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PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 3, 1998 - 25 by Paul Arculus The first official train to run on the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway took place on November 23, 1871. By the following September the trains were making two regular passenger runs each day. In addition, freight trains were making three or four trips a day with lum- ber brought down Lake Scugog from Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon by boat. The lumber was then loaded on to railroad cars at Port Perry, taken by rail to Whitby and then loaded onto ships again. Much of this lumber made its way to Upper New York State to be used in building homes in the Rochester and Oswego area. In October, 1872, it was reported that 80,000 feet of lumber and 10,000 bushels of barley were being shipped from Whitby harbor on a daily basis. On the surface this state of affairs appeared to bode well for the PWPPR. Problems in Prince Albert and Manchester But the true state of affairs of the railway become apparent when, in October 1872, it was reported that most trains were not stopping at Prince Albert or Manchester. This was due in part to poor conditions of the facilities there as reported in last month's article. Prince Albert and Manchester freight and passengers were forced to be picked up in Port Perry. No switch or sid- ing had been "FOR SALE OR TO RENT The Anglo-American Hoel PRINCE ALBERT. provided at ro : busi a either HE Bubscriber is giving up business an offers to Bell or Rent her Motul, the Manchester or Anglo-American. The Hotel is well ar-- | Prince Albert. There was no facility for unloading freight at eith- er station. The station houses were locked because they had not been paid for. Railway staff at other sta- tions refused to accent goods addressed to Prince Albert or Manchester. In December, 1872, all the railway buildings in Port Perry were padlocked by the sheriff in connection with one of the numerous law suits against the railway. As was also reported in last month's article in this series, the pathetic assets of the railway were finally purchased by James Austin, president of the Dominion Bank and James Michie, a major grocery wholesale and retailer. In May, 1873, the new board of directors of the Railway was announced. It consisted of Austin as presi- dent, Michie, vice president and James Holden as managing director. The other board members were Chester Draper, Aaron Ross and Edward Major. The Exodus With the new owners in control, promising better management and efficiency, the exodus of merchants from Manchester and Prince Albert to Port Perry. became a deluge. Each week, the Observer noted the relocation of merchants. Among the first to leave Prince Albert was George White, the carriage maker, a former partner of James Emany. White built a new factory in Port Perry and commenced his carriage making there in 1868. Dr. Jones left in December of that year. The first of the major store owners to relocate was George Currie who moved to the north east corner of Queen and Perry Street, now Guardian Drugs, in September 1872. Then the mass exodus began as stores, factories and busi- nesses moved, and hotels closed. The population of the community of Prince Albert was reduced to less than half its boom-town size. Finally, in August, 1873, the Ontario Observer gave in to the pressure and moved its facilities to Port Perry ranged and in good condition with an abund- ance of uccommodation, extensive and com- fortable Sheds, Stables, &c. Convenient «o the Hotel there is a capital Fruit and Vege~ table Garden, This is an excellent opening for a com- fortable country business. The Anglo-American has been long and favorably known throughout this whole section of country. For particulars apply to the subscriber on premises, MRS. MOGGRIDGE. Prince Albert, Aug. 1873. aT " The editorial explained: "This is rendered necessary from the altered condi- tion of our village, owning to the concentration of the greater part of the business of the township in Port Perry; and a newspaper above all things, in order to be profitable to its proprietors and convenient to its patrons must have its headquarters as near as possible to the business centre of the locality in which it is published." All of these moves brought about a building boom never to be seen again in Port Perry. In December, 1873, James Emany, announced that he too was moving and that the Ontario Carriage Works had opened its new premises at the site of the present Liquor Store in Port Perry. A month later, on January 21, 1874. T.C. Forman announced that he was also clos- ing his business in order to relocate in Port Perry. Forman's move to Port Perry brought Prince Albert's business and commercial life to a close. Only a general store, a post office and a blacksmith remained. Thus, Prince Albert, once one of the most important centres of business and commerce in the region, quietly passed into the pages of history. Only the cemetery remained as a focal point for the surrounding communities, a role which continues to this date. In October 1874, the first white settler in Reach, Reuben Crandell passed away and his remains were brought to the cemetery at Prince Albert. Ironically these dramatic economic changes and the sale of the PWPPR were taking place at the same time that Canada's prime minister John A MacDonald was under intense scrutiny. He was forced to resign on November 6, 1873. The irony was that his resignation was caused by scandal over the building of another rail- way; the Canadian Pacific Railway. Several of his cabinet ministers