterfalls with a combined drop of over twenty feet. The resultant water-powered mills forging hammers pounded almost non-stop and the sounds reverberated throughout town until the 1980s.
Looking north-west up the Gananoque River in 1890
Jones Shovel Factory 1890
By 1856 the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) was complete between Montreal and Toronto but unfortunately, topography demanded that it pass Gananoque about three miles to the north. Here in the small community of Cheeseboro, the first Gananoque Junction station was built. It connected to Gananoque’s thriving industry by a very poor road that was often just muddy ruts. Industries were increasingly unhappy as their heavily loaded wagons further reduced the road to a pitiful state.
This is the second station after the Cheeseboro location proved too steep for trains. The Reporter editorialized in 1860 “The road to the GTR station is as bad as it can be.”
Gananoque was described as “The Birmingham of Canada” because of its industrial output. Water powered everything from making rivets and screws, to corset wires and crinoline hoops. Customers were mainly in local or regional destinations like Toronto or Oswego, which could be reached by schooners when the St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario were not frozen. To meet demand and grow their businesses, Gananoque industry needed the reliable year-round shipping the GTR promised but NOT by connecting to it with a three-mile muddy track. Planning for the Thousand Islands Railway (TIR) link, including dozens of fanciful options for destinations and partnerships began and it was anything but a straightforward process.
By 1873, investors had managed to get railway bed grading completed, but the town needed to raise $5000 to lay the rails. That same year, the US Northern Pacific Railway, went bankrupt, causing a US banking crisis and suddenly, raising funds for railways became impossible. It took another decade before the three-mile Thousand Islands Railway (TIR) link was functional. On November 20, 1883 TIR’s own locomotive made its first trip from the Junction to town, bringing a load of steel to complete its rail bed to the waterfront.
The ”Susan Push” Engine #500 TIR exiting the King Street Pedestrian and crossing King Street c1958
The TIR’s arrival had an immediate impact. The value of Gananoque’s industrial output rose 42% and capital investment by companies almost doubled to $1.1 million. The Gananoque Carriage company and Jones Shovel ranked among the largest in the Dominion. Passengers on the TIR exceeded 22,000 and the town’s population grew by 28%. Residents’ real estate horizons also expanded as exhibit cars arrived from as far away as the Canadian prairies with farm products and Florida showcasing live alligators.
Today’s Gananoque Inn was in 1890 the “largest carriage manufacturer in the Commonwealth
When a new Gananoque cemetery was created a mile north of town, avoiding wretched roads for funeral parties and visitors provided a major boost to ridership. The TIR became the only Canadian railway to have a cemetery as a scheduled stop. Managers would quip “We only sell round-trip tickets”.
In 1923, the TIR became part of Canadian National Railways as the federal government sought to amalgamate rail lines and services. Within eight years TIR’s steam locomotives were replaced by “The Susan Push”, engine #500 now on permanent exhibit next to the Umbrella on King Street. It was a hybrid gasoline /electric, cheaper to operate and more reliable. Interestingly, thirty-eight years earlier in 1893, the TIR had almost leapt into the future with a proposal to electrify the line using power generated at the lower dam. It was a capital expense that couldn’t be justified.
King Street and the Provincial Hotel c1940
By 1940 the automobile was common as roads were improved and expanded, and the TIR began its decline. The Junction station had been the tearful spot for departures of soldiers in both world wars and the spot Santa Claus arrived before heading into town. Now however, people were travelling by car and unregulated trucks were grabbing freight.
On January 2, 1962 passenger service to the Junction was terminated. The TIR (CNR) General Agent Vivian Sword commemorated the occasion by giving the town two oil-burning lamps from the last passenger car. In his remarks, he said, “As a slight token of appreciation for the harmonious way all have adjusted themselves to these necessary changes, I would like to present the Council and the Town of Gananoque these two lamps. Although nominal in value, I trust they will serve as a memento of the passing of one of Gananoque’s distinctive and unique features, and may they glow and always reflect to our citizens and visitors passing through, that truly here is a ‘Friendly Town’”.
Over 40 years later in 2025, the TIR service is gone but it did an enormous amount in its time for the friendly town by expanding industry, enabling tourism and connecting people. The TIR also gifted us incredible walking trails and bridges that would be impossible to create now, if they didn’t exist. Let’s continue to remember and celebrate our nation-building railway history!
