VIA 57 approaching Brighton ON.

VIA 57 from Montreal is slowly getting to it's destination of Toronto. In the meantime, it has some interesting grades to coast down on.

When the Grand Trunk Railway built CN's current Montreal-Toronto mainline, they tried to keep grades to a minimum by finding the best lands to build across. This was before more modern construction methods were developed. The GTR had many surveyors working for them in finding the best path in many areas. Around Trenton and the Bay of Quinte area, the land isn't flat. Hence the roller coaster profile seen in this video. The GTR did the best they could in the 19th century.

Mile 238.97 CN Kingston Subdivision

December 1 2011

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[ConrailSD70MAC]

@EasternOntarioTracks - and next door is CP's Belleville Subdivision. Built in 1912 with more modern equipment and not the same grades as the old GTR line.

[EasternOntarioTracks]

What a job that must have been! Just think about the modes of transportation that were available to the surveyors, the condition of the landscape at that time, and the navigation tools at hand.