Re: Huntsville & Lake of Bays - Merrilees Collection - 2nd Photos

H&LOB Continued.....

The "Small" open coach was another streetcar, built in 1894 for Toronto. By 1921 it was a derelect body when acquired by the H&LOB.




The two Porters wore out by 1948 and were shipped out, ending up at the Harold Warp Museum in Minden, NE. Unfortunately they received the 1960s fake stack and gaudy paint treatment, but thankfully they survive today. Their replacements were these two MLW locos found in Nova Scotia, by no less than used equipment dealer Andrew Merrilees (whose photo collection I've been posting photos from). Here they are being transported by rail from Nova Scotia, then trucked to the H&LOB, then being put into service. The larger of the two never ran on the railway as it was deemed too heavy for the track, so the smaller one was always used.

Of great interest is that these locos were 3' 6" gauge, as opposed to the railway's 3' 8 1/2" gauge. Instead of regauging the locos, someone thought it might be a better idea to just move the rails closer together by 2 1/2". Heck, the line was only 1 1/8 mile long, so the whole railway was regauged, including the two coaches and a couple of the flat cars and box car.








The line became a railfan favorite in the 1950s, by which time it had appropriately been named the "Portage Railway", but it ceased operation in 1958. The equipment was saved however, and moved to a small park in St. Thomas, Ontario. It ran there until the 1980s when renewed local interest saw its return to Muskoka. Although it was not possible to rebuild on the original right of way, a new operation was started in conjunction with the local pioneer village in nearby Huntsville, Ontario. Trains aren't running this year due to covid, at least not in steam, but both engines have been operated along with the original coaches, and hopefully you can ride the original "Portage Railway" again next year.



Cheers,
Ralph



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2020 06:15PM by tgbcvr.