Note: This article is pulled together from the excellent book ‘By Rail, Road and Water to Gananoque’ written by Douglas N W Smith with editorial assistance from John Nalon.
The photograph of the schooner by Skinners Company is courtesy of the book. Others were gifted to me digitally about 2012 by a number of people on both sides of the St Lawrence River who had extensive libraries. I was creating content for the new Aquatarium in Brockville and the ask was to “use them as needed to support and share our incredible history.”
Douglas McLellan
Who are the people behind “Save Our Bridge”
We are five Gananoque residents and property owners plus 100s of supporters. We started this initiative after seeing the announcement by the town that it intended to remove the King Street Pedestrian Bridge. We are all business professionals and felt there were major questions that needed to be investigated before we lost part of our town’s history and a vital connection route, all while the town was planning to spend a large sum of money on the bridge’s destruction and removal (at least $2.6 million).
- Caroline Yung … owner of LTR Corp in Gananoque, a Video and Website company
- Doug McLellan … Caroline’s husband and retired CEO of a Toronto-based strategic comms firm
- John W Taylor… Principle for JWT Consulting – Landscape Architectural Project Management firm
- Ted Lojko … business owner in Gananoque
- Michael Roney … P.Eng, IntPE; Railway Engineer. He retired in 2013 as General Manager, Track and Structures and Chief Engineer with Canadian Pacific Railway, where he was responsible for track and structures standards, rail maintenance, bridge design, geotechnical groups and track inspection processes. His full CV is at the end of this section of the website.
- Dr. Nigel Peters …PhD, P.Eng. is a close friend of Gananoque resident MIchael Roney. Dr. Peters holds a PhD. in Structural Engineering and prior to his retirement from CN in 2014, as Chief Engineer Bridges and Structures, and Track Standards, was responsible for all of CN’s 7,000 bridges, both in Canada and the US. His full CV is at the end of this section of the website.
- Rocco Cacchiotti… is a Professional Engineer with over 35 years of experience in various aspects of railway design ,including inspection, maintenance, construction, and operations, principally in the various Canadian National Railways engineering departments. Since 2009, started own firm, Roc.Ca Rail.
We’d be remiss to not mention others who helped go door to door or manned information tables. Thanks Barb and Emma, Mike and Yola, Virginia and others …
FULL CVs
Michael Roney inspecting track and bridges on the world’s highest tonnage line from DaQuin to port in China
Michael Roney, P. Eng, IntPE is an internationally registered professional engineer and consultant over the past 10 years in railway engineering and management. His consultancy, Iron Moustache, has completed projects in Australia, Brazil, China, India, South Africa, Scandinavia, and USA covering rail heavy haul, passenger rail and rail transits. He retired in 2013 as General Manager, Track and Structures and Chief Engineer with Canadian Pacific Railway, where he was responsible for track and structures standards, rail maintenance, bridge design, geotechnical groups and track inspection processes. He had a 32-year career with Canadian Pacific, in engineering, materials and systems management and maintenance-of-way, including positions as General Manager Track Maintenance, and Director Engineering Standards and Systems. He has also worked with the National Research Council of Canada as General Manager of their Rail Division, with BHP’s Melbourne Research Labs and with Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, where he holds a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering. He is past Chairman of the International Heavy Haul Association (IHHA) and past Chairman of CPCS Transcom Limited. Mr. Roney is a past President and Life Member of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association and is on the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Editorial Board for the Journal of Rail and Rail Rapid Transit. In 2019, Michael Roney was inducted into the IHHA’s Heavy Haul of Fame for “lifetime achievement in the advancement of railway technology, operations and engineering”.
Dr. Peters inspecting bridges for the FCCA Railway in the Peruvian Andes
Dr. Nigel Peters, PhD, P.Eng.
Dr. Nigel Peters is an accomplished engineering manager, practitioner and consultant with over 45 years of railroad experience in design, construction, fabrication, maintenance, standards as well as policy and procedures development. He is a respected North American and international Railway industry expert. Dr. Peters is a frequent presenter and peer reviewer of papers and presentations given at industry symposiums and conferences. Dr. Peters holds a PhD. in Structural Engineering and prior to his retirement from CN in 2014, as Chief Engineer Bridges and Structures, and Track Standards, was responsible for all of CN’s 7,000 bridges, both in Canada and the US. He is heavily in involved in the American Railway Engineering Association (AREMA) Track and Rail Committees and Association of American Railroads (AAR) MxV Rail TAG Committees. He is also a Fellow of The American Society of Civil Engineers. Dr. Peters currently resides in BC and provides independent Railway Engineering Consulting.
