TThe Kingston and Pembroke Railway (K&P) was a Canadian railway that operated in eastern Ontario. The railway was seen as a business opportunity which would support the lumber and mining industries, as well as the agricultural economy in eastern Ontario.
Incorporated in 1871, the K&P was intended to run from Kingston to Pembroke. By 1884, approximately 180 kilometres of mainline and sidings had been laid, reaching Renfrew. By this time the Canada Central Railway had already built a line from Renfrew to Pembroke, and it no longer made financial sense to continue. Thus the K&P was terminated at Renfrew.
Due to decreasing timber and mineral resources in the late 19th century, the company developed financial difficulties. The line was leased to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) for 999 years in an agreement formalized in 1912. The CPR officially gained control of the K&P on January 1, 1913 and the K&P was no longer a legal entity.[2][3] The line was gradually abandoned beginning in the 1950s, with the last operating section from Kingston to Tichborne (joining the CN and CP main lines) closing in 1986.
The K&P is affectionately remembered as the Kick and Push railroad.
Part of the line has been converted to a rail trail known as the K&P Rail Trail. The Kingston Inner Station at 209 Ontario Street, originally the southern terminus of the line, is now a tourism information centre. The area opposite Kingston City Hall, once a sea of CN and CP trackage, is now Confederation Park and marina. A restored locomotive, the "Spirit of Sir John A.", sits behind the former station.
The K&P line had a roundhouse in Kingston, on outer Wellington Street. The roundhouse is now gone; the area now contains Ontario Health Insurance Plan offices. The turntable from the site was redeployed to Wakefield, Quebec.
York Region Geocachers Club, in association with Kortright Centre for Conservation, hosts the annual YRGC Weekend Geofest each Spring to introduce the general public to our game along with social and interactive opportunities for veteran geocachers. Included in those opportunities we teamed up to present the Geofest Express where all geocache varieties are available for the finding.
We have expanded out of the park to bring you a series of caches from Bolton to the northern edge of Kortright and on surrounding trails. Based on Canadian railways and passenger trains, the Geofest Express geocaches are made up of both `Park and Grabs` and an additional hiking section. No tickets are required on this historic journey. Get on the track to Geofest! ALL ABOARD!
More information on the Geofest Express and YRGC Weekend Geofest found here.