The Parry Sound Colonization Railway (PSCR) was chartered in 1885 to build a short-line railway from Parry Sound, Ontario to the newly formed Northern and Pacific Junction Railway that passed the town to the east. In 1891 about 20 miles of line had been laid from Scotia Junction to Bear Lake, a little less than half the route to Parry Sound, when the company ran out of funds for further construction. Booth purchased the line on 30 September 1892, apparently after hearing that the CPR was interested in it for their line.