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| Photos by Suzanne Currie |
HISTORY OF RAILWAY STATION CONSTRUCTION, AND THE VITAL LINKAGE TO BRACEBRIDGE - 1885-2021
I spent a lot of time there as a kid, especially after it was closed down, and basically abandoned. In those days, the door of the station was unlocked during the day time, and passengers could lodge themselves in the waiting room, and new arrivals could wait for taxi pick-up, out of the weather; but it was pretty lonely in there despite the fact it still looked like a going concern. Ed Stacey, the former station manager, had been retired by the Canadian National Railway in the early 1970's. I hadn't really explored writing as a future profession, at that point in my life, but if the station had survived, I most certainly would have parked myself there day after day, to capture all the spirits that dwelled there, still coming and going on the ghost trains of the past. The waiting room, as I remember it, amplified the sounds of the coming trains, and I liked to imagine the sounds of the old coal burning locomotives, steaming to a halt in front of the station. It was said by some of those citizens, who did spend some time lodged in the waiting room, after it was closed, they could hear trains coming even if there were none coming down, or up the tracks. Others, in the surrounding neighborhoods, have heard steam whistles and bells off these oldtime trains, long after their last runs through Bracebridge. Train lore is very much a part of the Bracebridge heritage experience. I grew up knowing all the times of the freight and passenger trains, and even when the town clock wasn't keeping good time, the railway schedule helped keep me on mine.
I really would like to direct curious visitors, to South Muskoka, especially railway heritage nuts, down to the ridge of high ground, across from the dark flowing waters of the North Branch of the Muskoka River, to see what would now be, a picturesque 130 year old Victorian-influenced train station, in the Town of Bracebridge. But it's gone! Knocked down quickly, one day, and without the full understanding of local citizens, many who were shocked when, on a drive-by or daily stroll, they noticed a neat relic of local architecture, was instead, an unfortunate pile of strewn wood and shingles. There were articles in the paper, about the debate to keep the structure intact, but I know for fact, a lot of folks weren't aware just how imminent the wrecking of history was to be; and if all the approvals and public protest had been properly addressed before being hammered to the ground. There certainly wasn't much to save, except a few boards as reminders of local rail history, and a few sad photographs showing a heap of refuse where an elegant train station once stood. If it had reached its 130th anniversary, damn-it, I guarantee it would have become untouchable, as far as tear-down politics would be concerned. We are far more appreciative of these aspects of history today, than we were back in the 1970's, when it was closed and put on a sort of architectural death row. There is a vintage photograph in the book, on page 250, of "A Good Town Continues," published at the turn of this present century, that references the end of service, but there is no indication, that I can find, when it was actually torn down. The caption reads, "When the Bracebridge CNR station was closed in the early 1970's, passenger trains still provided at least twice daily service in both directions, but rarely did large crowds such as this early photograph regularly congregate on the platform. Use of passenger trains declined rapidly after World War II, as automobiles largely superseded them. Scheduled passenger train service ended in 1990."
Our local heritage friend, Chris Thompson, of the pioneer Simmons family of Bracebridge, sent us an early photograph of the Bracebridge Train Station, taken from a vantage point of family property abutting the Muskoka River, north of the Hunts Hill bridge. There is no date attached to the photograph. A passing train, at one time in the station's history, left the rails at the front of the building, and destroyed the platform and portions of the building. There are archives pictures of the crashed train, and I may even have one filed somewhere, that I currently can't find.
In Robert Boyer's book, "A Good Town Grew Here," published on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Town incorporation, in 1975, by The Herald-Gazette Press, the well known regional historians notes of the year 1885, that "Alfred Hunt was again Reeve, with S. H. Armstrong, T.M. Bowerman, J.P. Humphries and John Leishman on the Council." He reports that, "This year the survey for the railway north from Gravenhurst was completed, along the line followed to this day. The construction was to mean that Bracebridge fair ground would have to be relocated, a big cut made in the rock south of Bracebridge Falls, a bridge built to cross the falls, and north of there, several streets diverted or closed. (Margaret Street was one to be closed, near where the station was to be built - perhaps that name will be used again for a Bracebridge street)."
