Barrie Collingwood Railway (BCRY)

[TwoWheelPoli]

I think you might be misinterpreting the trail strategy. It is already proposed to establish a trail beside the active BCR east of Utopia (west of Utopia the railway no longer exists) towards Barrie. I'm not sure if anyone is advocating shutting down an active rail corridor along with its customers for the sake of a trail.

I don't know why the Cookstown-Thornton trail ends at the casino.

Keep in mind that the establishment of a trail requires agreements with the property owner. Obviously, where the land is owned by the county (as in the former BCR west of Utopia) it is comparatively easy. If it is owned by a member municipality, which I believe is the case of the Cookstown-Thornton trail, possibly a little more convoluted. The City of Barrie is not part of Simcoe County, so agreements might be more complex.

Thanks for the clarification. If the trail can be built while keeping the railway active, even better.

 

[ShonTron]

I passed through the Stayner-Angus area last month. The path is nearly complete as far east as Angus, though there was active construction along the route still. Along Highway 90, there are wide shoulders along the 4-lane road as far east as Tiffin Street. Tiffin Street looks like it got some improvements, making it a pretty straight shot along a more bikeable route towards Allandale GO. It's not ideal, but it is moving in the right direction where a rail trail is not needed on the eastern BCRY segment, as long as on-street cycling is improved.

As for the southern BCRY (the old Beeton Sub) the tracks extend under Highway 400 for access to the Innisful industrial park (the spur into it is west-to-north) and for shunting. I don't see why a side-of-rail trail can't go in to provide direct access into Barrie given very slow speeds along the former Beeton.

 

[TwoWheelPoli]

Thorben shared this photo of the new trail on Bluesky. Looks great upon first impression.

Thorben Wieditz (@twieditz.bsky.social)

It’s as straight as an arrow and bound for headwinds.

bsky.app

 

[lenaitch]

As for the southern BCRY (the old Beeton Sub) the tracks extend under Highway 400 for access to the Innisful industrial park (the spur into it is west-to-north) and for shunting. I don't see why a side-of-rail trail can't go in to provide direct access into Barrie given very slow speeds along the former Beeton.

After BCR took over the line, they installed a run-around siding right at the end of the spur. I think I saw a car spotted on it once. Most of the trains that run down the spur are so short they don't need the extra length beyond Hwy 400.

 

[TwoWheelPoli]

Another photo shared via Bluesky. This one of a bridge under construction at Mad River just west of Angus which may get completed in late October.

@jdyoung.bsky.social

I can verify - One bridge to be completed by late October - would love to see it go all the way to Barrie to meet the GO train

bsky.app

 

[NW87]

Northern Transformer Breaks Ground on Large Power Transformer Facility

Northern Transformer Breaks Ground for Additional State-of-the-Art Facility in Ontario to Expand Large Power Transformer Capabilities.Maple, Ontario – September 18, 2025Figure 1 – Conceptual Render of Innisfil FacilityNorthern Transformer Corporation, a leading Canadian manufacturer of...

www.northerntransformer.com

Innisfil Heights welcomes Northern Transformer: 150 new jobs on the horizon

Northern Transformer Corporation says the vast majority of its supply chain is Ontario-based.

www.simcoe.com

3260 9th Line · Innisfil, Ontario

maps.app.goo.gl

A new shipper for the BCRY, Northern Transformer will be building a plant in Innisfil Heights off of 9 Line.


Operations are expected to begin in 2028.

Taken 2025/09/28 Earthworks well underway by Con-Drain

BCRY Run-around under Highway 400.

Comet

Tarpin

 

[Bordercollie]

Taken 2025/09/28 Earthworks well underway by Con-Drain

View attachment 684899

View attachment 684900

BCRY Run-around under Highway 400.

View attachment 684901

Comet

View attachment 684902

Tarpin

View attachment 684903

How many loads per month are they expecting?

 

[Bojaxs]

This time of year, with all the trees changing colour, it would be quite something to ride the GO train along the BCRY all the way up to Collingwood.

 

[ShonTron]

This time of year, with all the trees changing colour, it would be quite something to ride the GO train along the BCRY all the way up to Collingwood.

The most scenic GO route this time of year is the Richmond Hill Corridor, especially south of Highway 401. Barrie to Collingwood wouldn’t be quite as pretty.

And if you think BCRY would have been good, pour one out for the Orangeville & Brampton, particularly through Forks of the Credit.

 

[crs1026]

If anyone is wondering where those big new Plasser track machines (that ML bought overseas and shipped in by boat recently) have gone.... apparently they are on their way to the BCR where they will be tested and broken in.
Why BCR when ML has lots of trackage of its own ? I am told Cando holds the contract with ML for their operation on the GO network.
The nice part is, BCR will be one flawless branch line after those machines get their practice laps in.

- Paul

 

[smallspy]

If anyone is wondering where those big new Plasser track machines (that ML bought overseas and shipped in by boat recently) have gone.... apparently they are on their way to the BCR where they will be tested and broken in.
Why BCR when ML has lots of trackage of its own ? I am told Cando holds the contract with ML for their operation on the GO network.
The nice part is, BCR will be one flawless branch line after those machines get their practice laps in.

- Paul

Who ever told you that was not being entirely truthful.

They are going up to the BCR because none of the Metrolinx locations are ready for them. Not one. None of the "logistics hubs", neither of Willowbrook or Whitby. Nothing.

They will be sitting in storage at BCR for the foreseeable future. They may start to activate them and test them up there in the spring, but that's dependent on when the MOW training facility is completed and ready to handle them at Lewis Road - which is apparently also miles away from being ready for showtime.

Dan

 

[crs1026]

Who ever told you that was not being entirely truthful.

Not untruthful, and certainly very much in the loop about things BCR, but perhaps connecting the dots a bit incorrectly.

One bit I was told is that the units are being unloaded up there. That part makes sense if for no other reason than who would pay demurrage on six flat cars from now till next spring when they could be turned back to the freight railway?

Oh....Metrolinx......okay, maybe that answers that. Or maybe a crane costs more.

The other bit is that Cando is very much in the contracting business and has been gearing up for work let by ML. Perhaps that dot is not connected to the new track machines,

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

Here are the pictures for related to the above discussion.

Arrival in Hamilton:

Railpictures.ca - Terry O'Shell Photo: With a couple of veteran GP9RM’s leading the 0600 Hamilton Yard Job is returning from their days work with a last minute lift request, six dimensional loads (D2U) from the Harbour Area. The six loaded flats co

Tens of thousands of great Canadian railway photographs, discussions, and much more. Click to view the image or register for your free account. Please share this if you like it.

www.railpictures.ca

In Barrie, but I'm not sure where the "yard" is:

 

[lenaitch]

I guess somebody assumes they have sufficient track capacity at GO Allendale, but they might be better off paying to leave them at Utopia. Sitting in Allendale or on any spare BCR trackage in the Barrie area pretty much guarantees that they will be tagged, damaged and maybe lived in. A motivated tagger may find them in Utopia but it is fairly out of the way.

 

[crs1026]

My source says that cranes are on order and they will be offloaded in 2-3 weeks.

- Paul