James
I am replying to this in case someone more knowledgeable than I
does not respond to your question. The line you are describing was built in
1914 by the Toronto Hamilton and Buffalo Railway, and is known as the Dunnville
Subdivision. Please note that there are 2 “n”s in Dunnville. The TH&B
Railway Historical Society has a page giving the Historical Outline of the
railway on their website, http://www.thbrailway.ca , where this is described.
My current version of Google Earth Pro uses an overlay produced
by Eric Zadro showing the railways in most of Southwestern Ontario. My latest
update is from 2009, but fortunately most of the lines shown have not moved
since then. J This should give you a good picture of where this line goes.
Regards
Dave Pottinger
From: cpha-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:cpha-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
Robert Kirkham
Sent: Sunday, 21 April, 2024 11:14 AM
To: cpha@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [cpha] Fwd: Mapping Lost Railroads in Ontario
This will be interesting for many folks on the list I think:
Rob
Begin forwarded message:
From: James Cobban <webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Mapping Lost Railroads in Ontario
Date: April 18, 2024 at 9:16:41 PM PDT
To: librarian@xxxxxxxxxxx, cnrha.chair@xxxxxxxxx, webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxx,
ronvassallo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, website.foreman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
For decades I have been working on a source for information on the history of
Ontario. One aspect of that is a sort of Wikipedia of lost places linked to
on-line maps. I wish to include an online historical atlas of lost railroads
in Ontario. For example:
Great Western Railroad Air Line, Ontario, Canada
<https://www.jamescobban.net/FamilyTree/Location.php?id=114741>
It is easy to trace the course of these abandoned lines in the country,
although they can be obscured in cities where the right of way has been
reclaimed. My site permits any registered user to trace the path of a rail
line.
At the moment I am tracing a branch line that used to go from Smithville, on
what I believe is the CPR line from Welland to Hamilton, to Dunnville. It is
still in use between Dunnville and the rail line that goes east through the
Welland Townline Tunnel under the Canal. I don't know how to find out who owns
a rail line that I see on a satellite view. CNR has a tool for the lines that
it uses, but I have not found an equivalent for the CPR or other lines in
Ontario.
Smithville To Dunville Branch Line
<https://www.jamescobban.net/FamilyTree/Location.php?id=115059>
I know I can get the routes of operational rail lines from the Ontario
Government. I would like to get the original names of the abandoned lines as
well.
If you have anyone who would like to play with this:
1. Go to Locations Master List
<https://www.jamescobban.net/FamilyTree/Locations.php?lang=en> .
2. Click on the "Hamburger Menu Button" at the top right.
3. Click on "Sign On".
4. Click on "Register".
5. Supply an e-mail address, a user name, click on Generate Random
Password,
6. Copy the generated password to a secure location, and click on Register.
7. Respond to the e-mail when it arrives. This is confirm that you gave a
real address.
8. When you are confirmed as a registered user go back to Locations Master
List <https://www.jamescobban.net/FamilyTree/Locations.php?lang=en> .
9. Enter "Railroad" in the Pattern field and click on Search.
10. This shows all of the location names in my database that contain the
word "railroad"
11. Select one of the existing locations to see what they "look like"
internally. You will see that each location has a latitude and longitude of
its centre, a zoom level which permits the viewer to see the entire extent of
the location, a list of coordinates, and specification of the colour and width
of the line that is drawn. A location may either be a "region" or a "line". A
region is something that has area. A line is two-dimensional. I colour
railroad lines as black and streets as brown.
12. To create a new location return to Locations Master List
<https://www.jamescobban.net/FamilyTree/Locations.php?lang=en> , type the name
of the new location into either input field at the top and click on Create New.
13. The Google Maps geolocation feature has been completely rewritten and I
have not written the code to support the new interface. I do not understand
why they had to break the old interface when adding the new interface. If you
wish to use the map display feature you must supply a latitude and longitude,
otherwise the "Show Map" button is disabled. Since you want to draw a line,
click on the Draw Line button. This displays the Colour and Weight options
which you can alter.
14. Once the map is displayed you will see a cross-hair that is controlled
by the mouse. Drag the map, by holding down the mouse button, to find where
you want to start the railroad, use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom until you
can see the actual path of the railroad in the satellite view. Click at points
along the route of the railroad to extend the line. Drag the map to expose
further parts of the line, and continue clicking until you reach the other end
of the line. At any time you can Hide the Map, click on Get Map Info to
retrieve the list of points and the current centre point and zoom level, and
then Update the Location. The next time you return to the Location you can
continue adding where you left off.
Note that you cannot click before the beginning of the line. That will add a
new very long line all the way from the end. To achieve the same result you
must first drag the first point to the new starting location. Note that
between each pair of points that you have specified there is a gray circle.
You can drag this to the actual alignment to deal with curves. When you
release the mouse button two new gray circles appear between the new point and
the limiting points. Normally what I do the first time through is click on the
beginning and the end of the curve, and then come back later to drag the
intermediate points to the curve.
If you could forward this to other railroad historical groups across Ontario, I
would appreciate it.
--
James Cobban
911-500 Springbank Dr
London, ON, Canada
N6J 4G6
mailto: webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
+1-226-504-7603
