In 1860 there were just over two thousand miles of track completed in the Canadas. It was possible to go by rail from Windsor in the west to RiviÅre- du-Loup in the east. Branch lines linked the southern shore of Georgian Bay with the main line between Sarnia and Montreal. Ottawa was connected to Prescott by another important branch line. Southwestern Ontario was served by two major lines, one linking it with Montreal, another with the United States. Several smaller lines, such as the Buffalo and Lake Huron line, were designed to funnel trade from the American mid-west into Canada, but, on the whole, large quantities of Canadian exports continued to find their way to American ports and markets via American canals and railways.
