Belleville and North Hastings Railway
| Locale | Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1880–1984 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 33 km |
| Headquarters | Belleville |
The Belleville and North Hastings Railway (B&NHR) was a short-line railway in Ontario, Canada. It branched off the Grand Junction Railway (GJR) north of Belleville and ended on the Central Ontario Railway (COR) outside Eldorado for a total distance of 33 km. In spite of its name, the line did not reach either Belleville or the northern part of Hastings County.
The line was completed in January 1880 and leased to the GJR in June that year. Both companies were merged into the Midland Railway in 1881, part of the Midland's efforts to consolidate a number of unprofitable lines east of Toronto. The section north of Madoc offered nothing the COR lacked and closed in 1893. The section from Madoc remained in use until the 1980s as a branch line of CN known as the Madoc Subdivision. This section eventually closed in 1984.
Like many railways dismantled since the 1970s, the Madoc Sub right-of-way has been turned over to rail-trail use, and now forms the "Trail of Two Lakes", with the views around Moira Lake considered particularly noteworthy. The section north of Madoc was abandoned years earlier and has returned to bush, but is still navigable for the adventuresome.
The 1866 discovery of gold on John Richardson's farm by Marcus Herbert Powell led to the creation of Ontario's first gold mine, and the community of Eldorado that formed up around it by 1867. Although the mines were not rich and the Richardson Mine closed shortly thereafter, the area proved to create a gold rush that led to similar mines being opened all around the Central Ontario region. At least six gold mines opened, and later a number of copper and iron mines as well, mostly in Hastings County.
Belleville, due south of the mines, became the hub for prospectors on their way north to the fields. The town became known as the "Gateway to the Golden North". Belleville was also a major stop on the Grand Trunk Railway running from Montreal to Toronto. At first the only access to the mines was via coach, so a railway from Belleville to the mining areas was a natural development.
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