28 March 2008
Planning for Trestle Anniversary Underway
Constructed over three years by 5,000 workers, the Parry Sound
CP Rail trestle bridge was completed in 1908 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in June.
Parry Sound Ontario - This June marks the 100th
anniversary of the Canadian Pacific Railway trestle bridge that crosses over Bay Street in Parry Sound.
To mark the first train that travelled along the bridge on 14 Jun 1908, a number of events are scheduled to take place
here in Parry Sound the week of 15 to 22 Jun 2008.
Events, ranging from model railroad displays, an art show at the historic CP Station, heritage displays at the West Parry Sound
District Museum, and a dinner and dance at he Bobby Orr Community Centre featuring Whiskey Jack are among those being organized.
CP Rail will have old railway cars on hand for the public to tour as well as a documentary DVD release about the trestle's history. The
Friends of the Museum will also unveil and hang two railroad-themed murals in Parry Sound just in time for the event.
For children, there will be a railway-themed poster contest and story time at the Parry Sound Public Library.
"The Downtown Business Association is encouraging its members to decorate their windows with a railway theme," said Parry
Sound mayor Richard Adams. "All events haven't been identified as of yet. We have significant support from CPR employees and the
union and retirees. More plans are still (coming) forward. We're also thinking of putting view finders around town to give people a
better view of the bridge."
It took a construction crew of about 5,000 to build the line of track that runs from Bolton to Sudbury. It took that same crew three
years to finish the trestle bridge in Parry Sound. At the time of its construction, it was estimated to cost about $10,000 to build the
stretch - 230 miles (370 kilometres) - from Parry Sound to Sudbury.
In a 1906 edition of the Parry Sound North Star, a reporter detailed the construction process that began three years earlier.
"(The bridge) crosses over the Seguin River by a steel (beam) over 4,000 feet long and 110 feet above water level," states
the 15 Feb 1906 article. "From Parry Sound, following the east side of Georgian Bay and from 20 to 15 miles distant
from the water, the line passes through McDougall, Carling, Shawanaga, Harrison, and Wallbridge to Byng Inlet at the mouth of the
Magnetawan River."
|
