Big Chute Marine Railway

At Big Chute the Trent-Severn does not use a lock: boats float into a carriage that runs on rails, are supported in slings, and are driven up over a ridge and down into the water on the other side, a drop of about eighteen metres. The present carriage, in service since 1978, handles vessels up to around a hundred feet and takes them across in a few minutes. A lock was planned but never built, partly for cost and partly because the overland break helps stop sea lamprey, an invasive parasite that devastated Great Lakes fish stocks, moving further up the system. Watching from the walkway is free.

What you actually see

• The carriage - boats slung and carried over a ridge on rails.
• The eighteen-metre drop - the height difference the railway crosses.
• The lamprey barrier - the ecological reason a lock was never built.
• The viewing walkway - free public viewing beside the track.

When to go

May to October, the navigation season; carriage runs depend on boat traffic and are frequent on summer weekends. Nothing operates in winter.

Honest expectations

Nothing runs outside the navigation season. Between boats there can be long waits. The site is small and the visit is short unless you are transiting.

Nearby

Port Severn lies west; the Trent-Severn runs east.