Thomas Worsley

Doube's Trestle Bridge: Exploring Ontario's Historic Rail Trail

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Doube’s Trestle was originally built from wood and was constructed at a length of 1,500 feet, featuring a cut stone culvert of Grand Trunk Railway design to channel the stream underneath. Later, the central part of the trestle was converted into a sturdy steel bridge by engineers. The bridge then was equipped with nine spans totalling 572 feet in length. After final upgrading was completed in 1923, the bridge could be used to carry the heavier Mikado steam engines that travelled along this route. Later, diesel engines were operated to haul the freight and passenger trains.

On 8 January 1921, the rail line between Belleville and Lindsay via Peterborough was taken over by Canadian National Railways. Even though the bridge had been strengthened previously, some heavier trains required two diesel locomotives, so a strict speed limit for trains crossing it was set at 20 miles per hour. Furthermore, a timetable for the Campbellford Subdivision published on 27 November 1949 shows two passenger trains each day except Sunday, and one train on Sunday running in each direction between Peterborough and Linds

Watch video to experience the full journey today!