Location: The London & Port Stanley Railway is located in Southern Ontario, linking the large industrial city of London with Port Stanley on the shores of Lake Erie.
History: One of the first railways to be constructed in what is now the Province of Ontario, the London & Port Stanley Railway (L&PSR) was incorporated by a group of prominent London citizens in May 1853. The main purpose of the line was to provide a lake connection for both London and St. Thomas to transport coal, wood and other products that could either be marketed or purchased from the United States. As well, it was hoped the line would provide some competition for the Great Western Railway to keep rates reasonable. In the future, the railway would become a direct connection for the Michigan Central into London. Construction began that year with operations commencing in October 1856. Money to build the road in its entirety, however, had become scarce that resulted in the city of London becoming a financial partner in the project.
Initially, the line proved successful from a traffic standpoint as it generated enough business in Port Stanley to result in the construction of a port and other facilities that were regularly visited by American shipping lines. During the summer, the L&PSR became a popular route for city dwellers looking to escape from the heat to the beaches of Lake Erie. Overtime, however, losses began to mount and the city was continually forced to bail the company out. Tired of receiving little return on investment, the city decided in 1874 to lease the line to the Great Western Railway for a period of twenty years, an agreement that was assumed by the Grand Trunk Railway upon its purchase of the GWR in 1882. With the lapsing of the lease ten years later, the GTR offered to purchase the entire company from the city. Unable to come to terms, the Grand Trunk chose to walk away, leaving the line virtually abandoned for a brief period of time. In 1894, a new lease was negotiated by the city with the Cleveland, Port Stanley & London Transportation & Railway Company, a subsidiary of the Lake Erie & Detroit Railway, for a period of twenty years. The lease was later assumed by the Pere Marquette Railway upon their purchase of the LE&DR.
During the early 1900's, there arose as a new force within the Province a body known as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission. Later renamed Ontario Hydro, the Commission was headed by the prominent Londoner Sir Adam Beck, a gentleman active in local politics. Beck was of the opinion that a Provincial wide interurban railway system powered by electricity would be the transport mode of the future. Accordingly, Beck convinced London Councilors and the electorate to approve a plan that would see the retrofit of the L&PSR into a prototype model of an interurban electrical railway that all future extensions to the proposed system would be based upon. Construction began in January 1914 with the lapse of the Pere Marquette lease. The line was completely rebuilt while new operating buildings and stations were constructed and state of the art equipment purchased. By mid 1915, service along the line had been reinaugurated. Train service on the railway was hourly with stops made at all crossings when required.
Initially, the road did very well, attracting a high rate of passenger and freight traffic through both local networks and connections made with the major east-west railways encountered. Summer traffic remained very popular as well given the growth of Port Stanley as a major lake tourist destination. It was only in the 1950's that the automobile began to have a serious effect on the passenger count and revenues of the railway. As a result, the company proposed to suspend passenger operations. The move was deferred for a period of time until 1956 when Ontario Hydro decided to alter the power cycle feeding the line. As costs of retrofitting the system were considered prohibitive by the city, passenger operations ceased in February 1957 while the movement of freight continued using recently purchased diesel locomotives. The line was sold to Canadian National in 1965 by the city in exchange for property elsewhere in the municipality.
Approximate Milage: 25 miles.
Current Status: Under CNR ownership, the line became known as the Talbot Subdivision. A washout near Union resulted in tracks south of St. Thomas being abandoned in 1982. That year, the abandoned portion of line was leased by the Port Stanley Terminal Rail Inc. to operate as a heritage railway line, a route later purchased in 1988. PSTR trains now operate year round between St. Thomas and Port Stanley (see link below).
Principle Stations: London, St. Thomas and Port Stanley.
Remaining Stations:
There are two stations remaining on the L&PS. They are as follows:
1. Union: In original location at Golf Club Road, in use by the PSTR.
2. Port Stanley: In original location at 309 Bridge Street, in use by the PSTR.
Additional information on the London & Port Stanley Railway can be obtained from the following sites:
Electric Lines in Southern Ontario
Canadian Railroad Historical Association
Last Updated: December 02, 2000
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