Campaign set to save Gananoque’s walking bridge
Author of the article:
Lorraine Payette • For Postmedia Network
Published Nov 14, 2024 • 3 minute read
Members of Save Our King Street Pedestrian Bridge in Gananoque gathered at the bridge to draw attention to their project to try to convince council to repair the bridge instead of demolishing it. L-r, former mayor Ted Lojko, Caroline Yung and John W. Taylor (who spearheaded the project), former mayor Erika Demchuk, Tommi Langlands and Serge Côté. Lorraine Payette/for Postmedia Network Photo by Lorraine Payette /for Postmedia Network
The popular walking bridge on King Street in Gananoque is in serious need of repair.
It has been closed for about two years because it was deemed unsafe during an inspection by Greer Galloway Consulting Engineers, who presented their findings to the town in November 2022. Detailed information was given in their report (gananoque.ca/town-hall/studies/bridge-inspection), including photographs showing severe corrosion and holes in the northern stringers. It also estimated repair costs at $2.5 million.
A group of residents in Gananoque calling themselves Save Our King Street Pedestrian Bridge has formed to try to convince council to repair the bridge instead of demolishing it. Lorraine Payette/for Postmedia Network Photo by Lorraine Payette /for Postmedia Network
“We’re a group of concerned Gananoque residents, and we’ve come together to inform other residents about the decision to remove the bridge, and why it’s important to preserve historic assets for the vitality of the town,” said Caroline Yung, local business owner and Gananoque resident. “Recently, the Gananoque Town Council voted to have the bridge removed and set aside a budget of $2.6 million to tear it down. Currently, there is no consideration or plan for repairing or replacing it, specifically and singularly as a pedestrian-only walking bridge.”
“We’re asking people to sign our online petition; it’s an opportunity to make your voice heard,” said Yung. “Our goal is to present our petition to (the) Council and ask that they investigate the costs to repair or rehabilitate the pedestrian bridge. Public participation is needed in the decision.”
“There are also paper petitions for residents to sign at most business establishments in town,” said Taylor, a Gananoque resident for over 25 years.
The group states that the bridge has historical significance and has served many purposes over time.
“It is a part of our heritage,” said Erika Demchuk, former Mayor of Gananoque. “Gananoque was known as little Birmingham at one time, and this was the link for the trains coming across this bridge to go down to the waterfront, which was a bustling area at that time. It’s all an important part of our heritage and all of it needs is to be preserved. We have the Susan Push across the street – that is the train that went through here down to the to the waterfront – and everything else. To take one link out of that history out and just say, ‘well, you know, too bad, so sad’ doesn’t seem to make any sense to me.
“It is a walking bridge, and we need to really look at it. If there’s going to be $2,000,000 put in the budget – and that’s common knowledge so I’m not speaking out of turn – to look at tearing the bridge down, why aren’t we looking at maybe spending $2,000,000 to try to fix it up? We should be at least exploring that avenue.”
Many remember the summer crafts markets that were held on the bridge, and many tourists and pedestrians have used it as a safer alternative to get from Uppertown to Lowertown. It was also used as part of the reenactments of the Raid on Gananoque during the War of 1812 celebrations. It is scenic, passing over the river and giving a view of the water and wildlife, as well as being historically interesting. Many people are not comfortable using the sidewalk on the main bridge and do not want to give up the alternative.
“The bridge, although it may not be in the best shape for the intent of running heavy equipment on or vehicles, has always been in my memory an integral part of our walking routine with our dogs and our children when they were young and in strollers,” said Todd Bickerton, Broker – Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. “Even as they got older, we took that route which was much safer than crossing the King Street bridge.”
The group is hoping that many voices heard can create a positive development concerning repairing the bridge as opposed to destroying it. There is concern that there have been no public consultation or public meetings regarding the fate of the bridge.
To learn more, go to SaveOurTrainBridge.ca.
Article copied from the online version, that you may find here:
https://www.gananoquereporter.com/news/campaign-set-to-save-gananoques-walking-bridge Credit: Lorraine Payette • For Postmedia Network