 During the run-up period to 1923, while it was well understood that the federal government would force the amalgamation of a number of money-losing railways, including the Canadian Northern Railway and eventually the Grand Trunk, which would require extensive rationalization of trackage.The GTR was itself involved in pruning unnecessary routes and the former-CAR system was not immune.The GTR found it was particularly expensive to operate on the section over the height of land through Algonquin Park known as the Haliburton Highlands.