photo courtesy Colin Churcher
Other tricks were perhaps a little more controversial. A
rival of J. R. Booth planned to build his own passenger station on the east
side of Union Station to save the heavy charges at Booth's Union Station.
When he was ready to build he found a new J. R. Booth warehouse building
blocking the way to his intended station.
There was a number of other stories in this vein. The
presentation was both interesting and informative, and was thoroughly
enjoyed by all.
map courtesy Colin Churcher
Colin Churcher is a member of the Bytown Railway Society
and the Ottawa Valley Association of Railroads. Like our own Brian Earl,
Colin is an avid railway historian.
It turns out the City of Ottawa has a long and interesting
railroad history in both the freight and passenger services. This history is
laced with practical solutions to complex problems, with industrious
construction projects for the time, and with business practices perhaps a
little outside the pale.
photo courtesy Colin Churcher
Colin addressed all these aspects in his presentation. In
the presentation the railroads as they came into being were added to a map
of the city. By the end, one had to wonder how they found room for the
houses and building. The city was covered by a web of tracks.
Lebreton Flats was a major rail yard and shipping point
for lumber, coal and what have you. The Queensway was a railroad. The east
side of the canal south of the Union Station was all tracks. Several other tracks
meandered through the remainder of the city.
Additional tracks were laid as needed to serve local
transportation. Their was serious competition for the transportation dollar.
When Union Station charged too much for a competing road to unload
passengers the competing road built it's own passenger station along
the canal near Ottawa U.
