Railway Steamships of Ontario

Book excerpt: During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the railway and shipping interests of the Great Lakes' basin were regularly at odds with one another. Accusations of rate cutting and unfair trade practices were constantly being hurled back and forth, and at times they seemed to have little in common; but this was not always the case. Through joint traffic agreements railway and shipping lines found that they could aid and complement one another, each furthering the others' trade. This book examines how Ontario's railways faced the steamship question and in particular, why they saw a need to acquire their own vessels. By tracing almost 200 individual ships and dozens of corporate entities, the history of these waterborne railway enterprises is revealed. Not overlooked are the railway harbours and the facilities that made the crucial link between train and ship.