Midland remained a suitable location for a new port, between Collingwood and Parry Sound. The MR's lines in the area would require careful routing and bridging to avoid a level crossing, but it was possible. The only line that could not be avoided was the north-south N&PJ, but the CPR had already secured crossing rights for another of their lines. When the GTR gained control of the OA&PS in 1905 and tightened their grip on the lake trade, CPR decided to move ahead with a port in the Midland area. That year they took out a charter on the Georgian Bay and Seaboard Railway to build a line from Midland to Peterborough, a busy rail hub at that time. As was the custom of the time, railway companies were chartered to build specific routes, so a series of small companies like this were formed and then later absorbed into the operating companies. However, the route to Peterborough was also blocked by the GTR, who owned lines on every practical approach to the city. In particular, avoiding the Toronto and Ottawa Railway would require moving far to the north or south. The CPR was again forced to re-route, this time selecting a location between Pontypool and Peterborough. The company began construction of a major port facility across from Victoria Harbour, just outside Midland. Construction on the line started by the Toronto Construction Company in April 1907, and the first section of the railway opened on 29 June 1908. The GB&S initially ran only a short distance east to meet the CPR's Muskoka mainlines in a huge wye junction lying just east of Coldwater. Traffic from the port therefore had to travel through the Toronto area. In 1912, the port was renamed Port McNicoll after CPR's Vice President, David McNicoll. A second section of the line was constructed running from the Coldwater wye to the town of Orillia at the northern tip of Lake Simcoe, opening in December 1911. This formed a massive triangle junction lying between Coldwater and Medonte. At Orillia it crossed the narrows at Lake Couchiching and then continued towards Lindsay. The lines crossed the Victoria Railway just north of town, then crossed the Scugog River and joined the existing line of the CP-leased Lindsay, Bobcaygeon and Pontypool Railway (LB&P) to travel through the town. The line wyed off the LB&P just south of Lindsay and ran the remaining distance to the O&Q lines.