Mr. Boyer writes, "Regardless of inconvenience, the coming of the railway was so generally welcomed that the Council was willing to negotiate. But seemingly there were the usual problems as to crossings, culverts and grades with a new right-of-way being established through a settled community, and these had to be solved. The Council gave permission to the railway company to build their line on Main Street (which runs north from Thomas Street) and this street was diverted accordingly, the village buying the land needed, assisted by the railway company up to $125. The company was also given a length of property 33 feet wide for the station and sidings, with a condition that a round house and turn table be built in Bracebridge (something we have never observed)."
"The station building was put up in 1885 for the railway by the MacKenzie Brothers - one of whom became Sir William Mackenzie after he had been a leader in constructing the Canadian Northern Railway across the continent, the line that runs through Torrance, Bala Park, and Foote's Bay," noted Mr. Boyer. "During the railway construction in Bracebridge, there was a heavy job to do in making the rock cut and filling in the low ground south of Shier Street. When one realizes that the work was undertaken mainly by hand with teams and wagons to draw materials, it can be seen that there, and all along the line, the construction was accomplished by very hard and steady work. During the year the people of the Village became alarmed, when one evening the workmen, many of them newcomers to Canada, came together up into the main Bracebridge thoroughfare (Manitoba Street). Their wages were in arrears and they were perturbed about their future. But the Village people wanted no trouble and it was arranged that James Boyer, J.P., the Village Clerk, should read to the men the provisions of the 'Riot Act,' which required them all to retire peacefully, and it is to their credit that they understood and withdrew. Their problems must soon have been settled, for no further difficulty has been mentioned."
Under the heading "1886," on page 38 of his book, Mr. Boyers adds, "The year stands out as the one in which the railway was completed through the Village and on north. The first passenger train ran through Bracebridge on Monday afternoon, June 28th. Here and at other stations to the north, the arrival of the first passenger train was made a day of celebration. Platforms were lined with people waving flags, and at Bracebridge, the firemen's band played suitable airs. The coming of the railway was not regarded with enthusiasm by many of the teamsters, though it is to the credit of those in the Hervie family, that they began arranging better state routes, to run through the District laterally to the railway. The business of the teamsters was an important one up to this time, for merchants and settlers depended on them to carry their freight shipments beyond the railhead."
"The first excursion on the new railway was arranged by Bracebridge Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 251, a trip from Bracebridge to Powassan, and back, one day in the early summer. This was a notable undertaking for the lodge, which had been instituted only on March 1st, 1886," reports Robert Boyer.
From that point, the Bracebridge Train Station had many historic arrivals and departures, particularly emotional ones, during the years of both World Wars. The painful farewells of loved ones, and the arrival back home, of soldiers, to their hometown, having the physical and emotional injuries garnered from brutal engagements with the enemy. There were others, killed during the fighting overseas, who arrived back in town laid in rough boxes, to be picked up by the undertaker, for burial by family. I thought about situations like this, watching as the last upright sections of the historic train station were being leveled; and I couldn't help ponder, if at any point, one or more of the Town Council at the time, had even an inkling of just how storied that old building was, in the social / cultural history of Bracebridge. Or was it just an old building that had done its service, and was no longer an asset to the community? Regretfully, it was only seen as an old and tired structure, that might one day burn down, or even collapse causing injury; unless it was to be totally restored. There was no appetite amongst Town officials, to approve any outlay of cash in this regard. Thus, a parking lot, where a charming building used to enhance the townscape, and where thousands of citizens had once stood, to depart for destinations around the globe. It was the familiar building that reminded travellers, they were finally, and safely, home, once again.
There was nothing so startling to the heart of a youngster, in meditation about conquests to come, as the cutting sound of a train horn, on a bitterly cold January night. There was nothing so pleasing, as the sound of a train horn, on a warm summer night, when the station was bathed in a haunting moonlight, and the Muskoka River was shimmering with enchantment, as if a smaller version of the Historic Hudson River, that author Washington Irving frequently wrote about in his Sketch Books. Bracebridge, of course, was named after one of Irving's books, "Bracebridge Hall." And yes, Irving was the author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." It was the first overview out of my mother's mouth, when we drove our sputtering Vauxhall over the iconic Silver Bridge, spanning the Bracebridge Falls, on the day we arrived from the city, to start our new lives. "This is our Sleepy Hollow." She had no idea, that the town had indeed been named after a book by the same author.
