Waterloo Junction Railway
The Waterloo Junction Railway (WJR) is a short line railway in Ontario, Canada. It runs northward from the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) mainline (now Canadian National Railways, CNR) in downtown Kitchener through Waterloo and St. Jacobs before ending in Elmira. It is currently owned by the City of Waterloo and operated by CNR as the Waterloo spur. The Waterloo Central Railway runs tourist trains on the line, and the Ion rapid transit runs on the route for a short distance.
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Waterloo |
| Reporting mark | WJR |
| Locale | Ontario, Canada |
| Dates of operation | 1890– |
| Successor | Canadian National Railways |
| Technical | |
| Length | 11.9 miles (19.2 km) |
History
The line was chartered in 1889 and the first section from Kitchener to Waterloo (then known as Berlin) opened in 1890. The mainline to Elmira opened on 27 October 1891, and the GTR leased the line for 39 years. The original planned end point in Drayton and the planned branches to Elora or Listowel were never completed. As part of a general reorganization, on 1 April 1893 the line was merged into the GTR. In 1910, the original station in Waterloo was rebuilt in brick.
The line became part of CNR in 1923 when it took over the bankrupt GTR, and eventually was known as the Waterloo Spur of the greater CN Guelph Subdivision. The section from Kitchener to Elmira was purchased by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in 1995. CN continued freight operations on the line until 1998, when they leased the entire Subdivision to the Goderich-Exeter Railway (GEXR). The GEXR's 20-year lease ran out and control of the Guelph Subdivision returned to CNR on 16 November 2018.
In 1997, a group of locals formed the Waterloo-St. Jacobs Railway to run passenger trains on off-days, and especially on weekends to the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market. The company went out of business in 2000 after building a new station at Erb and Caroline Streets in Waterloo, and the operation was purchased by the City of Waterloo. In 2007, the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society relocated to the region and formed the Waterloo Central Railway running tourist trains on the line between the station and the Market, and later expanded to Elmira.
Since 2019, a section of the line has been used for the Ion rapid transit system between Waterlook Public Square station and Northfield station. CNR continues to run freight operations on the line, operating at night when the Ion service is closed.
Almost all of the original line remains in service, except for a spur to Elias Weber Bingeman Snider's Pioneer flour mill and grain silos in downtown St. Jacobs. The former St. Jacobs passenger station is now used as the Waterloo Central Railway Museum.
Route
- Unless otherwise noted, the following is taken from the Southern Ontario Railway Map
The line starts at a junction with the GTR mainline in Kitchener, about a block east of Kitchener station at Weber Street. The line initially runs west-northwest to cross Weber and then bending westward at Roger where a former spur serviced factories on Roger. It meanders northwestward as it crosses downtown Waterloo and the main station on Erb Street. At University Avenue it begins to turn northward, passing through the industrial areas on the north end of town.
After crossing Benjamin Road on the northern limit of Waterloo it meets the St. Jacobs Market with a stop at the former Heidelberg Station. The country opens up as the line runs north to the western side of St. Jacobs. A short spur serves the Home Hardware central warehouses on the western side of town, while another serves St. Jacob's station. The former downtown spur branched off just north of the station.
The line continues roughly northward to enter Elmira on the eastern side of town through an industrial area. The line ends just south of Church Street, where a number of spurs service the Lanxess chemical plant at the eastern end of Mill Street and Canada Colors and Chemicals on First Street.
See also
References
- "The History of Waterloo Central Railway".a
- Host, Stephen (20 November 2018). "GEXR leased segment reverts to CN". Railway News.