Port Severn's Big Chute Marine Railway Attracts Tourists to Muskoka
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The Trent-Severn Waterway, one of Canada's most spectacular waterways, meanders some 386 km through south central Ontario. Operating from May until October with roughly 32 km of man-made channels and 45 locks, the Trent-Severn begins at Trenton on Lake Ontario and ends at Port Severn on Georgian Bay.
The Waterway's historic locks and canals link lakes and rivers to form an inland water route that has been called "one of the finest interconnected systems of navigation in the world". Of the many remarkable locks and noteworthy sites along its path, the most extraordinary is at Lock 44. The magnificent Big Chute Marine Railway is so impressive it has become a popular Muskoka tourist attraction.
The Big Chute Marine Railway is the most significant of the engineering marvels along the Trent-Severn System that also includes the world's highest hydraulic boat lift located at Lock 21 in Peterborough, and the slightly smaller Kirkfield Lift Lock near Canal Lake. The only marine railway of its kind in North America still in use, the Big Chute Marine Railway is a virtual roller coaster for boats, lifting vessels and their occupants to a height of about 18 metres or 60 feet between the Severn River and Gloucester Pool. The railway works on an inclined plane to carry boats, both large and small in a sling cradle over the Big Chute.
The Trent-Severn Waterway was built as an efficient way to transport lumber. Construction began in 1833 and it wasn't until 1920 that a boat could travel the entire route. When the Big Chute Marine Railway was built, it was only meant to be a temporary solution until a conventional lock system could be built to replace it. This however did not happen. The initiative to replace the railway disappeared as the lumber industry went into decline and the original marine railway is still in use today transporting pleasure boats instead of logging barges.
To put the importance of the lock system into perspective, when the swing road bridge at Lock 45 required rehabilitation work, the Waterway Commission made the decision to leave the swing bridge open to allow boat traffic during the approximated construction period of one year. This decision was controversial and upset some local car drivers but the decision was consistent with the mandate of the Trent-Severn Waterway as a transportation corridor link for boats making the journey to and from Georgian Bay.
Maintained and operated by Parks Canada, a federal government agency, the Big Chute Marine Railway at Lock 44 has large grounds for picnicking so that visitors can spend some time exploring the area and watching the boats. Visitors to this National Historic Site are invited to take a self-guided tour of the old and new Big Chute hydro generating stations. As well, the Nautical Nook Gift Shop is open for tourists to purchase souvenirs. The main attraction is the railway its self and watching the boats get loaded onto the railway car to make the slow ascent out of the water, across the road, and then down the big chute to the water below. Less than 30 minutes later, the process begins again in reverse when boats at the top of Big Chute make their slow descent down into Gloucester Pool and the waters of Georgian Bay. Approximately 7 thousand boats used the Big Chute Marine Railway in 2008. The number of visitors to the Lock 44 and its park were many times more.
It's not only boaters who visit the Big Chute Marine Railway. Many resort guests take the short drive to Lock 44 to watch the Marine Railway in operation. Vacationing families especially find it both interesting and educational.
Information provided by Severn Lodge (http://www.severnlodge.on.ca), a traditional Muskoka resort on Georgian Bay, located close to Big Chute.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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