EXCELSIOR CUP DAYS - THE LEGENDARY RIVALRY BETWEEN THE TOWNS AS TOLD BY REDMOND THOMAS OF BRACEBRIDGE
"People get real tingling thrills from the matches for the paragon of hockey trophies. 'The Cup,' usually called for short; 'The Excelsior Cup'. The silverware was put up (or by his company through the influence of) the late Harry Linney, of The Excelsior Life Insurance Company, who was a prominent Bracebridge citizen, of whom I have kind memories. It was a challenge cup open to teams of Intermediate type in the Districts of Muskoka, Parry Sound, and Nipissing, and was first played for, in the winter of 1904-1905. Any club which could win the cup three times, would own it, and eventually it became the property of the Parry Sound Club.
"As my father was very fond of sports, I went to hockey matches about as soon as I started school. Well, do I remember the thrill of anticipation with which, when I was a young school-boy, I pored over a bill, which said: 'The boys from The Sawdust City, will be here to try and lift The Excelsior Cup. Come and cheer the home team to victory! Admission, gents, twenty-five cents, Ladies twenty cents, children, fifteen cents.' Note that ladies were accorded real gallantry then. And bear in mind that the admission prices were set in the days when five cents would buy a loaf of bread, or a quart of milk, and twenty-five cents would pay for a full course meal at a hotel. And mark how Gravenhurst's pioneer nickname had lingered into the early part of the 20th century."
Redmond Thomas records, that "The rink in every town was wooden and had natural ice, of which the area was small by present day standards. The Bracebridge one (called originally Jubilee Rink, and later Palace Rink), stood on the east bank of the Muskoka River just north of the Hunt's Hill bridge, and across the riveR from the present railroad station, then belonging to the Grand Trunk Railway. A team consisted of seven players, namely goal-keeper, two defencemen and four forwards. The defencemen were called point and cover point, and the later lined up a little ahead of his partner, but as soon as the game got under way, the pair usually played side by side, or nearly so. The forwards were the same, three, as at present, plus one called the 'rover,'who at the face-off, stood back of the centreman. If any player was forced to retire because of injury, the sides were equalized by the opposing team, laying off whatever man they chose. Though every club had some spares, they were merely to assure having a complete line-up, and never to substitute during the game. The referees had a big handbell which he held by the clapper when not being rung.
"A game was two halves of thirty minutes each, separated by a ten minute interval called 'half time.' The ice was not bedizened by lines or circles of any color or kind. No forward pass (no matter how short) or kicking the puck was ever allowed anywhere. The goal-keeper had to remain on his skates at all times, and thus was prohibited from kneeling or sprawling. His pads were just leg-guards, and a rather meagre body-protector. His stick had a blade barely twice the width of that of any other player. Those days of small ice, seven man teams and no forward pass, were the heyday of stick-handling. A goal was wedge-shape and without any top such as now forms a sort of roof, and the cordage was taut. Often the puck rebounded from the net. The goal umpire, stood on the ice behind the net and indicated a goal by raising his hand. Later he had a small flag to hold up."
