The London And Port Stanley Railway

Photo by Alan L Brown - August 28, 2004

Plaque Location

The County of Elgin
The Municipality of Central Elgin
In Port Stanley, on the west side of the lift bridge on the north side of Bridge Street

Plaque Text

After the Great Western Railway reached London in 1853, local businessmen and politicians began promoting a competitive line south to Lake Erie. The London and Port Stanley Railway began operations in 1856. Like most early Canadian railways, it was expensive to build and difficult to pay off but it contributed enormously to the local economy. Its main business was shipping coal from Pennsylvania and carrying tourists to and from the lakeshore. The City of London gained control of the L. & P.S.R. in 1894 and converted it to electricity in 1913. The line prospered, carrying more freight and over a million passengers in some years before the Depression. The increased use of the automobile in the 1950s brought about its decline.

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