Alliston Herald

Today's Weather

Overcast and 7°C

>>more weather info

Laurie Watt photo News

Barrie Collingwood Railway facts

BY Laurie Watt, STAFF November 12, 2009 06:11

•   The Barrie Collingwood Railway (BCRY) is jointly owned by the Allandale Development Corporation (a City of Barrie subsidiary) and the Town of Collingwood.

•   The Barrie-Collingwood line measures 38 miles; it has a CPR interchange in Utopia.

•   There are seven bridges along the line, including four over rivers: the Nottawasaga River, the Mad River and two Pretty River overpasses.

•   The BCRY earned the City of Barrie and the Town of Collingwood a Peter J. Marshall Municipal Innovative Public Service Award in 1999; the award recognizes excellence in innovative approaches to improving capital and operating efficiencies.

•   There are about 40 short-line railways operating in Canada; they emerged after rail industry deregulation in 1996, which prompted Canadian National (CNR) and Canadian Pacific (CPR) railways to sell small-volume lines.

•   The municipalities hired CANDO Contracting to administer the BCRY. Cando operates similar lines, including the Orangeville-Brampton line.

•   The BCRY works with its class one partner, CPR, to transport goods throughout North America.

•   On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, customers between Utopia and Innisfil are served. The line runs parallel to County Road 90 into Barrie, then turns south at Burton Avenue and heads into Innisfil, where it ends near Georgian Downs.

•   Crossings in Barrie include Ferndale Drive, Patterson Road, Essa Road, Burton Avenue, Little Avenue, Mapleview Drive and Lockhart Road.

•   Customers in Barrie and Innisfil include Bentofix Technologies (a subsidiary of AlBarrie), Comet Chemical and Tarpin Lumber.

•   On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the rail serves its western customers, including Collingwood’s Canadian Mist and FS Partners.

•   In 2008, the BCRY shipped 595 cars; the economic downturn lowered that form 652 carloads in 2007.

•   Commodities include scrap metal, lumber, chemicals, de-natured alcohol, resin and bentonite (a clay product).

Sources: City of Barrie, CANDO Contracting

Related Articles

Rail service barometer of economy
BARRIE - Loads are lighter but future looks bright for Barrie Collingwood Railway.

Historic train may ride the rails
BARRIE - “The proposed mission of The Barrie & Collingwood Heritage Railway is to teach...

More Regional News|News Articles

Planned power outage in Springwater
SPRINGWATER - Hydro One will be performing maintenance an upgrades to equipment in Springwater.

Couple fearful nut allergy threatens daughter
MIDLAND – Midland Secondary School must do more to protect students, say parents.

McGuinty helped developers profit, NDP claims
QUEEN'S PARK — Innisfil landowners met premier in May 2008 at $5,000 per plate fundraiser

Lawyer sentenced 22 months for fraud
BARRIE — Myles McLellan was convicted in October 2009 for a false mortgage scheme valued at $160,000.00

Downtown residents form Neighbourhood Watch
BARRIE - A downtown resident association is the latest in the city to initiate a neighbourhood watch program, according to Barrie’s crime prevention...

Volunteer searchers make a difference
BARRIE - “We don’t get any satisfaction from boasting about ourselves, we get satisfaction in the eyes of the person we find.” - Darren Buck

Council wants Barrie Central saved
BARRIE - “The province is shoving it down our throats. Phooey. I just don’t buy it.” - Rod Jackson

No doc cash for city
BARRIE - “What (the province has done) here is extremely damaging to Barrie’s ability to recruit doctors” - Rod Jackson

Chileans rocked by earthquake deserve help, urges ex-pat
BARRIE - With a book about Chile on the kitchen table, Spanish-language news on the television, and Facebook correspondence open on the computer...

Concern over neighbouring quarry's impact on Adjala-Tos water
ADJALA-TOSORONTIO - Adjala-Tosorontio council is putting a request out to Dufferin County for more information on the controversial Highland Companies...

SIMCOE.COM is an online publication serving the communities of Barrie, Alliston, Collingwood/Wasaga Beach, Wasaga, Stayner and Orillia in central Ontario, Canada. All rights reserved. Reproduction, modification, distribution, transmission or republication of any material from simcoe.com is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from Metroland Media Group Ltd.