"A player's uniform included a turtle-neck sweater, long stockings, and a toque, all being of heavy wool and in the club colors; and plain white knee-length pants. His sweater bore the town initials on the front but no number anywhere. From the top of the toque there hung by a cord, a big tassel. Later the tassel was smaller and attached directly to the top of the toque. Unless he was the goal-keeper, he had no pads except a piece of harness-felt inside, the front of each stocking. Skates were bigger and heavier because the tube skates had not (yet) been invented. Bracebridge town colors were then purple and white for hockey, although black and white for lacrosse. Everything about hockey was still the same when I played it, on a Bracebridge High School team, in the Palace Rink. The B.H.S. colors were read and white. Most of the fans," recalled, Redmond Thomas, "wore on their overcoats long ribbons in their town colors. Many of them brought along horns made of tin or cardboard. At half-time there was singing, and every town had its own song consisting of words sung to some well-known tune. The present practice of some professional hockey players remodelling their sticks (curving them), is nothing new. Away back in Excelsior Cup days, one of the Bracebridge players contrived a magic stick. It was uncanny how he could fish the puck out of a scrimmage. Some how he had managed to embed a nail in the blade of the stick near its tip in such a manner, that a little of the point stuck out of the bottom of the blade, and then he had a way, as to conceal the remodelling from every sort of painstaking inspection. This skulduggery was greatly facilitated by the fact that sticks were so sturdy then, that in most games, not even one of them broke. But if one did break, the referee stopped the play until the stick was replaced."
Mr. Thomas writes, "There was such great interest in Excelsior Cup hockey that (in those days before automobiles were owned in Muskoka) a special train on the Grand Trunk Railway was a commonplace for a game. Rivalry among the towns with competing teams was intense. In particular one game between Gravenhurst and Bracebridge resulted in very deep bitterness in our fine sister town. The next day, following the arrival here of the northbound afternoon mail train, the old Canadian Express Company, delivered to the president of the Bracebridge Hockey Club, a shipment from Gravenhurst which had no wrapping on it. It was a chamber pot such as to reposed in countless bedrooms in those days, when bathrooms were much rarer than at present. It was a metal one and emblazoned on it was 'The Excelsior Mug'."
One might assume the team from "Sawdust City," otherwise known as Gravenhurst, won that year's Excelsior Cup. No details on if there were any surprises in the chamber pot as an added award.
SNOWMOBILE RAN IN SOUTH MUSKOKA AT LEAST NINETY YEARS AGO - THE "HORNER AUTO SLEIGH"
LEAVE IT TO REDMOND THOMAS TO COME UP WITH NEAT STORIES ABOUT OUR PAST. ONE OF THE BEST BOOK INVESTMENTS I'VE MADE, IN REGIONAL HISTORY, WAS TO RE-ACQUIRE THE LONG-OUT-OF-PRINT, REDMOND THOMAS REGIONAL HISTORY, ENTITLED "REMINISCENCES," A BRACEBRIDGE COLLECTION OF STORIES, THAT ARE VERY MUCH, THE MODEST BUT UNIQUE ARCHIVES OF OUR FOLK HISTORY IN THESE PARTS. OUTSIDE OF THE BOOKS WRITTEN BY BERT SHEA, ABOUT WATT TOWNSHIP IN PIONEER TIMES, AND THE SHEA AND VEITCH FAMILY CHRONICLES, REDMOND'S BOOK IS MY MOST REFERRED TO, OF ALL MY MUSKOKA ARCHIVE HISTORIES. TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE STORY OF MR. HORNER, AND HIS MOTORIZED CONTRAPTION, THAT LOOKED LIKE A SLED, BUT MOVED LIKE A HORSELESS CARRIAGE, BUT ON TOP OF THE SNOW. IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ONE OF THESE FORERUNNERS OF THE MODERN SNOWMOBILE, WELL, YOU'VE GOT A VALUABLE RELIC OF NOT ONLY MUSKOKA HISTORY, BUT CANADIAN TRANSPORTATION HERITAGE. NOW, IN THE WORDS OF REDMOND THOMAS, Q.C., A FORMER COLUMNIST FOR THE BRACEBRIDGE-GAZETTE, OWNED BY HIS FATHER, G.H.O. THOMAS. (THE BOOK, BY THE WAY, WAS PUBLISHED BY THE HERALD-GAZETTE, BY FORMER EMPLOYER, AND IT WAS INTRODUCED TO THE READER, BY MY GOOD FRIEND AND FORMER BOSS, ROBERT BOYER. THE TWO PAPERS, ONE BEING THE BOYER FAMILY'S "BRACEBRIDGE HERALD," MERGED IN THE 1950'S, TO MAKE "THE HERALD-GAZETTE." REDMOND HAD WORKED AS A COLUMNIST FOR MR. BOYER'S PAPER, AT THE TIME THE BOOK WAS PUBLISHED. IN CASE YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF YOUR OWN, YOU CAN SEARCH THE LISTING OF THE ANTIQUARIAN AND OUT OF PRINT BOOK COLLECTIVE, THE ADVANCE BOOK EXCHANGE (ABE) ONLINE, AND CONDUCT AS SEARCH FOR "REMINISCENCES," BEING OFFERED BY MEMBER DEALERS. IT'S WHERE I BUY MOST OF MY VINTAGE MUSKOKA HISTORIES. YOU MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT AWHILE, BUT THEY DO TURN UP QUITE REGULARLY.)
