Molly’s Great American Loop

We finished the Trent Severn Waterway today and are on the lock wall just outside the last lock with Blue Days and See-Ya. We covered 12 miles and two locks. The first lock (44) was the Big Shute a Marine Railway that lifted our boat 58 feet in the air over land and 100 foot down a cliff on the other side. It was an impressive ride!! The Big Shute was originally destined to be a regular lock but a ‘temporary’ marine railway was constructed instead due to a shortage of manpower and resources during WWI. After the war plans to construct the lock were scrapped because invasive sea lampreys that were devastating the Great Lakes fishery were found in Gloucester Pond at the bottom of the railway. Instead a larger railway system was built to accommodate the growing size of recreational vessels. The Big Shute is currently the only marine railway of its kind in North America. The last lock (45) was also affected by the war. It was near completion when the war started and was finished as a temporary small lock. It is still the same small today. Tomorrow we will head to Georgian Bay.Read more