Electric Locomotive No. 17 was the last electric locomotive serving Cornwall. Built in 1930 by Baldwin Westinghouse for the Salt Lake and Utah Railway in the U.S.A. as a 70 ton locomotive, it was rebuilt to 80 tons in 1954 and operated by the Grand River Railway in Preston, Ontario, then served the Cornwall Street Railway Light and Power Company Limited from 1963 to 1971 before Canadian National Railways retired it from service in 1971. Cornwall's electric railway operation began in 1896 when the Cornwall Electric Street Railway Company Limited bought two locomotives to handle freight from the Grand Trunk Railway to local industries over electric street car trackage on Pitt Street and Water Street. After the company defaulted on bonds in 1900, operations continued in 1902 under C.S.R.L. and P. Co. Ltd., formed by the bondholders, Sun Life Insurance Company. Service was extended from C.N.R., C.P.R., and N.Y.C. railroads to local industries, interplant and inplant switching. In 1948 trolley coaches replaced street cars and freight cars were gradually removed from city streets. In 1971 the C.N.R. purchased the freight operation and retired the electric locomotives, ending a 75 year era of electric locomotives in Cornwall. Locomotive 17 was donated by the C.N.R. in 1971 and restored in 1981 under the direction of Mr. D.R. Seymour, retired Assistant General Manager of C.S.R.L. and P. Co. Ltd., for the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, with funds from the city of Cornwall and assistance from C.S.R.L. and P. Co. Ltd.