"As in recent winters (circa 1969) the modern snowmobile has come into popularity here, it may interest some readers, who did not live in Bracebridge, at least forty-five years ago (1920's), if I mention that as far back as those times, there was running in Bracebridge, a vehicle powered by a gasoline engine, and designed for winter-time cross-country travel, and which today would be called a snowmobile; though originally the word 'snowmobile' had a different meaning from its present one. The word was first applied to a single seat closed motor vehicle, having at its front a pair of runners, and its back four wheels equipped with endless belts, and which was used on the roads in the winters, before regular snowplowing kept them open for ordinary motor vehicles," wrote Mr. Thomas, in his regular column of January 23, 1969.
"Frank Gilbert Horner, though still in his prime, had retired in ample financial circumstances, after having been engaged in gold mining in Alaska. It seems to me that he hailed from some place in one of the Northwestern states, probably Washington, which is the state immediately south of British Columbia; and I have forgotten how he came to choose Bracebridge as a place of residence. In the early 1920's he purchased the old Sheriff Bettes place. Its extensive grounds ran from McMurray Street, westward to John Street and from Hamilton Street northward to the schoolyard of old Central School, where the public school now is. On those grounds stood an elegant big, old style residence facing toward McMurray Street, but far back from the sidewalk along which stood a high cedar hedge; behind the house the was small barn."
Judge Thomas recalled that, "When snow was on the ground, Mr. Horner used to occupy his time by designing and testing what would today be called a snowmobile but which he called an auto sleigh. As well as I can remember it, the vehicle was a sort of cross between a sled and toboggan, and had at its gasoline engine at the back; it was about a dozen feet long and at its front there was a freely revolving circular rudder, which was very much similar in appearance, to one of the very big disk wheels which were the height of style, on the biggest automobiles in those days, when cars had very much higher clearances than now, in spite of the small old-time high pressure tires. Those are the chief details remembered by me.
"On the only occasion that I saw it really under way, the auto sleigh seemed, to me, to be running perfectly. But as Mr. Horner was not satisfied with its all-round performance, he had not put it on the market. His concern that the vehicle be available for cross-country travel, under every conceivable condition of snow and weather, will be appreciated, if it is borne in mind, that the auto sleigh was basically intended to replace dog-sled transportation, in many parts of Alaska, the Yukon Territory, and the North West Territories. The last running of the Horner auto sleigh here, could not have been later than the winter of 1923-24, as according to an old ledger of mine, it was in the following January (1925) that I drew, for Mr. Horner, the deed by which he sold the old Sheriff Bettes place, and he was then residing in Timmins. Snowmobiles are not new, just numerous, and nice!"
