GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY SYSTEM OF CANADA. An international system of railways extending from Portland, Me., to Chicago, Ill., traversing the States of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, the provinces of Quebec and Ontario in Canada and the States of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. The system (including leased and controlled lines) now comprises 5,382 miles of railway, of which about 1,000 miles of the main lines are double tracked, including practically the entire distance between Saint Johns, Quebec, and Chicago, Ill., and (from Hamilton) to Niagara Falls. The Grand Trunk Railway Company was incor porated 10 Nov. 1852, by act of Parliament of the Dominion of Canada for the purpose of acquiring and operating as a unit various sec tions of railway then built, or in course of con struction. The section between Portland, Me., and Montreal, Quebec, was opened in 1853, and the section Montreal, Quebec, to Sarnia, On tario, via Toronto and Stratford, and the branch from Richmond, Quebec, to Point Levi, Quebec, the same year. In 1863 the line from Port Huron, Mich., to Detroit, Mich., was com pleted, thus providing a through route between Detroit, Mich., and Portland, Me. In 1880 the line from Port Huron, Mich., to Chicago, Ill., was completed and opened for traffic.
In 1882 the Grand Trunk acquired control of the Great Western Railway of Canada, extend ing from Suspension Bridge, N. Y., to Windsor, Ontario, with several branches north and south of the main line, and also the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway, whose line ex tended from Detroit, Mich., to Grand Haven, Mich. In 1883 the Midland Railway of Canada was acquired, which included the branches north of the Grand Trunk Railway main line, extend ing from Belleville to Peterboro, Haliburton and Midland, in Ontario.
In 1888 an amalgamation was effected with the Northern and North Western System of railways extending from Port Dover and Ham ilton to Collingwood, Mea ford and Nipissing Junction, thus completing a network of railways under one management, reaching every town and village of importance in the southern penin sula of Ontario, and forming the consolidation of lines now lcnown under the title of the Grand Trunk Railway System.
The Central Vermont Railroad and its leased lines, aggregating a total of 536 miles, is also controlled and operated in the interests of the Grand Trunk Railway System.
The Canada Atlantic Railway, extending from Swanton, Vt., to Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of the Dominion, and Parry Sound, on Georgian Bay, came under the control of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1905, and in 1914 it was merged in the system. The Canada At lantic Transit Company, operating a line of steamers from Parry Sound to Fort William, Duluth, Milwaukee and Chicago is under the control of the Grand Trunk. A car ferry sys
tem is also operated between Windsor and De troit, Milwaukee and Grand Haven and Coburg, Ontario, and Charlotte, the port of Rochester.
At Portland, Me., the Grand Trunk Railway owns extensive wharf and elevator facilities, the capacity of the latter being 2,500,000 bushels. Seagoing vessels can dock at any stage of the tide, and trains can be run alongside at any hour of the day. At Montreal the elevator ca pacity owned by the company is 2,250,000 bush els, while at the various lake ports reached by the company, viz., Midland, Collingwood, Mea Lord, Goderich, Parry Sound and Point Edward, there are large transfer and storage elevators with a combined capacity of about 5,000,000 bushels.
Several engineering works of considerable magnitude are numbered among the undertak ings of the company, those particularly worthy of mention being: (1) The Victoria Tubular Bridge across the Saint Lawrence River at Montreal, one and a half miles in length, origi nally opened for traffic in 1860 by the late King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales. This bridge cost $7,000,000. In 1897-98 it was entirely rebuilt at a cost of $2,000,000, and is now a modern open truss double-track structure, having carriageways and footwalks on each side, and is known as the Victoria Jubilee Bridge. (2) The Niagara Falls double-track steel arch bridge spanning the gorge, com pleted in 1897, and replacing the old original Suspension Bridge, which was for over 40 years a landmark to travelers and tourists. This is the largest single-arch railway and ve hicle bridge in the world, having a clear span of 555 feet. (3) The International Bridge be tween Fort Erie, Ontario, and Black Rock, N. Y., a distance of over a mile, which formerly consisted of iron single-track trusses across the main river and harbor at Black Rock, opened for traffic in 1873. This bridge was entirely re constructed in 1901, and is now capable of carry ing the heaviest loads. (4) The Saint Clair Tunnel, under the Saint Clair River from Sar nia, Ontario, to Port Huron, Mich., a distance of two and a quarter miles, commenced Novem ber 1888; finished August 1890. The length of the actual tunnel under the river is 6,026 feet; interior diameter, 20 feet.
For the year ending 30 June 1915, the gross earnings of the Grand Trunk Railway proper were$36,456,217, of which the freight receipts were $23,714,813, and passenger receipts $12, 199,082. The operating expenses were $27, 634,801, leaving a net revenue of $8,822,136. The equipment includes 1,044 locomotives, 1,069 passenger cars and 39,064 freight cars.