Ontario's Historical Plaques

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The Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway

Photo by Alan L Brown - September, 2004

Plaque Location

The County of Essex
The City of Windsor
In a park on the north side of Riverside Drive
at the foot of Goyeau Avenue
N 42 19.217 W 83 02.311

Plaque Text

The main line of "The Great Western", from Niagara Falls through Hamilton and London to Windsor, was opened in 1854. The company extended its line from Hamilton to Toronto in 1855, from Komoka to Sarnia in 1858, and from Glencoe to Fort Erie (the "Loop Line") in 1873. "The Great Western" was an important connecting link for through traffic between railways in Michigan and New York states. This necessitated conversion from the original 167 cm gauge to the U.S. standard of 143 cm. The railway was one of the earliest to use sleeping and dining cars. In 1882 "The Great Western" merged with "The Grand Trunk Railway Company" under the latter's name.

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Posted September 10, 2009 - (correction, not comment) The park location is on the north (not south) side of Riverside Drive. John R. Calhoun, Heritage Planner, City of Windsor.
[Note from Alan L Brown: The correction has been made. Thank you.]

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