The Brockville, Westport & Sault Ste. Marie Railway

Photo by July 8, 2007

Plaque Location

The County of Leeds and Grenville
The Village of Westport
On Concession Street (County Road 42) , west side, just north of Rideau Street

Plaque Text

This railway received its charter in 1884, and on July 1, 1888, began service between Westport and Brockville, a distance of 73 km. Lack of funds prevented the extension of this ambitious line toward its intended destination, Sault Ste. Marie, but it operated for 15 years. In 1903, unable to meet obligations incurred during construction, it was taken over by an American trust company and reorganized as the Brockville, Westport and North-Western Railway. That company was purchased in 1910 by the Canadian Northern which was itself merged in 1923 with the C.N.R. The last train to run on this line left Westport on August 30, 1952.