The Credit Valley Railway
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December 1st, 2023
D. Rollings
On Thursday, October 18th, 1855, the first Grand Trunk Railway train rolled into the brand new Brampton Station. Churchville's economic fate, only 33 years after the community's founding, was sealed. Traveling westward from Toronto, the new "Western Division" completely bypassed Churchville, and indeed, all of northern Toronto Township. There was much bitterness in the Township about this perceived slight; an 1854 article in the Streetsville Review even went so far as to congratulate Churchville for being free of the "curse of a railway station". Area residents were quick to blame the exclusion on their greedy neighbors. Local property owners who had threatened to charge the GTR exorbitant prices to bring the right-of-way through the region. Regardless of the reasons (in truth, passing through Brampton and avoiding the Credit Valley simply presented the most convenient geographic route for the first stage of the route), Churchville, Meadowvale and Streetsville found themselves on the outside, looking in.
Churchville would have to continue to rely on poor roads and the Credit River to transport its products. However, members of the community could have been forgiven for not immediately recognizing how profoundly the GTR decision would impact the village. At this time Britain was fighting in the Crimean War and the ancient White Pine forests around Churchville were in extremely high demand, being cut and prepared in the village and floated down to Port Credit, then shipped across the Atlantic to be used in ship building for the Royal Navy. Though that war ended in 1856, the diversity of industry in Churchville provided enough momentum for it to continue its prosperity until 1866. At this point Brampton was selected as County Seat for Peel, and Churchville's fortunes began to quickly whither.
The route of the Credit Valley Railway, in September 1875. You can see the line split into two at Streetsville Junction. Churchville's station was situated on the northern Orangeville line.
Five years later, in Spring 1871, a glimmer of hope emerged for the village, which had seen a steady decline in population and industry as residents picked up and moved to Brampton. The Orangeville Sun ran an article on May 18th revealing that a new line, the Credit Valley Railway, had received a charter from the Province and was seeking pledges of financial support from communities along the proposed route. Streetsville had already pledged a "bonus" of up to $20,000 in support. If the route followed the Credit Valley north from there, it could pass through Churchville and potentially revive the village's ailing economy.
Survey parties were busy through the summer of 1873, exploring routes leading north from Streetsville to a planned station just west of downtown Brampton, and then on through far more treacherous lands north to Orangeville. The survey parties were under the direction of Orangeville resident Mr. C. J. Wheelock, P.L.S. (the same individual who created the survey of the new addition to the Churchville Cemetery's property in 1892). After initially intending to install a narrow-gauge track, the CVR ended up conforming to the new Standard "Stephenson" Gauge of four feet eight and one-half inches. In one of its few strokes of luck, timing was on the side of the CVR, as the cost of transitioning to a Standard Gauge had devastating effects on many of the Province's older, established lines.
Churchville did indeed receive a station at Mile 26 on the Orangeville Branch. Unfortunately, in order to stay on high, fairly level ground, the right-of-way skirted the village well to the east. The small flagstop shelter was situated just south of Baseline (now Steeles Avenue), which proved to be inconvenient to Churchville's farmers located to the south, east and west of the village. It was more of a benefit to those living north in the vicinity of Eldorado. In truth, it ended up serving more as a means of traveling to Brampton and Toronto (via Streetsville Junction) for social trips, and to and from school, than as a means of transporting freight for the village.
Circa 1900 image of Churchville Station in it's original form. It featured a raised platform to allow for easier loading and unloading of freight. This wonderful image comes courtesy of Beth Laidlaw.
The Credit Valley Railway took nearly eight years to build, but only operated as an independent entity for about four years. It was built in the midst of a major global depression, and was beset from the start with financial problems. These included difficulty finding enough men to employ, then difficulty paying them. It suffered a worker's strike 1880. One major issue that it faced was an inability to secure coal for its engines. The CVR was acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1884 and then absorbed into its main line.
Churchville Station, looking north in 1958: you can see the Steeles Avenue crossing in the distance. The station was never more than a small flagstop shelter, though it originally had a platform. It was similar in design to the radial railway station that once stood at Hallstone and Creditview, and the two are often confused in pictures.
A similar image, looking south toward the village.
The last steam locomotives passed Churchville in 1958, and were completely replaced by diesel powered engines. The CPR gradually reduced passenger service on the line until October 30th, 1970, at which time it became almost solely a means of transporting manufactured goods between Orangeville and Streetsville Junction. The line was purchased by the Town of Orangeville in 2000, with services being provided by the Orangeville Brampton Rail Development Corporation. Many readers will recall the special "Santa Train" that OBRDC operated on the line up between Cheltenham and Orangeville. This arrangement lasted until December 30th, 2021, when the line finally, and permanently, closed. The last train to pass through Churchville was on December 21st of that year.
Engine 1271 (passenger service) passing the village southbound on Christmas Day, 1958. This wonderful image courtesy of Bill Galliford.
As I write this, the tracks are being lifted along the right-of-way in preparation for its eventual incorporation into the Trans-Canada Trail. It is strange to see them so overgrown with weeds and grass as they pass through residential areas in downtown Brampton. The line traveled quite close to a number of houses, including those on Martin's Blvd., and I have distinct memories of feeling homes shake, and looking out of windows to watch the wheels of the trains pass by in the 1980s. Just south of Churchville the CVR crossed the Credit River via a small black trestle that many former residents remember exploring and swimming under in their childhoods. I can clearly recall the lonely sound of the train horn echoing across the valley as it approached Steeles Avenue when I was a child.
A 1932 picture , taken from the CPR station platform, looking southwest toward the Churchville Cemetery. In the midground, Wilf Raine has stopped his ploughing to look at the photographer.
Churchville really only registered as a significant location once in the history of the line, when a terrible derailment happened near the station. You can read about it in this article!
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