History
The railway was founded in 1902 as a western connection of the GTR (Now present-day CN) to factories in the eastern end of Windsor. Construction of the line took place between 1902 and 1918. During World War II, the trains hauled military and industrial equipment (i.e. Bren Gun carriers, and trucks) from Ford Windsor and other industries, to interchanges with C.N., C.P. N.Y.C., P.M., and Wabash Railways. Its four-stall enginehouse, and main offices are on Lincoln Road in Windsor. Due to heavy development along much of the mainline, Essex Terminal runs its trains at a maximum of 12 MPH (20 km/h) in the city, and 20 MPH (30 km/h) in the county.
As a part of the urban renewal of Windsor, the railway sold several kilometers of spur lines in downtown Windsor to the City of Windsor and various developers in 1998, allowing new homes and businesses to be built along the former rail RoW. The Mainline was generally unchanged but the ETR became more dependent on down river traffic.
In September 2002, the ETR celebrated its 100th anniversary and brought its newly restored 1923 Number 9 0-6-0 locomotive down from St. Thomas, Ontario. The company was loaned several 1930s CPR and CN passenger cars to give rides to nearby residents that celebrated with the company. Number 9 currently operates out of Waterloo, Ontario.
Ironically, a week after the centennial celebration, the ETR had its first serious derailment in over 10 years, caused by abnormally heavy rains. Cars carrying Soybeans were involved. There were no injuries, the tracks were repaired and two nearby grade crossings repaved.
On September 12, 2007, Essex Terminal Railway had its second accident when a transport truck tried to race a slow moving ETR train across the Weaver Road at-grade crossing. ADM and Morterm Terminal are accessed by Weaver Rd. The SW-1200 locomotive clipped the rear of the trailer, tipping the transport truck onto its right side (the truck was heading west at the time and the locomotive was headed northbound) and ripped the axles off the trailer's box and frame. Aside from damage to the transport truck, the locomotive also sustained some damage to one of its couplers, which had impacted the trailer. The driver (who was from Ohio) was uninjured and cooperated with Essex Terminal Railway officials and Windsor Police. Essex Terminal Railway later said in The Windsor Star that, "This is a reason why people should never try to beat a train."
In the summer of 2009 the Essex Terminal Railway signed agreements with the City of Windsor to allow 2 new rail spurs to be constructed on the west end of the city. The rail lines will serve 2 industries in the Ojibway industrial area. ETR currently has more than 15 customers in Windsor and serves several customers in the town of Amhertburg including BP Canada Energy and the Windsor Salt Company
Read more about this topic: Essex Terminal Railway
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