The Great Western was one of the oldest railroads in Canada, having begun operating at least a dozen years before the nation of Canada was even created. Its main line was from Niagara Falls to Windsor, Ontario, across the Detroit River from Detroit. Branch lines went to Toronto and Sarnia, which was across the St. Clair River from Port Huron, Michigan. In 1882, the year after this timetable was issued, the Great Western Consolidated with the Grand Trunk, and today it is part of the Canadian National.

Click image to download a 3.2-MB PDF of this timetable, which is from the David Rumsey map collection.

In 1881, the Great Western offered six trains a day from Niagara Falls to Windsor. This is the earliest timetable we’ve seen that indicates names: westbound were the Morning Express, Pacific Express, Chicago Express, Steamboat Express, and the Mail. The timetable lists the remaining train as “Accommodation,” which referred to the type of train than the name of the train, “accommodation” meaning a local train that makes all stops. (Mail was probably also a type, not a train name.)

Eastbound included the Day Express, Atlantic Express, Night Express, New York Express, “Mail,” and “Accommodation.” The timetable also lists, over the connecting Michigan Central, a train described as the “Kalamazoo Accommodation” and another listed as the “Jackson Accommodation.” Branch trains to Toronto and Sarnia had no names; all were described as Express, Accommodation, Mail, or Mixed.

It is funny to think of Toronto, Canada’s largest city, as being on a branch line. In 1881, it had 86,000 residents, ten times as many as Windsor and Sarnia combined. But the main line really aimed to connect Detroit with Buffalo. In 1880, Buffalo had 155,000 residents while Detroit had 116,000, so Toronto was distinctly smaller than either.