were clearly involved in bribery over the building of the CPR. MacDonald was implicated but never proven to be conclusively involved, but his political fate was sealed. The Gauge Change At this time another significant change was being made in the gauge of the railways in Canada. The gov- ernment had made 56" as the standard and mandatory gauge in 1851. This was referred to as the "Broad Gauge." It was in contrast to the 4' 8-1/2" "Standard Gauge" of the United States. In Canada this gauge was referred to as the Narrow Gauge. Legislators thought that having a different gauge from the U.S. would prevent the Americans from domi- nating the Canadian railroads. Instead it caused chaos as all goods had to be loaded and unloaded at ports of entry, an extremely costly and time consuming proce- dure. In order to get around this problem, most Canadian Railroad lines laid a third rail inside the broad gauge lines. The PWPPR had been built on the narrow gauge as a SELLING OFF --) 4) ---------- us Closing Business IN PRINCE ALBERT! The Snhecriber having Jetecumed to closes hurinerd uw halelv eaisly, and antinelr in Mine Altre) ws soon ns bic namonre Stock of Goods ean Le deposed of, will irem this dare SELL comncmoe ING AT COST! AND CITARGES FOR CASH ONLY. And wll Kinds of Tautica aml Gocthmen s Poe ot LESS than COST in ade (hddear em off at ome. As every one xnows, my Stock ts om of the largest and Lert in the County, thare being NO OLD unalvable Goods in Mock Now is the Ue (0 ot fast clas Gools 1t low prs Boewifn] Mink Sete, phic 85 fe $17 0 Alaska Mink Sete prices §* for $2 2 Beaviife) Mink Nols, jates Sin fiw 311. Alaska Mink mete, pales gs, ror gL, Amalia Mink Mots, prime QF Tor #362 Files € Jace Tutlat Yaedws, worth 211 fd, READY-MADE CLOTHING al kinks, BOOTS AND SHOES in oat varidy, aral an Imimiense Stack of DERN (ths, FLANNELS, TWELDS, PEIN IX, ke and ell 2 Cont and (huge aid dann ta Proce Altaert PE" Givrvric< Handy ua, £0, at the same rates. B®™ bon't fel by sevvce Whe Merges, but Wing along the Cohan d Sut your pick of the Guods at omc T. C. FORMAN. Prince AlLMt, dan. 20, 187 The exodus to Port Perry from Prince Albert be gins VALUABLE Dwelling House FOR SALE VERY CHEAP The undersigned has received instructions to sell that most valuable and desirable propetty In the Village of Prince Albert at present occupied by Wm, M. Willcox, Esq. The house and éut-buildings "are very commeos dious and in good state ot repair. : For terms and further particulars apply to -W.. MAURICE COCHRANE, Vendor's Solicite¥; Rort Perry, Ont, July 18th, 1871. ~ 29 money saving measure. Ironically this turned out to be an advantage. The broad gauge legislation was repealed in 1870. Canadian railways gradually switched to the Standard (Narrow) Gauge. In 1872, the Grand Trunk Railway annouhced that it was about to change to the standard gauge. Since the PWPPR had been built on the narrow gauge, it was saved the expenditure of having to switch. The Depression of 1875 Unfortunately, 1873 marked the beginning of an eco- nomic downturn which culminated in the depression of i 1875. This depression in North America was triggered by a series of events in the United States stemming from an' over-expanded economy after the end of the Civil War and the assassination of Lincoln in 1865. The precipitat- ing event was the collapse of Jay Cooke and Company in September 1873. The company had been involved in the building of yet another railway; the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1875, it was revealed that a number of federal offi- cials had been involved in enormous frauds. After a ser- ies of allegations of corruption and mismanagement emerged, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster General were all forced to resign. The stock market again plunged and the lumber market, upon which so much of Canada's economy depended, became none existent. Export of Canadian forest products as a whole dropped over 50 per cent between 1873 and 1876. The ports of Whitby and the Lake Scugog region were imme- diately affected. The Extension to Lindsay Some areas of the economy continued to prosper how- ever. By this time, Lindsay had grown into a significant railroad centre at the hub of two railway lines. It was about to be served by a third and later by a fourth. As was mentioned in last month's article, the PWPPR purchased two steamships to establish a direct commer- cial link with Lindsay. This venture proved to be finan- cially viable and it confirmed the need for a year round link with Lindsay. On March 24, 1874, the company changed its name to the Whitby and Port Perry Extension Railway. Plans were then developed to extend the railway line from Port Perry to Lindsay. In the construction of the line to Lindsay, the compa- -- ny made sure that the errors of the original line were not repeated. Francis Shanly was retained as the consulting engineer. The various municipalities contributed $85,000 and the government contributed $2,000 per mile. On March 2, 1876 the name of the line was changed for a third time, to the Whitby, Port Perry and Lindsay Railway Company. Work was begun on the extension in the summer of 1876. With Shanly in charge, the line was built quickly and efficiently. The terrain for the line to Lindsay was far less problematic than the initial line, yet it was longer; 26 miles for the extension and 19 for the original. The work was completed in less than a year and the inaugural train journey was made on July 31, 1877. By August, the line was ready for regular traffic. and changed its name to the North Ontario Observer. Sly i -- ---------------------- A a ------