Presentation from the Office of Macdonald and Rykert regarding the Case of O'Connor vs. the Great Western Railway Co.

Presentation from the Office of Macdonald and Rykert regarding the Case of O’Connor vs. the Great Western Railway Co. This is a handwritten, 9 ½ page double sided document). Some of the witnesses for the plaintiff included: Robert Johnson, John Ryder, Edward Duffy, Gilbert Gregory, John Cutter, James Patterson, Samuel Rush and Francis Bigger, among others. They claimed that the Great Western Railway Co. was destroying their land. Jacob Dittrick claimed that the culverts were not large enough to carry off water. Mr. Jackson noticed injury to his flats. Wild grass was destroying the bottom grass, May 6, 1836.

Approximate estimate of the cost of extending the Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway from Geneva Street to the Great Western Railway Station at Lock no. 12

Approximate estimate of the cost of extending the Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway from Geneva Street to the Great Western Railway Station at Lock no. 12 (2 copies) [one appears to be a rough copy] (2 pages, handwritten), Feb. 2, 1855.

Mr. Woodward’s timetable regarding the suspension bridge to Toronto via the Great Western Railway and Port Dalhousie Railway

Mr. Woodward’s timetable regarding the suspension bridge to Toronto via the Great Western Railway and Port Dalhousie Railway (1 page, handwritten), Jan. 22, 1856

Post card with a notice of freight arrival addressed to S.D. Woodruff from the Great Western Railway for castings, a keg and grates

Post card with a notice of freight arrival addressed to S.D. Woodruff from the Great Western Railway for castings, a keg and grates, Aug.11, [1876].

Printed blank for arrival of goods by Great Western Railway at St. Catharines

Printed blank for arrival of goods by Great Western Railway at St. Catharines, Aug. 24, 1876.

Printed blank for arrival of goods by Great Western Railway at St. Catharines

Printed blank for arrival of goods by Great Western Railway at St. Catharines, Nov. 18 [1876].

Indenture of agreement between the Great Western Railway Company and the Erie and Ontario Railway Company

Indenture of agreement between the Great Western Railway Company and the Erie and Ontario Railway Company in order for the companies to unite, March 20, 1854.

Erie & Niagara Railway Collection, 1864-1884

William Alexander Thomson (1816-1878) was a promoter and developer of railway systems in western Ontario. He incorporated the Fort Erie Railroad Company in 1857, purchased the Erie and Ontario Railroad in 1863, and incorporated the Erie and Niagara Extension Railway Company in 1868 (later renamed the Canada Southern Railway). Thomson was also elected to the House of Commons for Welland in 1872, and re-elected in 1874. He was known for his support of public management of the currency and is seen as a pioneer advocate of government monetary policy. He was also an advocate of radical agrarian economic doctrine, believing that Canadian laws favoured mercantile interests over those of the producers of goods, and that this hindered national development.

Letter to George Rykert (president of the Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway), engineer from William Danforth, civil engineer

Letter to George Rykert (president of the Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway), engineer from William Danforth, civil engineer in which he states that the preliminary survey has been made between Port Dalhousie and Centreville at which point it may intersect with the Great Western Railway. The estimate is included (2 pages, handwritten), July 25, 1853.

Chart of estimate of work done on Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway

Chart of estimate of work done on Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway in the section between Geneva Street and Thorold Station of the Great Western Railway by John Brown for July, 1856. This is accompanied by a chart of an itemized list and a sheet of calculations, Aug. 1856.

Chart of estimate of work done on Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway

Chart of estimate of work done on Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway in the section between Geneva Street and the Thorold Station of the Great Western Railway by John Brown for August, 1856.

Chart of estimate of work done on Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway in the section between Geneva Street and Thorold Station

Chart of estimate of work done on Port Dalhousie and Thorold Railway in the section between Geneva Street and Thorold Station of the Great Western Railway by John Brown for November, 1856. This is signed by S.D. Woodruff. The document is stained and damaged. Text is slightly affected, Nov. 1856.

Indenture of Release between Richard Miller and others

Indenture of release by executors between Richard Miller, John L. Ranney and Richard Woodruff, all of St. Catharines and Joseph A. Woodruff of Clifton, all executors of the will of Samuel Zimmerman of the first part and The Great Western Railway Company of the second part. Parties of the second part have exonerated parties of the first part to undertake and complete the Sarnia branch of the railway. Also, parties of the first part believe they are entitled to compensation as the death of Zimmerman was caused while travelling on one of the carriages belonging to said company. A sum of $150,000 was agreed upon to be paid to the executors by the Great Western Railway Company, September 7, 1858.

Letter - D.K. Minor to S.D. Woodruff

Letter with the letterhead Franklin House, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. The letter is addressed to S.D. Woodruff. The sender, D.K. Minor is sending nos. 25 and 37 of the volume for 184b of the R.R.J. [Railroad Journal]. He says that he is pleased to see that there is a prospect of an early movement in relation to the Great Western Railroad in Canada. [D. Kimball Minor was the founder of the American Railroad Journal], Jan. 18, 1847.