THE OTHER MOST RELIABLE MEANS OF WINTER-TIME TRAVEL - THE HORSE-DRAWN SLEIGH IN THE SNOWY CLIME OF SOUTH MUSKOKA
"Freight traffic on Bracebridge streets, in winter-time, was much heavier than in present-day winters; even though the town's population was not quite as big as it is now (1969). Nearly all the fuel used in houses, stores and offices was wood, requiring many sleighs. Many loads of ice for ice houses (commercial and private) were hauled from the river beside River Street, where they were cut in those days, when there was no electric refrigeration. Far more stores had delivery sleighs than now have motor trucks. Great loads of bark went to the Old Tannery (Muskoka Leather Company) in the Hollow, and the New Tannery, (Anglo-Canadian Leather Company) in the 4th ward. Three of the important industries, Bird's Woollen Mill, Dominion Linen Mill, and Old Tannery, had no railroad switch. So on sleighs went all their freight, to and from the Grand Trunk Railway Station. The Old Tannery had so many teams, going to and from the railroad yards, that at almost any time in the day, one could see one of its huge sleighs hauled by a team of beautiful big horses. There were so many of those horses, that in the Old Tannery yards, there was a stable covering a big area of ground, and it was double-decked. In addition to the foregoing there was hauled on sleighs ample goods, for the stores; and coal was hauled from the G.T.R. freight shed, and yards, by sleighs owned by stores or carters. The only big commodities of which I can think that are now carried by motor truck, but were not hauled by sleigh, are gasoline fuel oil and saw-logs. The logs for each of the old sawmills here, were floated down whichever branch of the river ran past the mill," writes Redmond Thomas, about the necessity of horse power the old fashioned way.
He continues, by noting, "But passenger traffic was very much lighter. Few people owned a driving horse, or (for a trip within the town) would hire a rig from a livery stable. There was nothing corresponding to the present day school bus. Nor (except the bus from the railroad station) was there anything equivalent to the present-day taxi, for trips with the town; but for a trip out of town, a rig (with or without a driver) could be hired at a livery stable. The roadways of the streets were not snowplowed and were kept open by only the traffic on them; except that in the Downtown business section, the roadway on Manitoba Street was kept hand-shoveled for absolutely its whole width, between the outer edges of the sidewalks. There were no snowbanks along the sidewalks like there were in business sections in other towns. Even though the Downtown roadway was narrower than it now is (because each sidewalk was very much wider than at present), it was a great task to keep it snow-shoveled by hand, and keep the snow from it hauled away on sleighs to the river.
"Sleighs were for freight passengers or both. All (except a bus mentioned later) were open. Some were hauled by one horse, others by a team. All were driven fro the right-hand side. Runners on opposite sides of a sleigh were closer together than wheels on opposite sides of a summer-time wheeled vehicle. Sleigh bells were required by law; most were strings of small globular bells buckled around the horse but some were larger bells, much like cowbells, fastened to the shafts of a sleigh. Freight sleighs (and the bigger passenger sleighs) were bob-sleighs; they had two sets of runners of which the front set was pivoted. The freight sleighs were of considerable variety, ranging from very heavy ones for heavy loads, to light ones such as used for store-delivery rigs. The floor of some had no sides and back but not top. The big sleighs had at the back end of each of the rear runners, a dog; namely a hinged big spike which could be swung down, and tramped into the road, to hold the sleigh on a hill, while the horses got a breather."
The columnist writes that "Passenger sleighs were of several varieties. The kind for fast travel was the cutter. It had one pair of runners. Most cutters had just one seat but some had two, and the latter varied among themselves inasmuch as though, almost all had the back seat facing forward, there was a type having the seats back to back. Though most cutters had high spindly runners there was a kind called a Quebec cutter, which was built low-set and had solid runners.
"Meeting such four of the G.T.R. passenger trains as arrived in daytime, there was a bus which was a bobsleigh with a fully inclosed body, resembling that of a small street car. It would take a customer to any place in the town, upon payment of a small fare. The passengers used a door in the back of the vehicle, and occupied long seats whose backs ran along the sides of the bus, the two seats facing each other across a narrow aisle. The driver sat outdoors on a seat across the very front of the bus. For groups of people wanting to go elsewhere that from the railroad station, there was a kind of bus like the one just mentioned, except that its body was fully open. There was a dual-purpose small sleigh, called a jumper, which was light, sturdy, and low-set and had only one pair of runners. It was a dandy for getting over drifted roads. The jumper could be used for passengers or light freight or both together, like the station wagon of today. The foregoing does not deal with all the kinds of sleighs, but enough of them to give the highlights of their era. The station bus described was the elegant replacement of a plainer one which I remember. Winter traffic in the old days was slow but picturesque."
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