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The London and Lake Erie Railway and Transportation Company is a defunct Canadian Interurban railway that operated in Ontario from 1902 to 1918. Originally chartered as the South Western Traction Company, the line was renamed the London and Lake Erie Railway in 1909. Throughout its short life, the line was always referred to locally as "The Traction Line". ==The South Western Traction Company== In 1902, a group of London, Ontario residents led by Thomas Purdom and Alfred E. Welch chartered an electric railway based in London. Unlike the municipally-owned London and Port Stanley Railway, the South Western Traction Company was chartered primarily as a passenger hauling line. Lines were planned to several other municipalities in the area, but ultimately, the line was a 28-mile meandering route between London and Port Stanley. The line began construction in 1903 southward from London to Lambeth. Construction stopped in 1904 when the company ran out of funds but resumed after additional capital was secured from the Canadian Electric Traction Company, a joint venture between Canadian and British investors. The generating equipment and rolling stock were supplied by Bruce Peebles & Co. Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland. The equipment on the South Western Traction Company used a Three phase AC electric overhead traction system designed by Ganz of Budapest, Hungary. The new traction line and was the only railroad in North America to use this system. The powerhouse was built in Chelsea Green, a suburb of London, near its chief competitor the London & Port Stanley Railway (L&PS).〔http://www.trainweb.org/swtractionco/gallery/swtpowerhouse.html〕 The route of the line continued southward towards St. Thomas, passing through the villages of Scottsville, Tempo and Lynhurst. Tracks reached St. Thomas in July 1906. The Traction Line used the tracks of the St. Thomas Municipal Railway to navigate through the city streets. The line entered town on the west end and exited southward on the east end, crossing over the London and Port Stanley Railway via the street railway on Talbot Street in the process. Continuing southward, the line passed through the village of Union and entered Port Stanley via Colborne Street. The Traction Line station was on the east side of Port Stanley harbour, compared to the more extensive L&PS yards on the west side. The station was located directly off Colborne Street and still exists today. There was a spur line that ran behind the station down to the dock for loading fish and passengers. The line entered London via Baseline Road, and curved north towards downtown. A long trestle carried the line over the Thames River valley before terminating at the company's station on Horton Street. There had been various issues with the Ganz A/C overhead system, and this prompted the line to switch to D/C operation in early 1907. The company ordered six D/C motor cars from the Ottawa Car Company in Ottawa, Ontario in March 1907. The line was dealt a major blow on August 10, 1907, when a fire caused by crossed wires destroyed the company's car barns in London. The company's six British built cars were in the barns at the time, and five were destroyed. Four of the new Ottawa cars were in St. Thomas, but hadn't had their motors or equipment installed. The losses for the railway were pegged at over $160,000. The following year, six additional cars were purchased from Preston Car and Coach in Preston, Ontario. The first train arrived in Port Stanley in October 1907. Plans for expansions to Delaware and Aylmer, Ontario were looked at in 1907 as well.,〔The London Advertiser, November 5, 1907〕 but for several reasons, these extensions were never built. The year 1908 brought about receivership and with it, a change in ownership. In 2012, the South Western Traction Line was inducted to the (North America Railway Hall of Fame ).〔(North America Railway Hall of Fame: South Western Traction Line )〕 The South Western Traction Line was recognized for its contribution to railroading as the only three-phase AC electric railroad in North America, and one of only a few in the world. The line was inducted in the “Community, Business, Government or Organization" class in the "Local" category (pertaining specifically to the area in and around St. Thomas, Ontario.) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「London and Lake Erie Railway and Transportation Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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